Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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news
Communist Emblem Spray Painted on North Carolina WWII Memorial
A communist symbol was reportedly spray painted on a World War II memorial in Charlotte, North Carolina, over the weekend. A hammer and sickle was emblazoned across the stone monument in red and yellow, as well as the words “Glory to the day of heroism June 19, 1986,” according to Fox News. Both are references to… -
news
Rioters Clash With DC Police, Try to Tear Down Andrew Jackson Monument, Set Up ‘Black House Autonomous Zone’
Rioters gathered Monday in Lafayette Square before the White House where they clashed with police as they attempted to tear down a monument to former U.S. President Andrew Jackson and set up a Black House Autonomous Zone. Video footage from on-the-ground Daily Caller reporters shows rioters attempting to pull down the monument to Jackson early… -
opinion
Should International Bureaucrats Control US Tax Policy? What You Need to Know About Digital Services Taxes on American Businesses
For more than a year, Europe has pressured the U.S. into a global pact to increase taxes on big tech firms. The U.S. just pulled out of those negotiations. This was the right decision, but made for the wrong reasons. A new proposal, led by European members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,… -
opinion
Count the Crimes on the Federal Law Books. Then Cut Them.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has introduced the Count Crimes to Cut Act, which represents a much-needed step toward transparency in federal criminal law. Scholars across the political spectrum have, for many years, decried the astounding growth in federal criminal laws (see, for example, here, here, here, and here). According to best estimates—and estimates are all… -
news
Why So Few Arrests? Police Stand by as Vandals Tear Down Statues
It’s not just Confederate statues being pulled down anymore. Statues of historical figures that weren’t part of the Confederacy—and in some cases fought it—have been toppled in cities across the country, while police apparently did nothing to stop the crimes. According to an Associated Press summary of weekend protests and vandalism, rioters tore down statues… -
news
8 Key Points to Distinguish Absentee and All-Mail Voting
President Donald Trump has said he plans to vote absentee this year, although he decries the recent push for all-mail elections. The two methods aren’t interchangeable, but are both subsets of voting by mail. On Monday, the president reiterated his opposition to mail-in voting, tweeting: “Because of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, 2020 will be the most RIGGED… -
opinion
Statue Toppling Is Bringing Mob Rule to America
Mobocracy is coming to America. A debate over policing, race, and history has degenerated into general lawlessness, as mobs have swarmed and destroyed statues in our biggest cities from coast to coast. And these mobs have hardly been discriminating. They’ve targeted Christopher Columbus, Founding Fathers, Confederate generals, Union generals, abolitionists, black Civil War units, priests,… -
news
New York Times Mum on ‘1619 Project’ Creator Calling ‘1619 Riots’ Moniker an ‘Honor’
After a New York Post op-ed essay, “Call Them the 1619 Riots,” linked rioting occurring in cities across the country to The New York Times’ controversial “1619 Project,” the journalist behind the project responded, “It would be an honor. Thank you.” The tweet by Nikole Hannah-Jones was subsequently deleted, without explanation. The New York Times… -
opinion
Instead of ‘Decolonizing Your Bookshelf,’ Let’s Halt the ‘Closing of the American Mind’
The movement to “decolonize your bookshelf” has been around for a few years, albeit mostly confined to college campuses and radical left-wing circles. Fiction author Juan Vidal defended the idea of the “decolonize bookshelves” movement in an article for National Public Radio, a media outlet that receives taxpayer funding. “I can’t help but wonder whether… -
opinion
19 Black Americans Explain Why They’re Conservative
These are difficult times, and Americans are looking for guidance on how to make sense of the most divisive issues we face. When it comes to race in America, Heritage President Kay C. James says that conservatives should be leading the civil rights movement. That’s why The Daily Signal reached out to African American conservatives… -
opinion
How Cultural Revolutions Die—or Not
Unlike coups or political revolutions, cultural revolutions don’t just change governments or leaders. Instead, they try to redefine entire societies. Their leaders call them “holistic” and “systematic.” Cultural revolutionaries attack the very referents of our daily lives. The Jacobins’ so-called Reign of Terror during the French Revolution slaughtered Christian clergy, renamed months, and created a… -
news
4 Things to Know About the British Group Targeting The Federalist
The British organization that has targeted The Federalist, a U.S. online magazine, is a relatively new nonprofit that primarily has gone after websites in the United Kingdom. NBC News cited Stop Funding Fake News, a project of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, in pushing Google to demonetize The Federalist, a mainstream conservative news and… -
opinion
Welcome to America’s Cultural Revolution
We’re in the dawn of a high-tech, bloodless cultural revolution, one that relies on intimidation, public shaming, and economic ruin to dictate what words and ideas are permissible in the public square. “Words are violence” has always been an illiberal notion meant to stifle speech and open discourse. Popularized by a generation of coddled and… -
opinion
Bad Cops, Bad Unions
For my internet video this week, my staff showed me clips of violent cops. It’s not just Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes—it’s the other cops who just watch. It’s the Buffalo cops who floored a protester and simply walked by as he lay unconscious, bleeding out of his ear…. -
news
Minnesota City to Vote on Removing ‘Chief’ From Job Titles, Calling It a Microaggression
A Minnesota city mayor is pushing city council members to delete “chief” from job titles, citing how it promotes the marginalization of American Indians. The City Council is planning to vote Monday on whether the titles of chief administrative officer and chief financial officer should be changed to city administrator and finance director, respectively, according… -
opinion
The Significant Difference Between Protests and Riots
I’ve been active in law enforcement for more than 50 years. During that time, I’ve seen numerous protests. I’ve also seen far too many riots. There’s a difference. Orderly protest is part of our American tradition. It is an exercise of our constitutional rights of free speech and peaceable assembly. It is one way we… -
news
St. Junipero Serra Statue to Be Removed From California City
The statue of a Roman Catholic saint, Junipero Serra, will be removed from public display over accusations that statues of the missionary reflect oppression of indigenous peoples, according to city officials. The mayor of Ventura, California, representatives from the Barbareno/Venureno Band of Mission Indians, and a pastor of the Mission San Buenaventura issued a joint… -
opinion
4 Things to Know About Juneteenth
Juneteenth is a long-standing American holiday, celebrated since the end of the Civil War. However, Juneteenth—a mashup of June 19th, the day on which it’s observed—has waxed and waned in popularity in American history and has strong regional ties to the South and to Texas in particular. Given the additional attention the holiday is now… -
news
Conservative Leaders Call for Justice, Not Unrest, ‘for a More Perfect Union’
Conservative leaders are calling for justice—rather than chaos—in the wake of the death late last month of a black man in police custody in Minneapolis. “Conservatives are confronting a country at unrest,” reads a June 12 memo from the Conservative Action Project. “Peaceful demonstrations over the unjustified murder of George Floyd have turned violent, exploited… -
opinion
US Should Keep Troops in Germany
President Donald Trump announced this week that he plans to reduce the number of U.S. soldiers in Germany by 9,500—roughly 28% of the force currently stationed in the country. Trump has long and rightfully complained about Germany’s lack of defense spending and cited this as a major reason behind his decision. Even with Germany’s pathetic…