Democrat Party News
The Daily Signal provides Democrat Party news with reporting, analysis, and commentary on elections, legislation, and progressive agendas.
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- Opinion
What Obama Got Wrong in 2017 Budget
President Barack Obama released his 2017 Fiscal Year Budget to Congress. Here is what Heritage Foundation researchers had to say about Obama’s budget: Energy Education Health Care Regulation and Spending Trade Agriculture Taxes Defense Energy Obama’s ‘Oil Fee’ Is a Regressive Gas Tax President Obama’s budget calls for a $10-per-barrel tax on oil, to pay for mass transit,…Rob Kuhlman -
- News
Why GOP Chairmen Decided to Snub Obama’s Budget Chief
Budget chairmen in the House and Senate have chosen to dismiss President Obama’s new budget plan before seeing it, saying they would concentrate instead on reforming the process and reining in spending. House Budget Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., and Senate Budget Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., last week announced that neither of their committees would call White House Budget…Leah Jessen -
- News
How’d Your Senators Vote on Obama’s Judge Pick?
Senate Democrats have delivered on their end of a bargain with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, confirming Rebecca Ebinger to a lifetime appointment as a district judge in Iowa. Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, brokered the deal in December: His committee would advance three of President Obama’s liberal nominees for federal judgeships in exchange…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
Obama’s Dismal Fiscal Legacy
President Obama is submitting his final budget to Congress this week. Regardless of the contents of this budget, the president’s fiscal legacy is largely already written, and it’s a story of failed leadership, broken promises, and a more burdensome government for the American people. A Legacy of Higher Debt. Since President Barack Obama took office,…Romina Boccia -
- News
GOP-Controlled Senate Is About to Approve Another Obama Judge
Though President Barack Obama’s time in office is drawing to a close, the Senate pipeline for judicial nominees remains open. On Monday, the Senate will consider Rebecca Ebinger for a lifetime judicial appointment as a district judge in Iowa. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has advocated for Ebinger and negotiated a deal for…Philip Wegmann -
- News
House Panel Probes Whether Obama Administration Misled Americans on Debt Limit
Republican congressmen say the Obama administration misled the American people to believe that the debt limit has to be raised to accommodate more government spending because breaching it would result in a calamitous default. “Our nation’s creditworthiness should not be hindered by the administration’s lack of trustworthiness,” Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., chairman of the House Financial Services…Mariana Barillas -
- Opinion
Obama’s New Oil Tax Would Hike Gas Prices 22 Cents a Gallon
“Gas prices are too cheap!”—said no one ever. Wait, scratch that: The president himself actually believes that gas prices should be higher. Though those were not his exact words, President Barack Obama is now calling for a $10-per-barrel tax on oil, to pay for mass transit, high-speed rail, self-driving cars, and other infrastructure projects he believes…Nicolas Loris -
- News
Sen. Ben Sasse: Conservatives Don’t Need a ‘Republican Barack Obama’
Sen. Ben Sasse issued some tough love today at the Conservative Policy Summit in Washington, D.C.: Electing a Republican president, he said, won’t solve America’s problems. “The idea that a ‘strong man’ can save us isn’t true,” Sasse, R-Neb., said. “What America needs is a constitutional recovery, not a Republican Barack Obama.” If Sasse disappointed…Kelsey Bolar -
- News
How West Virginia Is Leading the Charge Against Obama’s Environmental ‘Power Grab’
CHARLESTON, W.Va.—The Mountain State has its back against the wall, and time is running out. Leading a coalition of more than two dozen coal states, West Virginia is asking the Supreme Court for an emergency stay of President Obama’s new regulations governing the coal industry. West Virginia and 26 other states argue that the Environmental…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
America’s Economic Freedom Has Rapidly Declined Under Obama
Millions of people around the world are emerging from poverty thanks to rising economic freedom. But by sharp contrast, America’s economic freedom has been on a declining path over the past decade. America’s declining score in the index is closely related to rapidly rising government spending, subsidies, and bailouts. According to the 2016 Index of…Anthony B. Kim -
- Opinion
Obama’s Regulations to Close Gender Wage Gap Will Hurt Your Pay, Workplace Flexibility
New reporting requirements introduced by the Obama administration today would require companies to report to the federal government what they pay their employees by race, gender, and ethnicity. While this may sound relatively harmless on the surface, the new reporting requirements and threats employed by government bureaucrats about how this data will be used against…Romina Boccia -
- Opinion
How the Obama Administration Let ISIS Happen
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s recent op-ed regarding the campaign against ISIS confirmed what many already knew: When confronting ISIS, the Obama administration does the bare minimum required to make it look as if it is doing something, while in reality it is doing very little. President Barack Obama entered office with a hell-bent desire to “end…Luke Coffey -
- News
Senate Confirms Another Obama Judge With Only 2 Republicans Voting No
President Barack Obama continued to reshape the federal judiciary Wednesday with the confirmation of another judge to a lifetime appointment. He is the third this month approved by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. John Michael Vazquez won confirmation late Wednesday on a vote of 84-2 to be a U.S. district judge in New Jersey. Vazquez had the…Robert B. Bluey -
- News
West Virginia Turns to Prayer as Obama’s ‘Clean Power’ Looms
CHARLESTON, W.Va.—There’s little separation between church and the fossil fuel industry in West Virginia’s coal country. Still reeling from recent mine shutdowns, the state legislature has set aside Jan. 31 as a “day of prayer for coal miners.” “We need a higher power to change the hearts and minds of those who want to destroy…Philip Wegmann -
- News
$12 Billion Obama Plan Would Give Lunches to Poor Children in the Summer
The Obama administration proposes to provide free lunch to millions of children who lose access to the subsidized meals once the school year comes to a close. Under the program announced Wednesday, low-income families who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals during the academic year would receive an electronic benefits card loaded monthly with…Natalie Johnson -
- Opinion
Congress Shouldn’t Push Obama’s Flawed Child Nutrition Policy on Children
The Senate is at work on reauthorizing child nutrition programs. Last week, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed by voice vote its child nutrition legislation that would reauthorize these programs for five years. One of the most controversial points of debate has been the school meal standards that implement the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010,…Rachel Sheffield -
- Opinion
Will Obama Be Held Accountable for Fast and Furious? What a New Court Decision Means
In an odd coincidence, a federal district court on Tuesday issued a decision against President Barack Obama in the Operation Fast and Furious fiasco, at almost the same time that Fox News broke a story about Mexican authorities finding a Fast and Furious gun in the hideout of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. El Chapo Guzman,…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Proposed Obama Rule on Transgender Persons Could Affect Homeless Shelters
Emergency shelters are the next target for regulations elevating gender identity over health, safety, privacy, and religious liberty concerns. Emergency shelters are the next target for regulations elevating gender identity over health, safety, privacy, and religious liberty concerns. On Nov. 20, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided notice of a proposed new…Melody Wood -
- Opinion
Why the Obama Administration Just Expanded the Central American Refugee Program
This week, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the U.S. would “expand” its “refugee admission program in order to help vulnerable families and individuals from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.” But what exactly does this mean? Here are three important facts on the issue: 1) Who qualifies as a…David Inserra -
- Opinion
Cartoon: Obama’s Division of Power
Genevieve Wood wrote earlier this week on President Obama's executive actions: Many of President Obama’s executive actions—whether the most recent ones calling for more gun control or past ones extending amnesty to millions here illegally—are already being or will one day be challenged in the courts. This is why it’s encouraging to see reports this…Glenn Foden