Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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- News
‘Harassment’: Feds Impose Trans Agenda on Employers for Pronouns, Bathrooms
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Under new federal guidelines, an employer would be guilty of harassment for requiring someone to use a restroom that comports with his or her biological sex, or for referring to someone by a pronoun the person doesn’t want used. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published the guidance on Monday. The guidance…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Arabella Network’s Leftist ‘Dark Money’ Influence Expanding, Author Reveals
The left-wing Arabella Advisors network has raked in more money than either of the two major political parties and affects almost every element of public policy and elections, argues Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, a Washington-based investigative think tank. Walter’s new book “Arabella: The Dark Money Network of Leftist Billionaires Secretly Transforming…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Germany Allows Parents to Change Their Baby’s Gender
When it comes to gender politics, many in opposition acknowledge that adults have the ability to choose for themselves whether they pursue hormone therapy or body-mutilating operations, because adults can better weigh the risks of their decisions. Children, on the other hand, are quite different from adults. Opponents of gender ideology are steadfast in the…Sarah Holliday -
- Opinion
GOP Establishment’s Days Are Numbered
The Republican establishment doesn’t know it yet, but last weekend was a watershed moment for their party. On April 20, House Republican leadership facilitated passage of a foreign-aid package that sends roughly $60 billion to Ukraine, $26 billion to Israel and Gaza, $8 billion to Taiwan, and exactly zero dollars to the southern border. The…Kevin Roberts -
- Opinion
Let the Ivy Leagues Reap What They’ve Sown
The Left’s winter of discontent appears to be transitioning into a summer of rage as college campus unrest heats up with the warmer weather. Well-funded and well-organized anti-Israel protests are spreading from one college campus to another. And they are becoming a feature in America’s Democrat-run cities as mobs of radicals have been able to…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
Biden’s Latest Power Plant Power Grab
Almost two years after a similar rule was rejected by the Supreme Court, the Biden administration on Thursday released another final rule for regulating America’s power plants. Under the rule, coal-fired power plants and most new natural gas-fired power plants would have to eliminate 90% of their carbon emissions by 2039 or close down in…Diana Furchtgott-Roth -
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‘Trial by Ambush’: Former Federal Prosecutors Call Alvin Bragg’s Strategy Unlike Anything They’ve Seen Before
When defendants go on trial, the allegations against them are generally clear. Not so with former President Donald Trump and his “hush money” case. Prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office offered new transparency not only to the public, but seemingly also to Trump’s defense attorneys on Tuesday when, one year after indicting the…Katelynn Richardson -
- Opinion
New Athletic Clothing Brand Gets It: XX and XY—Vive La Difference!
Athletic clothing brands hold Women’s History Month promotional campaigns every March and claim to support women’s and girls sports, but haven’t spoken out against men competing as women—until now. “None of them is weighing in and taking a stand to protect female athletes and female sports and spaces from males entering into those spaces,” says…Virginia Allen -
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DC Resident to Mayor: Since Homeless Encampments Are Permitted, Can Tourists Camp Too?
If Washington, D.C., isn’t going to clean up homeless encampments, it should embrace equal opportunity for all and allow tourists to pitch a tent and save on hotel costs, one city resident says. “If … it is your policy to continue to allow individuals and groups to sleep, cook, and live on city-controlled grassy…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Diverse Faith Groups Rally in Support of Bearded Atlantic City Fire Department Staffer
For more than 20 years, Alex Smith has worked for the Atlantic City, New Jersey, Fire Department, dedicating his life to serving his hometown. In his current position as air mask technician, he fits masks and refills air tanks for firefighters engaged in fire suppression—an important role to ensure their safety while fires are raging. For…Becky Dummermuth -
- Opinion
Latest Job-Killing Policy Spells More Bad News for Californians
California’s list of public policy failures was already long, but hiking its minimum wage to $20 an hour for fast-food workers may belong at the top. The predictable fallout in lost jobs and higher prices are already being felt, and the flood of residents fleeing the state is poised to accelerate. California is already home to…EJ Antoni -
- Opinion
Outmatched or Outsourced? Why Parents’ Values Fail to Transmit to Their Children
Are left-leaning parents better at passing on their values to their children? The results of one recent study seem to indicate that they are, especially for their daughters. But there’s a better explanation, one articulated millennia ago by God’s Word. According to a 2023 poll by the Survey Center on American Life, 62% of U.S. adults raised…Joshua Arnold -
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Ohio Attorney General Breaks Down Leftist Legal ‘Trick’ to Block GOP Efforts to Protect Kids
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is not going to allow one lone judge to dictate whether the children of Ohio are protected from “transgender” surgeries and hormones, he shared in an interview with The Daily Signal. Yost asked the state’s Supreme Court to intervene after Judge Michael Holbrook issued a temporary restraining order for House Bill…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Underregulated and Unaccountable
In a recent sting operation, the FBI arrested and charged a Chicago man for knowingly distributing material on child sexual assault and boasting about sexually abusing his young nieces and nephews. The man’s arrest came less than a week before he and another man identified as his husband were set to collect their newborn son…Emma Waters -
- Opinion
California’s EV Agenda Will Require Massive and Costly Infrastructure Upgrades, Analysis Finds
California’s electric vehicle agenda will require costly upgrades to the state’s electric grid infrastructure if it is to be realized, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The state, often heralded as a national leader when it comes to EVs, is set to ban the sale of purely gas-powered passenger vehicles…Nick Pope -
- Opinion
Why Small Businesses Hate Bidenomics
If the economy is so good, why do small business leaders feel so bad? The latest Small Business Optimism Index from the National Federation of Independent Business could hardly be more depressing. The survey finds that the men and women who run our 33 million small businesses and hire more than half of American workers…Stephen Moore -
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GOP Lawmaker Bashes Dems for Making It Easier to Get Away With Trafficking Minors
California state Sen. Shannon Grove, a Republican, blasted her Democratic colleagues for weakening a bill that would make buying a child for sex a felony offense. The California bill, which Grove introduced in February, would have made soliciting a minor for sex a felony with the potential for up to four years of prison time, a…Kate Anderson -
- Opinion
The Washington Post’s 2,600-Word Love Letter to a Drag Queen
Anyone who reads The Washington Post regularly knows that, in its view, the LGBTQ community can do no wrong, that there’s no wretched excess that the fringe elements of that special-interest group can engage in that the Post won’t defend—no matter how flamboyant, distasteful, or outrageous. To the contrary, the Post is more likely than…Peter Parisi -
- Opinion
Making Sense of the Male-Female ‘Wage Gap’
What’s behind the wage gap between men and women? It has narrowed recently. In 2023, women’s median weekly wages of $1,005 equaled 84% of men’s $1,202 in weekly wages. That’s an all-time high, and a distinct uptick from a fairly steady 80% to 82% between 2004 and 2020. Yet 84% is still not 100%, even…Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
Former British PM Liz Truss Warns About Global Threat of the Left
Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss spoke Monday at The Heritage Foundation about how the United States and the United Kingdom are facing very challenging forces in the global Left, not just in terms of their extremist activists, but also in the power they hold in our institutions. (Heritage founded The Daily Signal in 2014.)…Liz Truss