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
Fact-Checking 5 Fibs From Biden’s Border Speech
For about 20 minutes on Thursday, President Joe Biden suddenly pretended to care about the crisis at our southern border that his administration caused. The Biden administration rolled out a new plan to expand the parole process for Venezuelans to Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Cubans; fast-track (many illegitimate) asylum cases at the border even more; and… -
news
Here’s Why Kevin McCarthy’s Bid for House Speaker Remains Up in Air as Conservatives Push Back
The next speaker of the House has yet to be chosen as about 20 conservative Republicans continued to oppose Republican leader Kevin McCarthy’s speakership bid Thursday, when he lost the seventh ballot early in the afternoon. “There were more conversations last night. I think that Leader McCarthy knows that he doesn’t have the votes, that… -
opinion
Torrent of Taxes Sends New Yorkers Fleeing on Southbound Expressway
How the mighty have fallen. The latest Census Bureau data show the Empire State’s population drain continues, as people flee New York in droves. From July 2021 to July 2022, 300,000 more people moved out of the state than moved in. New York had the largest population loss—in both percentage and absolute terms—experienced by any… -
opinion
Enough’s Enough. It’s Time to Take Back Our Streets From Criminals.
The streets of America are in chaos. Amidst the chaos, young people are taking advantage of the situation to loot and destroy stores, with no regard for the safety of others. Videos of these ruthless thieves have gone viral, showing them ransacking stores and taking whatever they can get their hands on. The cost of… -
opinion
Shoe Brand Crocs Sponsors Drag Fashion Show With Kids
Yet another brand has fallen to the woke agenda. RuPaul’s DragCon UK announced that the beloved American brand Crocs, famous for its comfortable casual shoes, is cosponsoring and promoting a drag show with children at an upcoming event in London. An Instagram post by RuPaul’s DragCon encouraging “all kids under 18” to report to the… -
opinion
A Little Rebellion in House Speaker’s Race Is Good Thing
Democracy is messy. Who knew? The race to become speaker of the House, as of this writing, is in the sixth round of voting, making it one of the most contentious speaker’s races in decades. Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, and many assumed that Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., would win… -
news
7 Big Fights for Speaker of the House
Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s tough climb to the speakership seems rare in the modern era, but brawls over the top House job are not uncommon historically. After voters decided which party would control the House, the elected lawmakers battled in 14 instances when electing a speaker required multiple ballots. But it was a century ago—1923—when a… -
opinion
Good Riddance to 10 of the Faces of 2022
With all due respect to the late, great Frank Sinatra, it cannot be said of 2022 that “it was a very good year.” To the contrary, to borrow from the title of a children’s book, 2022 was in many ways “a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad” year. But 2023 holds out promise to be… -
news
Abbott Says Texas Will Secure Its Border in ‘Federal Government’s Absence’
Razor wire, an expanded border wall, and law enforcement—welcome to 2023 and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plans to further secure the southern border. Abbott wrote on Twitter earlier this week, “Texas National Guard are installing additional layers of razor wire in high-traffic areas for illegal crossings at the Texas-Mexico border. They’re working around the… -
opinion
The Death of Eternal Truths and the New Paganism
Last week, Pope Benedict XVI died at the age of 95, nearly a decade after stepping down as head of the Catholic Church. His life was marked by adherence to a belief in an eternal truth above all. As he stated in a 2008 meeting with Catholic educators at the Catholic University of America, “Truth… -
news
BREAKING: Virginia AG Launches Investigation of Fairfax School Caught Withholding Students’ Merit Awards
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Wednesday that prosecutors will investigate one of the state's richest school districts and its celebrated science and tech school for “unlawful discrimination" in violation of state law. The move from Miyares, a Republican, follows concerns that Fairfax County Public Schools and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology… -
news
Round 5: Still No Speaker of the House
Editor’s note: This piece has been updated to reflect the fifth round of voting on Wednesday. Later in the day, there would be a sixth round without any candidate having enough votes to be elected. The next speaker of the House is still up in the air after the fifth round of voting on Wednesday failed… -
news
‘New York Must Stop Disarming Its Religious Citizens’ Under New Court Order
A federal court has blocked New York from enforcing a ban on the concealed carrying of firearms at houses of worship, ruling Thursday that the state law likely discriminated against religious New Yorkers and may have violated the First Amendment. The state’s Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, signed the legislation (S.51001/A.41001) in July, restricting concealed carry… -
opinion
‘60 Minutes’ Peddles Fake News About Humans Overrunning Earth
Chalk this up as “60 Minutes” hosting the worst peddler of false knowledge since Dan Rather left the set. CBS kicked off 2023 by touting “mass extinction” blather by Paul Ehrlich, the guy who’s been peddling radical and misanthropic eco-garbage since his book “The Population Bomb” in 1968. That screed began: “The battle to feed… -
news
White House Won’t Say Whether Pope Benedict, Vatican Uninvited Biden From Papal Funeral
The White House refused to divulge Tuesday whether the Vatican and the now-deceased Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had asked President Joe Biden not to attend Benedict’s funeral. The Daily Signal repeatedly pressed the White House on this point Tuesday afternoon after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the U.S. ambassador to the Holy… -
opinion
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Florida’s Transgender Bathroom Ban. Now What?
The transgender bathroom wars don’t stop for the holidays. The latest battleground is Florida, where on Dec. 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, sitting en banc, ruled that the word “sex” in educational programs means being a biological “male” or “female.” In Adams v. School Board of St. Johns County, the… -
opinion
America Has Become the Greatest Exporter of Destructive Ideas
At the present time, China is the greatest threat to world stability, Russia is the world’s premier aggressor-nation, and Islamist groups are the primary exporters of terror and (religious) totalitarianism. And, for the first time in history, America is the world’s major exporter of destructive ideas. This is hard for me to write. One of… -
news
Ron DeSantis, Sworn In as Florida Governor, Promises to Uphold ‘The Sacred Fire of Liberty’
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took the oath of office on Tuesday morning, surrounded by his wife and children, beginning his second term as governor of Florida. “Freedom lives here in our great Sunshine State of Florida,” DeSantis said Tuesday in front of Florida’s historic state Capitol, aware that the eyes of not only the… -
opinion
The Left’s Latest ‘Public Option’ Scheme to Rig Health Care Markets
While the campaign to create a health care “public option”—a government health plan designed to compete against private health insurance—may have waned in Washington, D.C., this left-wing project is very much alive in some states. Following in Washington state’s footsteps, the Colorado and Nevada legislatures have recently passed laws creating state-based public option health… -
news
White House Leaks Story on Records Requests: ‘Clearly a Planned and Coordinated Effort,’ House Republicans Say
A report on White House letters dismissing two representatives’ records requests has triggered backlash among House Republicans. The GOP Judiciary Committee said the White House leaked the story to Politico before sending the letters to Republican Reps. James Comer of Kentucky and Jim Jordan of Ohio. “Just before dawn at 4:33 a.m., the White House informed…