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
At Home and Abroad Alike, Civilization Requires Deterrence
Deterrence is the ancient ability to scare somebody off from hurting you, your friends, or your interests—without a major war. Desire peace? Then be prepared for war. Or so the Romans believed. It’s an easily understood concept in the abstract. But deterrence still remains a mystical quality in the concrete, since it is only acquired… -
opinion
Why Are Americans Fixated on Gabby Petito Case?
Unless you have no cable TV and no internet, you have likely heard about 22-year-old Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito. Petito was living the Instagram dream with her fiance, Brian Laundrie. The couple spent the past several months traveling through national parks and documenting their adventures on social media. But the picture-perfect story came to a tragic… -
opinion
‘Pay Your Fair Share’ Taxation Isn’t About Actual Fairness
President Joe Biden this week attempted to inject life into his ailing presidency by dragging out of the closet the hoariest of political cliches: “fairness” in taxation. Touting his new $3.5 trillion tax-and-spending bill, which would radically increase corporate taxes, personal income taxes, and so-called sin taxes, Biden stated, “It’s not enough just to build… -
news
Sen. Ron Johnson Grills Secretary Mayorkas About ‘Closed’ Borders Claim
Editor’s note: During a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing Tuesday, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., grilled Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the surge of illegal immigration under the Biden administration. Watch the video above, or read this lightly edited transcript: Ron Johnson: Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas, I’m putting a chart that I’ve been… -
opinion
As Secularism in America Has Increased, Freedom Has Decreased
Here’s something any honest person must acknowledge: As America has become more secular, it has become less free. Individuals can differ as to whether these two facts are correlated, but no honest person can deny they are facts. It seems to me indisputable that they are correlated. To deny this, one would have to argue… -
opinion
Democrats’ Drug Price Controls Threaten Biotech Research, Patients
There are too many dreadful provisions in Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending monstrosity to count, but one is rising to the surface as especially destructive. That would be its prescription drug price-control schemes. A study by University of Chicago economist Tomas Philipson and analyst Troy Durie concludes that the Congressional Budget Office is wrong by more… -
opinion
The Real Story of the California Recall
Forget what you hear most pundits saying about last week’s recall election that failed to unseat California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The real story is the slow—but gaining-in-speed—exodus from California to states with lower or no state taxes. This mass exit likely reduced the number of people who might have voted to oust Newsom. Then there’s… -
news
4 Reasons Reagan Should Matter to Millennials, Gen Z
Ronald Reagan warned us. In 1987, as president, Reagan stood on a stage at the Kiwanis International National Convention and said that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” To this day, Reagan’s warning is repeated among freedom-loving Americans. But the question remains whether millennials, age 25-40, and Generation Z, age 9-… -
opinion
Democrats Plot War on New Drugs
The $3.5 trillion spending orgy supported by President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Sen. Bernie Sanders includes a poison pill—almost literally. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that HR 3, called the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, would help “pay for” this fiscal incontinence by squeezing $581.6 billion from the pharmaceutical industry over the next 10 years. More than… -
opinion
Why Taiwan Matters to the World
In his recent commentary titled “Reimagining A More Resilient UN System With Taiwan In It,” Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu presented a case for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the global body. Wu said, “Taiwan’s effective response to the pandemic, its rapid capacity expansion to meet global supply chain demand, and its substantive… -
opinion
Whatever Happened to Those Pro-Democracy Protests in Cuba?
Thousands of Cubans took to the streets in July to protest the country’s communist government. But since then, two months later, we have heard very little about the pro-democracy movement in Cuba. Many of the individuals who led the protests are now in prison, says John Suarez, executive director at the Center for a Free… -
news
Democrats ‘Want People to Be Dependent on Government,’ Georgia Governor Says
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says his state remains strong economically because he opened it up for business more quickly than most other states. “They are not going to sit in their basement and lose everything that they have worked decades for,” the Republican governor said of Georgia business owners in remarks at a “Save Our… -
opinion
12 People Canceled by the Left After Expressing Conservative Views
Cancel culture runs rampant in today’s America. A 10-year-old tweet that mysteriously “resurfaces,” a past campaign donation, or even the slightest critique of any of the left’s sacred tenets seems to be enough to draw the attention of an angry mob—or even get someone fired. With more and more people being “canceled” by the left,… -
opinion
Proposal to Change Donor-Advised Funds Attempts to ‘Fix’ What Isn’t Broken
“A solution in search of a problem.” That’s the best way we’ve heard summarizing the recent proposed legislation to increase mandates and regulations for charitable giving through donor-advised funds. We are both fundraisers, with a combined 25 years in major and legacy giving for national and state-based nonprofit organizations. We also have consulted with several… -
opinion
Deep in Hiding From Taliban, Afghan Christians Cling to Faith
They take turns staying awake, praying and walking the floor while others sleep, blissfully unaware, at least for a few hours, that they are being hunted. They have no passports, no visas, and very little of what they need most of all: hope. For these Christians, in a safe house deep in Afghanistan, time is… -
news
San Francisco Mayor Goes to Nightclub Maskless, Breaks Own Mandate
San Francisco Mayor London Breed was seen maskless at a local nightclub Wednesday in violation of the city’s current mask guidance, a local news outlet reported. Videos and photos show the Democratic mayor at the Black Cat jazz club in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, along with Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza and singer-songwriter Raphael… -
news
Parent Calls Out ‘F— Police,’ ‘F— Amerikkka’ Posters in California High School Classroom
A California high school classroom displayed what an anonymous parent called “disgusting brainwashing of students with taxpayer dollars” over photos that show "F— the Police” and "F— Amerikkka” posters and Pride and Black Lives Matter flags, according to a tip provided to Parents Defending Education. The parent of a student at Alexander Hamilton High School in Los… -
news
White College Professor Tells Students She Will ‘Confront the Innate Racism Within’ Herself
A college professor apologized to her students for the privilege she benefits from as a white female, according to her syllabus obtained by Campus Reform. Crystal Duncan Lane, who teaches at Virginia Tech’s Department of Human Development and Family Science, told students in her Human Development class that she was working “on a daily basis… -
news
Amazon Reverses Ad Ban for Book Investigating BLM, Cites ‘Inaccurately Enforced’ Policies
Amazon on Thursday reversed its earlier decision to block an advertisement for a new book that is critical of the leadership of the Black Lives Matter movement, saying it had not properly enforced its own policies. “BLM: The Making of a New Marxist Revolution” is the latest book by Mike Gonzalez, a former reporter and… -
opinion
8 Things You Need to Know About Democrats’ Tax Increase Bill
Congressional Democrats this week finally unveiled the legislative text of the largest tax increase in more than 50 years. It weighs in at more than 880 pages, so it’s no wonder they have attempted to keep the details of the so-called “Build Back Better Act” under wraps. Whenever the government spends money, it spends somebody…