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
EXCLUSIVE: Kristen Clarke Met With the Southern Poverty Law Center
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Kristen Clarke, who headed up the Justice Department office that prosecuted pro-lifers for protesting abortion clinics, met with leaders at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which compares mainstream conservative and Christian groups to the Ku Klux Klan, documents suggest. The meeting may shed light on the animus that Clarke—then the DOJ's…Tyler O’Neil -
- Opinion
How Major American Law Firms Became a Tool of the Left
Judge James Ho of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently charged that the nation’s major law firms are infested with the woke ideology of the Left, infusing them with “institutional bias” and leading them to provide pro bono and other assistance on only one side of the political divide. After more than two decades in…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
What Made America Great in the Gilded Age
“We were at our richest from 1870 to 1913. That’s when we were a tariff country,” said President Donald Trump recently, and he’s not wrong. But tariffs aren’t the whole story. The genius of the Gilded Age was interstate regulatory and tax competition. That economy boomed. From 1870 to 1913, America’s gross domestic product grew…Mario Loyola -
- Opinion
Will the Baby Boomers Make America Go Bust?
In 1998, former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw published a bestselling book about Americans who came of age during the Great Depression and World War II. He called it, and them, “The Greatest Generation.” He had good reason to. While all generations must steward the nation through both good and bad times, they tend…Steve McKee -
- Opinion
California’s Collapse: How Progressive Policies Are Destroying the Golden State
Once the embodiment of the American dream, California has become a cautionary tale of failed policies and ideological excess, writes Steve Hilton, author of the new book, “Califailure: Reversing the Ruin of America’s Worst-Run State.” In an interview with The Daily Signal, Hilton, a Fox News contributor who moved to California in 2012 and has…Rob Bluey -
- Opinion
On 20th Anniversary of John Paul II’s Passing, My Reflections on Serving This Holy Man
St. Pope John Paul II passed away 20 years ago this April 2. Serving him between 1989 and 2005, first as his bodyguard and then as an adviser to the Holy See, was such a privilege. It was such a grace to know the Holy Father and be near him, that I feel duty-bound to…Mario Enzler -
- News
The Party That Woke Broke
Democrats have been wallowing in the despair of last November’s elections for months, unable—or maybe unwilling—to crawl out of the pit of public opinion they find themselves in. “It’s hard to win if you don’t know why you lost,” Axios’ Alex Thompson observed. But it’s even harder, some would say, if you know and do nothing…Suzanne Bowdey -
- Opinion
Media Ménage à Trois: NY Times Defends Its Partners at PBS, NPR
Down in the basement of the Capitol on Wednesday, I witnessed in person an episode of government accountability that upset liberal journalists. That’s because it was conservatives holding leftist “public” media networks accountable. The House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency questioned PBS CEO Paula Kerger and NPR CEO Katherine Maher about their daily deluge…Tim Graham -
- Opinion
Americans Aren’t Buying Climate Alarmist Propaganda, New Poll Shows
Considering the massive propaganda effort to brainwash Americans into believing that climate change will doom humanity if we don’t stop burning fossil fuels yesterday, it is impressive to see just how little the American public buys the narrative. A recent poll finds that Americans value energy independence, keeping car prices lower, and reducing the cost…Tyler O’Neil -
- Opinion
Team Biden’s Mistreatment of a Pliant Press Corps
Michael LaRosa was Jill Biden’s press secretary for the first 18 months of Joe Biden’s presidency, and in recent weeks he’s loosened his lips about how Team Joe mistreated a pliant press corps. In an interview with Cenk Uygur on “The Young Turks” show, LaRosa admitted: “They did bully a lot of journalists, and I…Tim Graham -
- Opinion
Who Profits When Cities Burn? ActBlue, That’s Who
What would you call an organization that collects money from the public and distributes it to organizations that fund riots that result in billions of dollars in damages, that transfer the money to bail out criminals who ultimately kill and victimize innocent Americans, that support terrorist organizations, and that pay for people that engage in…Armstrong Williams -
- Opinion
Support for the Natural Family in Africa Is Rooted in ‘White Supremacy,’ SPLC Claims
It takes a special kind of insanity to find a Klan hood beneath an African movement to protect the natural family from abortion and LGBTQ+ ideology, but that’s exactly what the Southern Poverty Law Center is claiming. The SPLC—which trades on its history of suing KKK groups into bankruptcy to smear conservative and Christian nonprofits…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
Forgoing UN, Stefanik to Resume Role in House GOP Leadership, but in What Capacity?
In the wake of Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., withdrawing from consideration to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the Republican leadership in the House is welcoming Stefanik back into the fold to help the narrow GOP majority push through important legislation. President Donald Trump withdrew Stefanik’s nomination Wednesday, saying he wanted to ensure that…George Caldwell -
- News
Lawmakers, Pro-Lifers Call for Defunding Planned Parenthood Via Reconciliation
When Toni McFadden was a senior in high school, she walked through the doors of a Planned Parenthood clinic hoping to escape her unplanned pregnancy and return to life as normal. But the abortion pills they gave her didn’t work. One month later, she experienced severe hemorrhaging owing to complications and received no help…Moira Gleason -
- News
Overcoming Bans and Blocks, XX-XY Athletics Stands Tall for Female Athletes
XX-XY Athletics celebrated Tuesday its first year on the cultural scene and its commitment to defending women’s sports. Last March, 1986 Women’s National Gymnastics Champion Jennifer Sey founded XX-XY Athletics, the first athletic apparel brand to stand up for women in sports. The company reached $1 million in sales before its eighth month, reflecting “a…R.E. Wermus -
- Opinion
A ‘Civilizational Counter-Offensive’: Josh Hammer’s Recipe to Save the West From Woke Forces
Western civilization faces a crisis of confidence, and Josh Hammer has a recipe to combat the three threats eroding its foundations. His new book, “Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West,” lays out the key civilizational challenge and finds wisdom from the Bible to combat it. “If…Tyler O’Neil -
- Opinion
Arrest of MS-13 Leader Sparks Sanctuary City Debate
In a coordinated raid in a Northern Virginia neighborhood Thursday morning, federal, state, and local law enforcement agents arrested the top East Coast leader of the MS-13 street gang. The operation struck a blow to the violent nationwide criminal organization while also implicating the role of “sanctuary cities” in increasing gang activity. U.S. Attorney General…Joe Thomas -
- Opinion
Media Laments Virginia’s Youngkin Vetoing Near-Record 157 Bills
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin likely just did the people of Virginia a favor by vetoing 157 out of the 966 bills that came across his desk after the recently ended legislative session. He also sent another 159 back to the General Assembly with amendments. Not the “record-setting” year he had last year (when he vetoed…Joe Thomas -
- Opinion
Former FBI Leader Calls for Bureau to Return to What Made It Great
The FBI finds itself in a time of great change. Over the course of its existence, the bureau has had its share of successes, but it has also seen shortfalls and questionable decision-making in its evolution. To see how the mighty FBI could stumble, we have to look no further than the circumstances surrounding how…Chris Piehota -
- Opinion
On Security Breaches and the Infamous Signal Chat
This week, all hell broke loose in the media when Jeffrey Goldberg, left-leaning editor of The Atlantic, revealed that he had been accidentally included in a group chat with the top members of the Donald Trump national security team. According to a Signal thread revealed by Goldberg, he was invited in by national security adviser…Ben Shapiro