Senator Rand Paul is first and foremost, a politician. So when he steps up and blames politicians for high cigarette taxes causing Eric Garner's death instead of the policeman who put him in a chokehold, one has to wonder if he really believes people are as stupid as he treats them.

It's all about the taxes, you see. And 'some politician.'

"I think it's also important to know that some politician put a tax of $5.85 on a pack of cigarettes. So they've driven cigarettes underground so as not to make them so expensive."

Continuing the thought, Paul added, "But then some politician also had to direct the police to say, 'Hey, we want you arresting people for selling a loose cigarette.' And for someone to die over you know breaking that law -- there really is no excuse for it."

There's really no excuse for glossing over a policeman choking a man to death either. But that's what happened, and cigarette taxes have very little to do with it. If it weren't untaxed cigarettes it could just as easily have been just about anything else, including the sin of standing on a street in New York City on a day where some cops were grumpy.

The taxes didn't kill Eric Garner. Cops did. Rand Paul's cynical play for votes in 2016 on this day was particularly evil and unnecessary.