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
Trump’s Attorney Makes Swiss Cheese Out of Michael Cohen’s Testimony, Raising Questions of Perjury
Former President Donald Trump’s defense attorney rebutted Michael Cohen’s testimony during a brutal cross-examination Thursday, which has legal commentators raising the possibility Cohen again committed perjury. Defense attorney Todd Blanche confronted Cohen on his past lies under oath, including to Congress and a federal judge, asking him whether he took the same oath before testifying… -
news
DOJ’s Kristen Clarke Celebrates Prison Time for Pro-Life Activists
The Justice Department’s Kristen Clarke issued a statement this week celebrating news that seven pro-life activists would spend time in prison for attempting to stop abortions from taking place. Clarke, who heads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and is responsible for enforcing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, painted the pro-life activists… -
opinion
Educational Freedom: The Overlooked Answer to Chronic Absenteeism
Schools across the country are struggling to get students to show up reliably. The best estimates suggest more than 1 in 4 American students are chronically absent. That’s double the rate in 2019, when absenteeism was already a serious problem. School superintendents have resorted to pleading with families on Facebook Live, bribing students with field… -
opinion
SOCIETAL ROT, Part 4: Nonprosecution of Retail Theft Gutting Urban Centers
Fourth in a five-part series. Read part 1 here, part 2 here, and part 3 here. Societal rot is a choice. Do you think people have a right to their property? Of course. Do you believe that businesses have a right to charge people for their merchandise? Of course. Do city residents without cars rely on stores in… -
opinion
What Stands Between US Citizens and the American Dream Today
Is the American dream a feasible aspiration anymore? Housing prices and interest rates are up, making it almost impossible for young people to afford to buy a home. Fertility rates continue to reach historic lows. These signs point to the decay of the American dream. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is failing to address the challenges… -
opinion
THE WPATH TAPES: Behind-Scenes Recordings Reveal What Top Gender Doctors Really Think About Sex-Change Procedures
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, or WPATH, is the leading authority in the field of gender medicine. Its guidance is routinely used by top medical associations in the U.S. and abroad, while its standards of care inform insurance companies’ approach to coverage policies. But behind closed doors, top WPATH doctors discussed, and at times… -
opinion
How I Rediscovered My Love of Acting on the Set of ‘Reagan’
When I was offered the role of Ronald Reagan’s longtime confidant Edwin Meese in the upcoming film “Reagan,” playing opposite Dennis Quaid as the 40th president, I was excited. I asked our producer, Mark Joseph, if it would be all right if I reached out to Meese and he replied, “We can set that up.” I was pleasantly surprised and… -
opinion
Fix Social Security With Ownership, Not More Government
The trustees for Social Security have just issued their annual report. And, as we have learned annually over recent years, the system cannot meet its obligations. According to this latest report, the Social Security system will not be able to meet its obligations to retirees by 2035. In 2035, the system will be adequate to… -
opinion
Censorship: A Global Pandemic
“Palestine will be free!” chant the protesters. “From the river to the sea!” Some say that’s a call for genocide—another Holocaust—and elimination of Israel and all Jews. So, should the chant be illegal? The House of Representatives just voted to make it illegal at universities. Both Republicans and Democrats voted for the bill. In Canada,… -
news
Struggling to Keep Job, FDIC Chair Known for Berating Staff Humbled at Capitol
The nation’s embattled chief regulator of federal banks, identified in an independent audit as easily angered and quick to berate employees, deliberately spoke softly and measuredly Wednesday on Capitol Hill as he fended off calls for his resignation. Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., explained, apologized, and took responsibility after the audit… -
opinion
Crime Is Rising. Expert John Lott Explains Why.
While many in the media have attempted to downplay rising crime in America, noted author and economist John Lott Jr. says a majority of the public is alarmed about it and rightly so. Lott wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal about America’s crime rate, contending that “[t]he decline in reported crimes is a function… -
news
DC Holds Training Sessions for Noncitizens to Vote
An agency of the District of Columbia held a training session last month to teach illegal immigrants and other noncitizens how to vote, according to documents obtained by the watchdog group Judicial Watch. News of the training session held by the local government in the nation’s capital comes as House Republicans push a bill—with the… -
news
18 States Fight Federal Trans Agenda on Pronouns, Bathrooms
In response to new federal rules on pronouns and bathrooms based on gender identity, 18 state attorneys general are suing the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lawsuit, led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, a Republican, was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. “This end-run around our constitutional… -
opinion
Charge of ‘Genocide’ Is Blood Libel of Our Time
In medieval Europe, Christians who hated Jews spread the lie that Jews kidnap Christian children, slaughter them, and use their blood to bake matzos for Passover. This lie became known as “the Blood Libel,” probably the greatest libel in history. Over the course of many centuries, Jews were tortured and killed, often by being burned… -
opinion
SOCIETAL ROT, Part 2: In & Out Burger Restaurant a Casualty of Prosecutor’s Failures
Second in a five-part series. Read part 1 here. Societal rot is a choice. The In-N-Out Burger chain was begun in California in 1948 in the Baldwin Park area of Los Angeles and has expanded to more than 400 eateries in eight states and 287 cities. Until March 24, the company had never closed a… -
opinion
BASED: Frat Boys Cause a Sensation by Defending Old Glory
As anti-Israel rioters occupy college campuses and harass Jewish students in the name of supporting Palestine, brave young men are standing up to them, rallying around the American flag and the national anthem in counterprotest. This patriotic—or, as conservative Gen Zers might say, “based”—backlash may set a new tone as America moves from a destructive… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: DOJ’s Kristen Clarke Asked Ex-Husband to Say She Wasn’t an Abuser During Confirmation Process, Ex Alleges
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The Justice Department’s Kristen Clarke allegedly reached out to her ex-husband Reginald Avery in May 2021, he told The Daily Signal, asking him for a statement saying that she was not a domestic abuser during a confirmation process where she did not disclose her past arrest. The revelation is significant given… -
opinion
Actor Steve Buscemi Assaulted in New York. Here’s How the Big Apple Became Sucker Punch City.
Editor’s note: Actor Steve Buscemi was the victim of an assault on Wednesday, according to his publicist. “Steve Buscemi was assaulted in Mid-Town Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city. He is ok and appreciates everyone’s well wishes, though incredibly sad for everyone that this has happened to while also walking… -
opinion
Someone’s Going to Have to Pay a Lot for Your Social Security
In just nine years, the oldest Gen Xers will reach Social Security’s normal retirement age of 67. But they will have a rude awakening when they learn that the program’s trust fund is empty, leaving it able to pay out only as much in benefits as it takes from the paychecks of those then working…. -
opinion
SOCIETAL ROT, Part 1: Businesses Destroyed by Rampant Crime
This is the first of a five-part series. The iconic Macy’s department store on Union Square in the heart of San Francisco is closing because of rampant theft and the societal rot that have infected the city. The massive 400,000-square-foot flagship building, which anchors an entire side of Union Square, has been in business for…