Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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EXCLUSIVE: Biden’s Peace Corps Pushes Expanded Overseas Voting
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—To comply with an executive order from President Joe Biden, the Peace Corps pushed to make its headquarters a voter registration center, upped efforts to register U.S. citizens abroad, and moved to supply multilingual voter registration forms. The Peace Corps, a federal agency, assigns volunteers to provide services and meet needs…Fred Lucas -
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Washington Post, TikTok Target Young Women Speaking Up About Birth Control
The Washington Post and TikTok are under fire over apparent attempts to discredit stories women have been sharing about the negative effects of hormonal birth control on their physical and mental health. The Post reported Thursday that “women are getting off birth control amid [a] misinformation explosion,” referring to the onslaught of viral videos of…Mary Margaret Olohan -
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Conservative Scholars Debate Prison Abolitionists at Berkeley Conference on Crime
BERKELEY, Calif.—When scholars from the Right and Left recently met at UC Berkeley School of Law to debate what to do about surging crime, the event provided a rare opportunity to identify key philosophical and policy fault lines as Americans ponder policing and criminal justice. The conference, sponsored by Berkeley Law and The Heritage Foundation,…Jarrett Stepman -
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German Marshall Fund Wrongly Criticizes Heritage Foundation for Opposition to Exporting Divisive Cultural Agenda
In a recent issue of Foreign Policy magazine, Laura Thornton, the senior vice president for democracy at the U.S. taxpayer-funded German Marshall Fund, published a sweeping polemic attacking The Heritage Foundation, its Project 2025, and democracy itself. Project 2025 (which I have contributed to) brought together over a hundred conservative organizations to make policy suggestions…Tim Meisburger -
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Army Seeks Retirees to Come Back to Work Amid Manpower Crisis
The Army is seeking to bring back retired soldiers to fill critical manpower shortages, according to a servicewide directive published this week. The All Army Activities document describes how Army retirees can find and apply for open positions and aims to maintain a sufficient number of personnel to fill all of the Army’s authorized positions….Micaela Burrow -
- Opinion
Why These Women Chose to Have 5 or More Kids
Why do some women choose to have large families? As the American birth rate declines, academic Catherine Ruth Pakaluk decided to look at the 5% of American women who are outliers, and who have five or more children. With a colleague, she interviewed 55 of those women, and shares their reasons and experiences in her…Katrina Trinko -
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Recalled San Francisco DA Says Victims Don’t Have Rights Under the Constitution
BERKELEY, Calif.—Crime victims don’t have rights under the Constitution, former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was recalled by voters in 2022 amid an escalation of crime, said during a conference here at UC Berkeley School of Law. Boudin’s surprising comment came as part of a larger debate between the Left and Right on…Jarrett Stepman -
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‘NOT LIKELY TO HAPPEN’: Law Professor Pours Cold Water on Letitia James’ Plans to Seize Trump’s Assets
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Friday that former President Donald Trump is “not likely” to see his properties seized by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat. James filed judgments Friday against Trump and others in Westchester County, New York, where the 45th president owns a private estate in Seven Springs and the…Harold Hutchison -
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I Asked Illegal Aliens If They Knew They Were Breaking Law. Here’s What They Said.
SAN DIEGO, Calif.—Brandon says he left Cameroon on March 15 and crossed the border from Mexico into California four days later. He knows it’s illegal to cross the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry, as he did, Brandon told The Daily Signal. But, he said, he did so because the “situation in my home…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Angry Americans Muscle $400 Million Away From Pro-Trans Planet Fitness
At Planet Fitness, you can exercise everything but your right to privacy. That’s the message customers are taking to heart after an Alaskan woman had her membership revoked for complaining about a man in the women’s locker room. The gym is a “no judgment zone,” Patricia Silva was told. Well, it’s about to become a profit-free zone,…Suzanne Bowdey -
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Florida’s New Online Dashboard Displays Cost of Unrecompensed Hospital Care Provided to Illegal Aliens
Florida has launched a dashboard that reports the total cost of uncompensated health care for illegal immigrants, which currently tops $566 million. Announced on Wednesday, the interactive Hospital Patient Immigration Status Dashboard highlights “the cost of illegal immigration, which puts a strain on our health care system and taxpayers here in Florida,” the secretary of…Mary Elise Cosgray -
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AOC’s New Version of the Green New Deal
Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is reportedly planning to propose a new version of the Green New Deal, and it is loaded with provisions designed to make America’s public housing stock go green. Ocasio-Cortez, independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and other left-wing legislators are poised to launch the Green New Deal for Public Housing…Nick Pope -
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EXCLUSIVE: DC Library Sought to Hire Ex-Felon for Drag Queen Story Hour
FIRST ON DAILY SIGNAL: A District of Columbia library sought to engage a drag queen with a criminal background to perform at pride-themed Drag Story Hours for children. A staff member at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library solicited drag queen Latrice Royale, otherwise known as Timothy Wilcots, to sing and dance in drag…Mary Margaret Olohan -
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‘I Just Really Wanted My Breasts Gone’: Detransitioner Explains How She Was Duped Into Transitioning
Detransitioner Camille Kiefel says that she and other victims of transgender surgeries “have been dismissed” by doctors pushing so-called gender-affirming care. “I struggled with childhood trauma,” Kiefel told The Daily Signal’s Mary Margaret Olohan. “My best friend had been raped by her brother when I was in sixth grade.” A detransitioner is someone who…Mary Elise Cosgray -
- Opinion
The More the Feds ‘Borrow,’ the More We Pay for Mortgages, Credit Cards, Student Loans
If you think the Treasury Department borrowing trillions of dollars is a problem only for future generations, think again. The interest rates on your credit cards, student loans—and even your mortgage—are all up now because of the Treasury’s borrowing spree, and it’s costing you thousands. The runaway spending in Washington has been a problem for…EJ Antoni -
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‘Woke Kindergarten’ in California Blows Money on Odd Curriculum, Pensions
Topline: A California school spent $250,000 in federal funds to hire a teacher training service called Woke Kindergarten, but after two years student performance got even worse, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. An audit by researchers at OpenTheBooks.com revealed that almost two-thirds of employees at the low-income, underperforming Glassbrook Elementary School are making six-figure salaries. Retired…Adam Andrzejewski -
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Four Years Later: The Impact of ‘15 Days to Slow the Spread’
Four years ago, government officials told us, “Stay home!” We have “15 days to slow the spread.” Days turned into months and then years, while officials chipped away at our freedoms. I have long been wary of politicians but even I was surprised at how authoritarian many were eager to be. Some demanded police to…John Stossel -
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‘Most Terrifying Poll Result I’ve Ever Seen’: Scott Rasmussen Surveys America’s Elite 1%
When veteran pollster Scott Rasmussen surveyed a group of Americans he calls the elite 1% earlier this year, he discovered a startling number who say it’s OK to win an election by cheating. The elite 1%—individuals who make over $150,000 a year, live in densely populated areas, and have postgraduate degrees—are overwhelmingly liberal. They give…Robert B. Bluey -
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From the Perspective of the Embryo, IVF Is Not Very Pro-Life
The Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday held a hearing on in vitro fertilization and the future of reproductive rights. One witness, a female doctor from Texas, went so far as to say that she supported abortion with no restrictions. On the other hand, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., highlighted the need to have strong regulations…Emma Waters -
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Americans Flee Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Chicago, and Philadelphia
There is one competition where Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia aren’t beating other major locations in this country. It is in persuading people to stay there. The Census Bureau this month released its estimates on the populations for each American county as of July 1, 2023. In a release about this data, the…Terence Jeffrey