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
Attention LA County District Attorney: Where’s the Justice for Murder Victim Michelle Avan?
Michelle Avan, a Los Angeles bank executive, was tortured and beaten to death, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend. He faces murder and first-degree robbery charges that, without so-called special circumstances, would allow him, if convicted, to serve less than 10 years. But Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon refuses to permit any special circumstances charges… -
opinion
Why Did US Declassify Size of Its Nuclear Stockpile?
The State Department declassified the total number of nuclear warheads in the U.S. stockpile on Tuesday, the first time since 2017. According to the announcement, the U.S. has 3,750 total nuclear weapons—a decrease of 72 from 2017. To be clear, the U.S. does not deploy all 3,750 warheads on its delivery systems launched from air,… -
news
Because of Political Differences, Sanders Refuses to Sign Statement Condemning Sinema Bathroom Protesters
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., opted not to support a joint statement condemning protesters who followed Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., into a bathroom because the condemnation did not rebuke Sinema’s moderate political views. The decision was revealed in an email chain first reported by Axios. The leaked emails emphasize the division between Democrats’ moderate and left wings as they… -
opinion
Is It OK for Activists to Corner Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in Restroom to Demand Her Vote?
Pro-amnesty activists followed Sen. Kyrsten Sinema into a ladies’ room at Arizona State University over the weekend to demand that she support fellow Democrats’ $3.5 trillion social spending bill. Video of the intruders lecturing Sinema, D-Ariz., from outside a closed stall door Sunday—while other women went about their personal business—quickly went viral. “Yesterday’s behavior was… -
opinion
Don’t Be Tricked Into Allowing Big Tech to Weaponize ‘Misinformation’
Tuesday’s Senate hearing with Facebook “whistleblower” Frances Haugen was part of a slick, well-produced rollout of a former Facebook employee, complete with a prerecorded and well-timed “expose” on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” harmonious media cheerleading, and paid Democratic consultants. With this razzle-dazzle, the witness and her handlers want the audience to use the pretext of child… -
opinion
How Our Children’s Addiction to Technology Hurts the Country
Parents, wake up! Your children are being taken from you without you realizing. Think for a second about the last family dinner you had with your son or daughter. What were they doing? Were they present in the conversation, enjoying the meal with you? Or were their heads stuck in their phones, giggling every now… -
opinion
Adding Dental Benefits to Medicare Is a Solution in Search of a Problem
The massive government expansion bill that congressional Democrats are currently trying to enact includes provisions that would add new dental benefits to Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors. Yet that might prove to be an unpopular move once seniors realize that the proposed changes could leave them with worse dental coverage than they… -
news
7 States Push Noncitizen Voting, 4 States Say No
Litigation in Vermont has highlighted the expanding trend of noncitizen voting, which two cities in that state recently allowed. Municipalities in California and Maryland similarly allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. Other jurisdictions are considering doing so. So far, these efforts to allow noncitizens to vote don’t apply to national elections for president or… -
opinion
What If Political ‘Polarization’ Isn’t the Big Problem?
The University of Virginia Center for Politics this week released a poll surveying Americans’ feelings about their political opponents. According to the poll, 80% of Biden voters and 84% of Trump voters believed that elected officials of the opposite party present a “clear and present danger to American democracy”; 78% of Biden voters believed that… -
opinion
In Afghanistan Evacuation, Air Force Once Again Rises to an Enormous Challenge
The air evacuation out of Afghanistan was, in a word, amazing. Despite immense obstacles, U.S. Air Force airmen were able to rise to the challenge and evacuate 124,000 U.S. personnel and refugees out of Kabul following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. While you may be thinking it was unprecedented for an Air Force that just… -
opinion
And Jews Will Still Vote Democrat
There is almost nothing Democrats can do to damage America or Israel that would change most American Jews’ political leanings. The latest example took place just last week. A college student speaking to Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, condemned America for supporting Israel, and charged Israel with committing “ethnic genocide” against Palestinians. Harris’ said,… -
opinion
We Hear You: Amazon’s Scary Reasoning for Rejecting a Book Ad
Editor's note: The Daily Signal's audience was critical of Amazon for blocking advertising for Heritage Foundation scholar Mike Gonzalez's book on Black Lives Matter for several days before allowing the ad after concluding employees incorrectly applied standards. A sampling of your response leads off today's dip into the mailbag at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal:… -
opinion
‘Build Back Better’ Plan Puts in Place a Government Option and Sets a Path to Single-Payer
As negotiations over the staggering $3.4 trillion “Build Back Better” plan price tag continue to raise concern, the health policy agenda put forth in the plan is equally alarming. At first glance, some might argue the Build Back Better plan takes a more modest approach on health care by avoiding the inclusion of a full-blown,… -
opinion
Why We Don’t Need ‘Human Infrastructure’
Self-styled progressive Democrats demand that Congress pass a “human infrastructure” package that would provide funding for “free” college and preschool, alongside other social agenda items. Jon, a man whose story I know, would have called it a “government package.” Jon, who is middle-aged, had a HUD housing voucher and food stamp benefits, and was on… -
opinion
Why Hispanic Heritage Month Shouldn’t Be a Thing
We’re in the first week of Hispanic Heritage Month, yet another 30 days of identity-focused celebration, following on the heels of Black History Month in February and Gay Pride Month in June. But although the ubiquity of the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” might make it seem that they’ve always been there, Heritage Foundation senior fellow… -
news
Noncitizen Voting in Vermont Part of Democrats’ ‘Long Game’
Noncitizens will be able to vote in two Vermont cities as part of a growing national trend, unless lawsuits prevent new laws from taking effect. The cities of Montpelier, with about 7,375 residents, and Winooski, with about 7,335, both will allow noncitizens to vote in local elections for offices such as mayor, city council, and… -
opinion
What Needs to Happen Now That Arizona Election Audit Over
Editor’s note: Discrepancies and other problems uncovered by the Arizona Senate’s audit of the presidential election in the state’s largest county, Maricopa, were the topic of a Sept. 27 appearance by Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, on Newsmax’s “American Agenda.” “Election officials in Arizona should not simply dismiss this audit [and]… -
opinion
President’s ‘Word as a Biden’ Isn’t Worth Much, His Record Shows
When President Joe Biden wants you to believe something he’s about to say—really, really wants you to believe it—he prefaces it with the phrase, “I give you my word as a Biden.” He peppers his public statements with it, puts it in his tweets, and holds it up as some sort of gold standard for… -
news
Biologically Male Athletes Have Competitive Advantage Over Women, Sports Group’s Study Finds
Biologically male athletes have unfair advantages over women, a report released Thursday from the Sports Councils’ Equality Group found. The Sports Councils’ Equality Group found that there are “retained” differences in an average woman’s strength, stamina, and physique, compared with the average transgender woman “with or without testosterone suppression.” The report concluded that “the inclusion of transgender… -
opinion
LinkedIn Bans Geologist for Climate Change Posts: ‘This Type of Content Is Not Allowed’
Greg Wrightstone, a geologist and expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has posted content on LinkedIn for years. It would often spark discussions and debates among his followers—and the occasional trolls. That changed last month. Wrightstone, who serves as executive director of the CO2 Coalition, says he was banned from LinkedIn for…