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

    The Troubling Goals of the Black Lives Matter Movement

    Politicians and various social justice groups have long used labels that have nothing to do with the real intent of legislation, or an organization, to dupe the public. But, to paraphrase Shakespeare, a rose by any other name is still a rose. Numerous “civil rights” bills have been passed by Congress over the years that…
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  • opinion

    Plunge in Investment, Production, and Consumption Requires Smart Reopening, Not More ‘Stimulus’

    This week’s gross domestic product report painted a stark picture; namely, a historic plunge in the production of goods, provision of services, and private investment. The nation’s economy shrank at a 32.9% annualized rate. That marks an actual decline of 9.5% from earlier this year. Meanwhile, massive government transfer payments funded by borrowing and printing…
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  • opinion

    Anti-Americanism: The New Anti-Semitism

    What are the two most hated countries in the world? America and Israel. Who hates both America and Israel? The left (and Islamists). And why is that? Why does the left (not liberals, the left) hate America and Israel? In “Why the Jews?: The Reason for Antisemitism,” a book I co-authored with Rabbi Joseph Telushkin…
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  • opinion

    Identity Politics Divides America

    America’s founding creed is “e pluribus unum.” “Out of many, one.” That is the motto that appears on the seal of the House of Representatives. The greatness of America comes from the melting of many cultures and ethnic backgrounds into one American family. Neither Congress, nor this nation, can function when it is divided along…
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  • opinion

    Our Summer of Cultural Suicide

    Cultural suicide used to be a popular diagnosis of why things suddenly just quit. Historians such as Oswald Spengler and Arnold Toynbee cited social cannibalism to explain why once-successful states, institutions, and cultures simply died off. Their common explanation was that the arrogance of success ensures lethal consequences. Once elites became pampered and arrogant, they…
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  • opinion

    What’s Really Going on in Portland, Explained

    Riots have been ongoing in Portland for 62 consecutive days. What’s really going on? Should federal forces withdraw? Why hasn’t Portland law enforcement been able to get this situation under control? Is it correct to characterize the violence we have seen occurring in Portland as a “myth,” as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler did…
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  • news

    The Heritage Foundation Releases New ‘Mandate for Leadership’

    The Heritage Foundation on Thursday released the 2020 edition of its annual “Mandate for Leadership,” a blueprint of conservative public policy suggestions.  “The Heritage team’s all-in effort to create these critical tools is something I am very proud of,” said Heritage Foundation President Kay C. James, adding: The Reagan administration adopted nearly half of ‘Mandate…
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  • opinion

    The Left’s Willingness to Tolerate Violence Should Frighten All Americans

    “Mostly peaceful.” So goes the characterization of demonstrations that have routinely turned into looting and rioting for months on end, from Portland to Seattle to New York to Los Angeles. “Protesters in California set fire to a courthouse, damaged a police station and assaulted officers after a peaceful demonstration intensified,” read one recent ABC News…
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  • opinion

    Problematic Women: Transgender Movement Seduces Teenage Girls

    A disturbing new trend has emerged among teenage girls. Abigail Shrier, author of “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters,” says some groups of young female friends are making the decision together that they’re transgender.  The teenage girls begin taking hormones and some receive physically altering surgeries, often before they’re legally allowed to drive…
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  • opinion

    Even With Removing Margaret Sanger’s Name, Planned Parenthood Is Still Influenced by Racist Founder

    One of Planned Parenthood’s largest abortion affiliates has finally disavowed Planned Parenthood’s founder for “her racist legacy” and her “connections to the eugenics movement.” However, this symbolic bowing to the far left’s “cancel culture” doesn’t change the fact that the organization is still influenced by her inhumane beliefs. Planned Parenthood of Greater New York is…
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  • news

    4 Key Points as Big Tech CEOs Testify on Capitol Hill

    Republicans and Democrats hammered Big Tech CEOs during a House hearing Wednesday, although for different reasons.  Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Tim Cook of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, and Sundar Pichai of Google testified via the internet on free speech concerns before the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on antitrust, commercial, and administrative law.  “Prior to…
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  • opinion

    Second House ‘Minibus,’ With $1 Trillion Onboard, Careens Off Road Into a Fiscal, Policy Wreck

    The House of Representatives will likely vote later this week on H.R. 7617, a 1,165-page behemoth that would spend more than $1 trillion in taxpayers’ money and put a raft of troubling policies into place. The bill is what’s called a “minibus,” one that would fund the majority of federal government activity, including the departments…
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  • opinion

    Barr Rightfully Defends Federal Response to Dangerous Rioting, as House Democrats Attack Him

    In testimony Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr justifiably pushed back hard against confrontational and rude Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee who appeared intent on scoring political points by shouting over him as he explained the Justice Department response to riots across the country. Committee members got something else as well from the attorney general: a much-needed…
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  • opinion

    What’s Behind ‘The Plot to Change America’

    How have identity politics,  victimhood, and identitarian division contributed to the destruction of America? How can this ideology be rebuffed? Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation, joins The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss his new book, “The Plot to Change America.” We also…
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  • opinion

    Is Racism Responsible for Today’s Black Problems?

    I doubt whether any American would defend the police treatment of George Floyd that led to his death. But many Americans are supporting some of the responses to Floyd’s death—rioting, looting, wanton property destruction, assaults on police, and other kinds of mayhem by both whites and blacks. The pretense is that police conduct stands as…
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  • opinion

    Are Lockdowns Necessary? What Data From 10 Countries Show

    A new Heritage Foundation special report analyzes the COVID-19 responses of 10 countries, with varying levels of economic freedom, to better understand which policies might have been more effective than others. Here’s what the report found. The 10 countries we studied have taken vastly different approaches to handling COVID-19 with varying degrees of success. >>>…
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  • opinion

    Memo to ‘Anti-Racists’: Hard Work, Politeness Aren’t Products of White Supremacy

    In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests over police brutality, interest in “anti-racist” education has exploded among educators and advocates. The case that educators should seek to combat racism seems self-evident. What’s less clear is how the admirable cause of “anti-racism” is fueling, in some corners, the inclination to…
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  • news

    Minneapolis Communities Form Watch Groups, Build Barricades to Fight Crime Surge

    Communities in Minneapolis have established community watch groups—some consisting of armed individuals—to protect residents, with one community even erecting barricades in response to increasing crime levels, according to The Wall Street Journal. The city has seen a major surge in violent crime since the death of George Floyd, according to the Star Tribune, who died on…
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  • opinion

    A Brave Baseball Player Stands Up to Black Lives Matter Agenda

    If fans flipped on their TVs hoping for an escape from the madness of 2020, the return of Major League Baseball wasn’t it. Americans who tuned into Friday’s season openers, desperate for a return to something normal, were forced to witness another protest: the players’. In some ballparks, like the Washington Nationals’, the politically-charged messaging…
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  • opinion

    America: Still the Land of Opportunity for All

    If we’ve learned one thing from the demonstrations and riots that followed the death of George Floyd in police custody, it’s that Americans, particularly younger Americans, don’t appreciate the great history of their country. It’s been a team effort to get into this situation. Teachers, schools, universities, even former first lady Michelle Obama, who said…
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