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
‘Public Safety Not Something You Can Take for Granted,’ Says ‘Criminal (In)Justice’ Author
Crime is getting worse in America because of the eroding of the criminal justice system, says Rafael Mangual, author of the book “Criminal (In)Justice: What the Push for Decarceration and Depolicing Gets Wrong and Who It Hurts Most.” In a conversation with the president of The Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, on “The Kevin Roberts Show”…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
- Opinion
LGBT Left Demonizes NY Times for Rare Occasion It Didn’t Toe Party Line
If you need a table-pounding laugh, check out the radical-Left activists who have accused The New York Times of horrible right-wing bias. GLAAD, which is best described as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Debate, sent a truck around Times Square claiming the Times “prioritizes anti-LGBTQ voices over the voices of transgender people and medical…Tim Graham -
- Opinion
The ‘Great Awokening’ Is Transforming Science and Medicine
The “great awokening” touches every elite institution in America, mostly radiating out from our compromised system of higher education. One of the most disturbing and illuminating aspects of this cultural revolution is how much it is transforming science and medicine. A video of medical students at Columbia University reciting an updated version of the Hippocratic…Jarrett Stepman -
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Raffensperger Calls on Georgia Legislature to Plug Loophole on Private Funding of Elections
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the state legislature should close loopholes on private money funding election offices. “It would be a legislative remedy. We are in session now, so it is something they can address,” Raffensperger told The Daily Signal on Thursday. “We have some election bills right now that are in…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
39 States Mandated Masks. Now a New Study Shows Masks Don’t Work.
So, the science wasn’t settled. A new Cochrane Review analysis of masking studies finds that when it comes to an entire population, there’s no evidence to support that masking reduces spread of a disease. Or as the lead author of the analysis, Tom Jefferson, put it in an interview with journalist Maryanne DeMasi, “There’s still…Katrina Trinko -
- Opinion
Presidents Day Reflections on George Washington’s American Character
Today, we should come to praise the man who could have been Caesar, in hopes that his deeds will never be buried, but remain first in the hearts of his posterity. For, on this President’s Day, friends, Americans, countrymen, we commemorate not just the birth, but also the character, of George Washington. Character was a…Brenda Hafera -
- Opinion
Portland’s Problems Are No Mystery. The Problem is Ideology.
“What’s the matter with Portland?” That was the question asked in a lengthy and interesting report in The Los Angeles Times. The piece was enlightening in the sense that it did capture the mentality that has led to the city’s awesome dysfunction. It highlights how despite that dysfunction—rising crime, rampant open-air drug use, and many…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
How to Make Journalism Less Trustworthy—in One Problematically Easy Lesson
Journalism is on a suicide mission. As America’s mistrust of media lies near all-time lows, my profession’s powers-that-be are doubling down on the partisan, activist reporting that has poisoned our business and the nation’s politics. In a sign of how out of touch these industry bigwigs are with objective reality, they are doing it all in…J. Peder Zane -
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Foundation That Denied Grants to Organizations Because They Had White CEOs Changes Tune After Daily Signal Report
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation revised the eligibility for its three-year, $300,000 grant to advance “healthy food equity" after The Daily Signal reported on the program's stringent race-based limitations. Under the original rules, some organizations that employ a majority-nonwhite staff and have a majority-nonwhite board of directors were automatically disqualified from the grant because…Tyler O’Neil -
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The Results Are in For Georgia’s ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ Election Integrity Bill: Raffensperger Breaks Them Down
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger argues that the strong midterm election turnout in 2022 vindicates his state’s 2021 election law from the smears that it represented “Jim Crow 2.0.” “We proved that Georgia does not have voter suppression. It’s easy to vote. It’s secure to vote,” Raffensperger, the state’s top election official, told…Fred Lucas -
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EXCLUSIVE: St. Mary’s College Says Biological Sex Messaging Does ‘Not Align’ With Its Mission
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL: Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, denied the foundation of a Turning Point USA chapter, according to an email from the dean of students, because Turning Point USA’s messaging on biological sex does “not align” with the Catholic college’s mission. Claire Bettag, a sophomore student from Chicago, pushed back…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Rush Remembered: Longtime Limbaugh Listener Looks Back on Second Anniversary of Talk Radio Titan’s Passing
Today, Feb. 17, marks the second anniversary of the death of talk radio legend Rush Limbaugh, who saved the AM dial from demise with his pioneering national conservative talk radio program. For more than 30 years, Limbaugh informed and entertained millions of fans with his keen political insights and irreverent humor that skewered the Left….Peter Parisi -
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‘Historic’: Board Member Reveals His Vision for New College of Florida Overhaul
New College of Florida needs a reorientation away from diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives back to its original mission as Florida’s premier liberal arts honors college, according to Matthew Spalding, dean of Hillsdale College’s Van Andel School of Government and a trustee of the Florida college. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, appointed Spalding to…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
- Opinion
So-Called Inflation Reduction Act’s Bait-and-Switch: IRS to Crack Down on Waitresses’ Underreported Tips
It’s tax season, and the IRS has a new $80 billion slush fund at its disposal, thanks to the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law in August. The White House and Treasury officials told us this infusion of cash was necessary to enable the IRS to go after rich tax evaders and…Preston Brashers -
- News
Republican Lawmakers Visit Southern Border, Tell Mayorkas to ‘Do Your Damn Job’
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited the southern border Thursday, his fourth trip in two years. “I promise you this: The new majority in Congress, we’re going to fight to fix this problem,” McCarthy said of the border crisis during a press conference on Arizona’s border with Mexico. Freshman House Republicans Juan Ciscomani of…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
America’s Pop Culture Is Stagnating. Here’s Why That’s a Problem.
Americans seem to be stuck in a cultural rut. In 1981, a mere 16% of the most popular movies in the country were sequels, spinoffs, or remakes of other films. In 2019, that number shot up to 80%. Just this week, multiple outlets reported that Mattel’s Barney, the purple dinosaur from the 1990s, is getting…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
Debunking Biden’s Malarkey: 7 Ways He Added $6 Trillion to Deficits
President Joe Biden has a long, well-documented history of telling tall tales. Accordingly, it was not a surprise that his State of the Union address Feb. 7 included many misleading and inaccurate claims. Although a group of experts dissected the speech in real time, one line in particular is worth rebutting at length: In the…David Ditch -
- Opinion
James Clapper Can’t Stop Lying
In an interview with The Washington Post’s “fact-checker,” former National Intelligence Director James Clapper contends that the news outlet Politico misled the public about a letter he and 50 other former intel officials signed during the 2020 presidential campaign, warning that the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story could be Russian deception. “There was…David Harsanyi -
- Opinion
Americans Die When Merit No Longer Matters
A recent epidemic of airline near misses deserves both attention and reflection. In mid-December, a San Francisco-bound United Airlines Boeing 777-200 airliner suddenly dived just a little over a minute after taking off from Maui, Hawaii. The airliner lost more than half its altitude and came within 800 feet of crashing into the Pacific Ocean…Victor Davis Hanson -
- Opinion
Sarah Sanders Shows Conservatives the Right Way to Communicate
In the 1968 presidential campaign, third-party candidate George Wallace, the once and future governor of Alabama, proclaimed: “There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the Democrat and Republican parties.” That might or might not have been entirely true even back then, 55 years ago, but it’s certainly not true today in 2023. The political…Peter Parisi