The Contrarian

By Brian Katulis President Donald Trump said that the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran that he launched with Israel could last for four to five weeks with “the capability to go far longer than that.” Trump even left the door open to putting U.S. troops on the ground. One crucial element Trump has failed to clarify: the end state.

Archive of live conversations with special guests on news essential to safeguarding against autocracy. Get your morning dose of democracy on Coffee with The Contrarians, with Co-founders Jen Rubin and Norm Eisen. Jared Bernstein answers your questions about all things economy on Let's Do Lunch. Plus, breaking legal and political news. Archive of live conversations with special guests on news essential to safeguarding against autocracy.

War with Iran Is a War of Choice The Contrarian, Mark Warner, and Jennifer Rubin · Mar 4 [VIDEO] As we enter the 5th day of the war with Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given no indication that the violence will end anytime soon. During a press conference this morning, he said that American forces can deliver “death and destruction all day long.

Democrats may have gotten the race in Texas they have been pining for since 1993, when the last Democrat held a U.S. Senate seat. Rising Democratic star and state representative James Talarico — with an assist from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr (who pressured CBS to keep him off the network) and Stephen Colbert (who streamed the interview which then got millions of views) — won the hotly contested Democratic Senate primary against anti-Trump pugilist Rep. Jasmine Crockett.

Can a president just attack whichever country they want? Well, there's a 1973 law called the War Powers Resolution. This was passed near the end of the Vietnam War, and Congress was upset by the extent that the president was going beyond their initial authorization when it came to bombing campaigns in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The point of this law was to rein in the ability of the president to get involved in military activity in other countries.

Midterm season is heating up after Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas wrapped their primaries last night. Democrats saw major wins — but will that momentum carry into the rest of the election year? And are Black Americans less willing to protest today than in previous years? On this special dispatch from The Tea, April Ryan sits down with Democratic pollster Terrance Woodbury to break down more of what we could see in the primaries, voter trends, and how resistance can come in many forms.

Last night’s elections in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas were on every level a big night for Democrats. They won where they needed to, and they have a shot at flipping a Senate seat in Texas. Simon Rosenberg, election guru, author, and creator of Hopium Chronicles, talked with Jen about the Democrats’ huge night, not only in Texas, but across the Senate landscape.

The Alabama Solution (HBO When Andrew Jarecki starts making a documentary, he rarely knows where the film is going to take him — or even whether he’s making a documentary at all.

Last night, North Carolinian Democrats made it clear that harmful votes have consequences. Unfortunately, four NC State Legislators who decided to consistently vote with Republicans — and against their own constituents — are learning this lesson. After a big night of wins, Anderson Clayton, Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, joins Jen to discuss everyone on North Carolina’s ballot.

Like you, I woke up on Saturday morning to the news of Donald Trump’s unconstitutional war in Iran. But I also woke up to a message from my friend about her lab results regarding a diagnosis of her mystery illness, took my second-to-last antibiotic for a sinus infection, and checked my weather app to see if we should take my son to the playground. Though Trump’s assaults continue domestically and abroad, so, too, do our daily lives. And my day would have been much worse without the ease of science.