I dont think it’s a hit piece. If you read the article it contains plenty of the senator’s statements alongside an opposing statement from the Jewish Democrat organization.
Maybe the wording of the article is slightly biased against him but otherwise it’s not bad and explains Rand Paul’s position of wanting to help Israel from a position of strength rather than weakness which is where the US is headed with its budget problems.
To me, Paul is being a realist and our foreign policy looks reckless and out of control. Calling him a Wilsonian style isolationist is flagrant, imo.
No matter. As long as Rand Paul is putting ideas out there worth talking about, much of what he's actually saying will get through the one stream media filters, as you pointed out.