I spoke to the great Julie Mason about how the Iran war is impacting our domestic politics.
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Bessent Says Navy Will Escort Ships Through Strait
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Sky News that the U.S. Navy will be escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as it is militarily possible.”
He added that it may be “with an international coalition, will be escorting vessels through.”
Democrats Favored to Win the House Majority
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Bloomberg to Back Protégé in Crowded NYC House Race
“Michael Bloomberg, New York City’s billionaire former mayor, is preparing to spend millions of dollars on a super PAC boosting one of his former aides in the race for a coveted Manhattan House seat,” the New York Times reports.
“The intervention is designed to help the former aide, Assemblyman Micah Lasher, distinguish himself from a crowded and star-studded field of Democrats competing to succeed Representative Jerrold Nadler, who is retiring.”
U.S. Plan to Insure Ships Collides with Reality
Wall Street Journal: “This U.S.-centric idea ran counter to the market realities… Maritime war risks policies are sold mostly out of Lloyd’s of London, with foreign insurers covering foreign ships and cargo.”
“U.S. officials called London insurers and brokers, trying to figure out how the market operates, industry insiders said. Some have received calls asking for confidential data on the Lloyd’s market that participants have been reluctant to share.”
Trump and Iran Strike Defiant Tone
“President Donald Trump and Iran’s new supreme leader both struck defiant tones on the 13th day of the war, offering little relief to energy markets as Brent crude briefly topped $100 barrel despite fresh US efforts to curb oil prices,” Bloomberg reports.
Bloomberg Economics estimates that oil will hit $140 a barrel if the Straights of Hormuz remains closed until April.
Americans Don’t See the Point to This War
Aaron Blake: “The war with Iran is now about two weeks old. And we’re getting a lot of polling data on how Americans feel about the most significant new US military conflict in two decades.”
“It’s still a confusing picture, though — and one that could break either for or against the Trump administration.”
“But at least for now, pessimism and uncertainty about the benefits of this war still seem to be the prevailing takeaway. Perhaps most strikingly, Americans seem to think this war makes us less safe.”
Trump Surprised To Find He’s At War in Iran
Garrett Graff: “The hardest thing for the media to wrap its hands around over the last year is that Donald Trump has no plan — for anything, ever. Time and again, national pundits and the White House press corps invent a logical Donald Trump who sets, announces, and later ‘changes’ real ‘policies’ or ‘plans,’ failing to convey what is clear to anyone who is actually following events closely: In each public appearance and social media post, the Mad King Donald Trump spouts a string of words, devoid of meaning or purpose, that may or may not represent anything at all.”
“Every single thing he says may, at any given time, be taken as an official hard-line policy of the US government, the opening gambit to a long flexible negotiation, or a random pronouncement that will be never be mentioned again. It’s impossible to know in real-time which is which — especially so if you’re actually in the US government and in charge of translating his words into actions and plans.”
War as Propaganda
John Ganz: “In the past, propaganda served the purposes of war; now war serves the purposes of propaganda.”
Texas Democrats Outvoted Republicans
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Democrats outvoted Republicans in Texas by 3 points, making 2026 the first midterm cycle since 2002 where Democrats cast more ballots in Texas.”
Epic Folly
Richard Haass: “It has been over forty years since the historian Barbara Tuchman wrote The March of Folly. The book examines wars that ought not to have been fought as they went against the self-interest of the empire or country that undertook them even when preferable alternatives were available. Tuchman’s thinking aligns with my own, with what I termed ‘wars of choice’ in an op-ed published in 2003, months into the Iraq War, and in my subsequent book, Wars of Necessity, Wars of Choice.”
“The subtitle of Tuchman’s book is From Troy to Vietnam. An updated edition might well read, From Troy to Iran or, better yet, From Troy to Iraq to Iran.”
Ogles Says Thousands of His Constituents Don’t Belong
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) represents one of the largest Muslim populations in the American South, Time reports.
This week, he said Muslims “don’t belong in American society.”
“His comment, posted on social media along with the assertion that ‘pluralism is a lie,’ reverberated quickly across the country, but was especially jarring for the tens of thousands of Muslim constituents in his Middle Tennessee district. In neighborhoods south of Nashville, from Antioch to Murfreesboro, Muslim residents responded with a mix of anger and exhaustion, as well as concern that such ideas coming from their very own Congressman could fuel harassment and violence at a moment when tensions are already running high.”
Gretchen Whitmer Still Undecided About 2028
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said she hasn’t made a decision about whether to run for president, but she has joked about it with her dad, Semafor reports.
Said Whitmer: “My father once said to me, ‘You know, you’d have to be a sociopath to run for president.’ And then about two years ago, he said, ‘You might need to think about running for president.’ And I said, ‘Are you calling me a sociopath, Dad’?”
White House Outraged by CBS News Hire
“White House officials are outraged over CBS’ hiring of Jeremy Adler, a communications executive who previously worked for former Rep. Liz Cheney,” Axios reports.
Ultrawealthy Plan $500 Million Fund to Influence Politics
“Silicon Valley billionaires have been seething over the threat of more taxes and regulations at home. Now, a proposed nine-figure fund aims to give wealthy Californians an unprecedented tool to reshape the state’s politics in their favor,” Bloomberg reports.
“The fund is being pitched to some of the state’s richest residents as an endowment that would operate in California for decades to come… Organizers are seeking $100 million this year, with hopes of reaching at least $500 million and up to $1 billion in the coming years.”
Russia Says U.S. Cannot Be Trusted
Washington Post: “Trump’s decision to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while Iran was in active negotiations with the president’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner has reinforced a growing sense among hard-liners in Moscow that diplomacy is fragile — perhaps even pointless — in a world in which the United States is willing to use military force to achieve its goals.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“They gave me a list of names. ‘Sir, you can pick the name you’d like, sir.’ I said, the name of what? ‘The name of the attack! On Iran, sir.’ And they gave me like 20 names. And I’m like falling asleep. I didn’t like any of them. Then I see Epic Fury.”
— President Trump, at a campaign rally.
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