Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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opinion
Fairfax School District Prioritizes ‘Green Initiatives’ Over Academic Proficiency
As Virginia’s largest public school district continues to decline academically, Fairfax County Public Schools’ environmental and sustainability program has exploded in scale since 2020, transforming from a small initiative into a heavily staffed central operation. Meanwhile, despite a $197 million increase from the fiscal year 2026 budget, Fairfax County’s school board members voted last month… -
opinion
Even California Academics Want to Reverse Wokeness
The fruits of another woke revolution are here—and even California academics are fed up. In May 2020, weeks into the nation’s shutdown and days before George Floyd’s death, the University of California regents voted that applicants to the prestigious public higher education system would no longer need to submit SAT or ACT test scores. “I… -
opinion
Who Is God? And Who Am I?
Where did we come from? What are we made for? These two questions cut to the core of what it means to be a human person. We instinctively desire to know the answers to the deepest questions about our existence. Despite meaningless doomscrolling or gossiping, we ultimately desire to know where we came from and… -
opinion
The Story of Churchill’s Great Speech Before Congress
Winston Churchill made 16 visits to America in his lifetime. He traveled here as a soldier, a tourist, and a lecturer, but his winter visit to America in 1941 as a wartime leader was perhaps his most important. The story of that trip—and the speech he delivered to a joint session of Congress the day… -
opinion
Why the American Colonists Rebelled
The following is a lightly edited transcript of a speech delivered on May 28, 2026, at the “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Reenactment at The Heritage Foundation. Britain’s seven year war with France came at a great cost. Its consequences would alter the world. England accumulated a substantial amount of debt throughout the… -
opinion
Debunking 3 Myths From the Trump-Xi Summit
The recent Trump-Xi summit in Beijing featured grand ceremonies, red-carpet pomp, and diplomatic flair, but it produced no major breakthroughs. This has allowed some media and analysts to promote distorted narratives about U.S.-China relations, the Iran conflict, and global power dynamics. Here is a clear-eyed debunking of the three most misleading myths. Myth 1: The… -
opinion
The Replication Crisis and ESG’s Throne of Lies
“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.” -Ronald Reagan, “A Time for Choosing” For more than two decades now, a handful of academics, led by John Ioannidis, a professor of medicine at Stanford University, have been documenting what has come to… -
opinion
No, Iran and China Are Not ‘Winning’
For years, much of the American media has operated under a peculiar assumption: that the best way to confront adversaries such as China and Iran is to accommodate them. If the United States applies pressure, the narrative quickly becomes that America is overextended, losing leverage, or somehow empowering its enemies. That narrative has resurfaced during… -
opinion
It’s on Us to Choose How to Use Our Freedom
Coincident with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the American Declaration of Independence is the 250th anniversary of the publication of “The Wealth of Nations.” The full title of Scotsman Adam Smith’s book, published in 1776, is “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.” One might… -
opinion
Lying, Amorous Federal Judge Likely Committed a Federal Felony
News broke earlier this week that a sitting federal judge in the Southeastern United States committed a host of outrageous acts, for which the judge received the ridiculously light punishment of a private reprimand. (Bloomberg Law reports that the judge is Eleanor Ross, who sits on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of… -
opinion
Clemson Hires New President. What Does This Mean for DEI on Campus?
Last fall, Clemson University officials announced the end of a sordid list of diversity, equity, and inclusion “commissions.” But news of DEI’s death at the college may be premature: The school’s board of trustees hired a new president with a checkered past of applying racial preferences. Are the trustees and administrators serious about civil rights… -
opinion
Colombia, the US, and the New Hemispheric Vision
As Colombia nears a momentous election decision on May 31, conservative Abelardo de la Espriella vaults to the lead in polling and prediction markets. Known as “The Tiger,” he channels much of the energy and philosophy of another Latin American populist-right renegade, Javier Milei, who similarly uses lion imagery and themes in his campaigns. De… -
opinion
China’s Complex Economic Ties With Niger
China’s economic relationship with Niger is becoming deeper and more complicated. As of May 2026, Beijing expanded zero-tariff treatment to imports from 53 African countries with diplomatic ties to China, excluding only Eswatini, which recognizes Taiwan. For Niger, a junta-led landlocked state that needs both outside financing and export revenue, that offer comes at a… -
opinion
The Debate Over the Women’s Museum Was Never About Women
“House Democrats oppose a bill for a Smithsonian women’s history museum.” This is not a sentence I ever expected to read. Aren’t Democrats supposed to be the feminists? The champions of inclusion? The self-appointed defenders of the “disadvantaged”? And on top of that, they are the ones who pushed for the women’s museum to begin… -
opinion
Netflix-WB Deal: Not Dead Yet?
In late January, the Oversight Project released “Fedflix,” an interim report about Netflix’s suspicious relationship with law enforcement and the intelligence community. Our report highlighted how Netflix has a board of directors largely made up of highly partisan Democrat operatives and donors; pushes programming with LGBTQ+ content to children; and produces content that has been… -
opinion
Young Adults Are Returning to Faith, but Will It Last?
A few weeks ago, The New York Times reported on a new trend of young adults returning to or joining the Catholic Church, despite decades-long cultural attacks on that institution from political and cultural elites. The article quotes Archbishop Mitchell Thomas Rozanski of St. Louis, who said, “In our age of uncertainty, and in our age of great… -
opinion
Britain’s 7-Step Program to Ruin
Out of about 5,000 seats up for vote in Britain’s recent local council elections, the ruling Labour Party lost 1,100 in its worst-ever result, while the new Reform UK Party gained 1,300. A major factor was migration. Here are seven steps successive governments took that led to that being such an issue. 1. Let mass… -
opinion
RGGI Will Cost Virginia Billions—Just Like It Cost Pennsylvania
Virginians were promised affordability. Instead, they’re getting an energy agenda that risks making electricity more expensive and less reliable. Gov. Abigail Spanberger has consistently sided with the climate-policy wing of her party even when its proposals threaten higher energy costs for consumers. One such proposal is rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. In 2023, Virginia… -
opinion
Powell’s Federal Reserve Mess Is Now Warsh’s Problem
New Chair of the Federal Reserve Kevin Warsh walks straight into a professional buzzsaw. Though he now occupies one of the most influential and prestigious posts in America—and indeed the world—his daunting assignment may be among the most difficult in government in recent decades. The difficulty of Warsh’s task flows first from the abject failures… -
opinion
What Every Graduate Should Aim For
Many of today’s graduates are about to make the same mistake Matthew Emmons made during the 2004 Olympics. It’s commencement season for high school and college seniors. The future may be unknown, but graduates know what they want in their future—money. A 2025 poll by Harvard Political Review asked young Americans to identify their important…