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
Census Bureau Admits Overcounting 7 Blue States, Just 1 Red State
In a shocking report, the U.S. Census Bureau recently admitted that it overcounted the populations of eight states and undercounted the populations of six states in the 2020 census. All but one of the states overcounted is a blue state, and all but one of the undercounted states is red. Those costly errors will distort congressional representation…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Inflation Reduction Act Is the Problem, Not the Solution
A central pillar of the just-passed Inflation Reduction Act is $80 billion going to the IRS to hire some 87,000 new agents, doubling the current force, to chase down U.S. taxpayers who allegedly are not meeting their tax obligations. The rationale is we have a large national budget deficit—that is, government is bringing in less…Star Parker -
- Opinion
Left Pushes Radical Sex Ed Curriculum
The school board for Wauwatosa, Wisconsin will consider a “Curriculum Revision proposal” to radically reshape its “Human Growth and Development” curriculum (essentially, sex ed) into a tool for radical, gender ideology indoctrination. A Human Growth and Development committee comprised of “parents, teachers, school administrators, pupils, health care professionals, members of the clergy, and other residents of the…Joshua Arnold -
- News
3 Previous Presidential Records Act Controversies
Although an FBI raid on the home of a former president had been unprecedented until this month, clashes over compliance with a law called the Presidential Records Act are nothing new. The 1978 law, signed by President Jimmy Carter, was in response to fallout from the Watergate scandal, when former President Richard Nixon tried to…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
The Democrat Push to Redefine Infertility
The Democrats continue to weaponize the administrative state, from the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago to the vast expansion of the Internal Revenue Service. Shortly after Congress voted, with no Republican support, to expand the IRS by 87,000 new employees, Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Judy Chu of California introduced a bill to use the IRS…Emma Waters -
- Opinion
Was Iran Behind Attempt to Kill Salman Rushdie in America?
The shocking attempt to murder writer Salman Rushdie last Friday in New York wasn’t just a criminal attack on the author but probably also an Iranian-inspired (and possibly Iranian-directed) act of terrorism. Rushdie, after publishing the controversial 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses,” was targeted for death in a fatwa (or Islamic edict) issued in February…James Phillips -
- Opinion
‘I Was Totally Dying’: Afghan Interpreter Recalls Chaotic US Withdrawal
Monday, Aug. 15, marked one year since the Taliban reclaimed Afghanistan after 20 years of war and bloodshed. The New York Times reported that upward of 300,000 Afghans helped U.S. efforts in Afghanistan over those years. On this episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast,” Aziz, an Afghan interpreter whose full name is being withheld by…Samantha Aschieris -
- Opinion
Soros’ Claim About Leftist Prosecutors Is Big Lie
George Soros must be feeling the heat of rising crime rates. The leftist billionaire recently penned an opinion column in The Wall Street Journal explaining why he financially supports progressive prosecutors. Cloaked in platitudinous language devoid of substance, Soros asserts that “reform-minded prosecutors” have an agenda that promotes safety and justice and are “popular and…Zack Smith -
- Opinion
The Atlantic’s Catholic Fearmongering
I had no idea that when I walk my dog, rosary in hand, I’m wielding an “extremist symbol.” Yet according to a recent article in The Atlantic, I might as well be brandishing a swastika or other hateful symbol. “The rosary has acquired a militaristic meaning for radical-traditional (or ‘rad trad’) Catholics,” writes Daniel Panneton….Katrina Trinko -
- Opinion
God Still Isn’t Dead
The cover of Time magazine dated April 8, 1966, asked readers: “Is God Dead?” In the 56 years since, so-called experts have proclaimed the impending death of religion and of God in American society. Yet despite their yearly doomsday predictions for God, he still is alive and well in America. All that has changed are…Timothy Goeglein -
- Opinion
The Mar-a-Lago Raid: What Happened and What’s Next
Well, it was quite a week! On Aug. 8, roughly 30 federal agents executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida home of former President Donald Trump – an unprecedented action. While Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray have acknowledged approving the filing of the search warrant application–which was approved by a…John G. Malcolm -
- Opinion
Inflation Reduction Act Shows Far Left’s Extremism and Elitism
Last Friday, the House passed the misleadingly named “Inflation Reduction Act,” a massive tax and spend bill that illustrates just how extreme and out of touch the left has become. The vote was along party lines, as it was in the Senate, with no Republicans voting for the bill. As American families are struggling with…Daren Bakst -
- News
‘Chilling Effect’: After Being Targeted by IRS in 2013, Conservative Leader Worried About 87,000 New IRS Agents
Jenny Beth Martin, a founder of Tea Party Patriots, warns that the skyrocketing number of Internal Revenue Service agents under the Biden administration could herald the return of a politicized tax agency targeting conservatives. “I said back then, if they’re not held accountable, other bureaucrats will think that they are able to abuse the law…Douglas Blair -
- News
‘Humanitarian Tragedy’: 1 Year After Taliban Captured Kabul
Today, Aug. 15, marks one year since the Taliban captured Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, effectively handing the country to the terrorist organization and washing away 20 years of progress in the region. As the Taliban approached the city, former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani abandoned his countrymen and days later resurfaced in the United Arab Emirates with…Samantha Aschieris -
- Opinion
Once Champions of Working Class, Journalists Now Represent America’s Elite
Just when it seemed that confidence in America’s news media couldn’t get any worse, last month Gallup reported new record lows. “Just 16% of U.S. adults now say they have ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of confidence in newspapers and 11% in television news,” Gallup’s Megan Brenan wrote. “Both readings are down five…Robert B. Bluey -
- Opinion
IRS and Allies Downplay 87,000-Person Hiring Binge
In 2021, the IRS issued a report that described what the tax-collecting agency could do with nearly $80 billion in new funding, if only Congress would pass the American Families Plan. The Internal Revenue Service was making the case that the Biden administration’s plan to supercharge funding of the IRS would reap dividends for the…Preston Brashers -
- Opinion
Dana Milbank’s Uncivil War on GOP ‘Destructionists’
Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank was sounding the alarm in multiple national TV and radio interviews: The rage-filled tone of pro-Trump commentary after the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago was going to lead to violence, possibly catastrophic violence, like the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995, which killed 168 Americans. In…Tim Graham -
- Opinion
IRS Hiring Spree Is Biggest Expansion of Police State in American History
The Democrats’ new reconciliation bill isn’t just going to be the largest-ever expansion of a government agency. It’s going to be the largest expansion of the domestic police state in American history. Only a statist could believe that a federal government, which already collects $4.1 trillion every year—or $12,300 for every citizen—supposedly needs 80 battalions…David Harsanyi -
- Opinion
American Stasi
Monday’s shocking images of police sirens blaring outside Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s magnificent Palm Beach, Florida, estate, will not soon be forgotten. Much has already been said and written about the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago that precipitated those sirens: “outrageous,” “unprecedented,” a “crossing of the Rubicon” moment. Regrettably, all of that is true. The…Josh Hammer -
- Opinion
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania Are America’s Willing and Like-Minded Allies
Following in Lithuania’s decisive footsteps, Estonia and Latvia have just forsaken China’s decade-old initiative for engaging with Central and Eastern European countries. In 2012, China launched its so-called 17+1 Initiative, an attempt to expand its business and investment opportunities in 17 countries in Eastern and Central Europe. Billing the initiative as a diplomacy vehicle for…Anthony B. Kim