Good Morning, this is the Commonwealth Report. News for the public, not the powerful, I’m Thom Hartmann.
Did John Fetterman Just Become the Democrats’ Biggest Traitor on War?
The Senate voted 53 to 47 Wednesday to block a war powers resolution that would’ve pulled American forces out of Iran. Every single Democrat voted to advance it. Every single one except John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who crossed the aisle and handed Republicans the cover they needed. The only Republican who broke ranks was Rand Paul, who co-sponsored the resolution with Democrat Tim Kaine. CodePink called it shameful. Indivisible said Fetterman now shares ownership of Trump’s “stupid, unpopular, unjustified, and already tragic war.” Over a thousand people have been killed in Iran so far, including around 175 in an attack on a girls’ elementary school in Minab. Six American service members are dead. The Pentagon is reportedly seeking $50 billion for a war that Congress never authorized and that most legal scholars say violates international law. Defense Secretary Hegseth held a press conference Wednesday morning and said they’re “just getting started” and the war could last at least eight weeks. Schumer called it madness. He’s right. The Constitution says Congress declares war. One Democrat decided that doesn’t matter. The blood is on Fetterman’s hands now too.
Trump Says Inflation Is Over. His Own Government Says He’s Lying.
Trump stood in front of America and declared inflation “over.” Then his own Labor Department published the numbers that prove he’s wrong. The January producer price index spiked 2.9 percent from a year ago, the sharpest jump since last March. Businesses are passing the cost of Trump’s tariffs straight to consumers. Groceries, pet food, construction materials, all going up. And now the war in Iran has sent oil prices surging. Gas is expected to jump at least 20 cents in coming days, wiping out one of the only areas where prices had actually dropped. Sixty percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s tariff policies. A record number of Republican lawmakers are declining to run again, including Montana’s Ryan Zinke this week. GOP strategist Jason Roe issued a blunt warning. Making Republicans vote for higher tariffs makes them politically responsible for the pain voters are feeling. Nearly a third of Trump’s own voters now say there’s less economic opportunity than before. The Cook House Ratings keep moving toward Democrats. Republican strategists are privately warning their clients that an angry electorate could cost them both the House and the Senate in November. Trump promised to fix inflation on day one. Instead he made it worse.
Does Half of America Really Want to Abolish ICE?
For the first time in polling history, fifty percent of Americans support abolishing ICE. That’s up five points since January, after agents killed unarmed protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti during immigration operations in Minnesota. Only 39 percent oppose abolition now, a sharp drop from 45 percent in January. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem didn’t help matters with a disastrous congressional appearance Tuesday, refusing to retract her claim that the two unarmed, killed protesters were “domestic terrorists.” Senator Dick Durbin pressed her hard. ICE and CBP officials had already testified under oath that they never gave Noem information supporting that label. “Is it so hard to say you were wrong?” Durbin asked. She wouldn’t budge. Trump’s border czar Tom Homan announced that operations in Minnesota would “conclude.” But 650 federal agents are still there. Even among Republicans, 23 percent now support abolishing ICE, a record high. Seventy-seven percent of Democrats and 52 percent of independents want the agency gone. When a majority of Americans want to dismantle your enforcement agency, that’s not a messaging problem. That’s a legitimacy crisis.
Has Texas Finally Found a Democrat Who Can Win?
James Talarico won the Texas Democratic Senate primary Tuesday night with 52.4 percent, beating Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s 46.2 percent. No Democrat has won statewide in Texas since the first Clinton administration. Over three decades of losing. But Talarico didn’t run the usual playbook. He ran on affordability. The 36-year-old former public school teacher and current seminarian went into deep-red counties. He talked openly about his Christian faith. He centered everything on economic affordability, housing, energy costs, and healthcare. His argument was simple. Texas can’t be won by energizing Democrats alone. You’ve got to persuade Republicans and independents. Lincoln Project co-founder Mike Madrid put it bluntly. “In Texas, you cannot do this with just Democrats. You have to win Republicans. His whole approach has been about building a bigger coalition.” Democratic consultant Matt Bennett called the climb steep but said Talarico may be better positioned than any recent nominee to compete for voters beyond the base. Texas is still brutal territory for Democrats. The GOP has averaged 54 percent in the last three presidential cycles. But the margins are narrowing. And if there’s a Democrat built to close that gap, he looks a lot like James Talarico.
$210 Billion Up in Smoke Since Saturday?
Five days into Operation Epic Fury and here’s the bill. Roughly 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles at $1.4 million each. That’s over half a billion just in Tomahawks, fired off Navy destroyers. At the Navy’s current production rate, it’ll take five years to replace what we blew through in a single weekend. Patriot missiles run $4 million each. THAAD interceptors cost nearly $13 million per shot. And we’ve been burning through them around the clock. Billion-dollar B-2 stealth bombers flew from Missouri to drop guided munitions. F-22s, F-35s, Reaper drones firing Hellfires. The Pentagon even debuted brand-new kamikaze drones and a new stealth Tomahawk variant. At least the defense contractors got a good product launch out of it. The Penn Wharton Budget Model, one of the most respected fiscal operations in Washington, puts the direct cost to taxpayers at around $65 billion. When you add oil spikes, supply chain disruptions, and trade losses, the total reaches $210 billion. Since Saturday. That money didn’t go to schools. It didn’t go to roads. It didn’t go to healthcare. It went up in smoke over someone else’s country while working Americans got the bill.
And that’s the way it is today, Wednesday, March 5th, 2026. I’m Thom Hartmann
