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
Virginia Lawmakers Pass Bill Giving Driving Privilege Cards to Illegal Aliens
While the Virginia General Assembly stopped short of passing legislation that gave full-fledged driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, lawmakers did advance a bill that would grant them driving privilege cards. The Democratic-controlled Virginia General Assembly went into overtime over the weekend, passing a flurry of progressive bills before the 2020 session came to an official… -
opinion
New Mexico Gets Its Red Flag Law Wrong
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, recently signed controversial legislation that created the state’s first red flag law to take firearms from potentially dangerous people. Red flag laws, which now have been enacted by 18 states, allow courts to determine whether certain individuals are such a serious risk of danger to themselves or… -
opinion
A Ghoul Is Dead, Sort of, in Bayview Cross Case
A failed congressional candidate, her husband, and a satanist walked into a Florida park and saw a 34-foot-tall cross that had stood undisturbed for 75 years. This sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but unfortunately it was the beginning of a federal lawsuit. At this point, the case has lasted more than four… -
opinion
Another African Tragedy
Here are a few headlines about an African tragedy: “Africa’s Worst Locust Plague in Decades Threatens Millions” (The Wall Street Journal), “‘Unprecedented’ Locust Invasion Approaches Full-Blown Crisis” (Scientific American), “Somalia Declares Locust Outbreak a ‘National Emergency’” (The National), and “UN Calls for International Action on East Africa Locust Outbreak” (Bloomberg Green). This ongoing tragedy is… -
opinion
The 1619 Project’s Outrageous, Lying Slander of Abe Lincoln
The New York Times’ 1619 Project has aimed at nothing less than a revolutionary reinterpretation of the entirety of U.S. history, “re-centering” African Americans as the sole banner-carriers of America’s principles, even as they have been ruthlessly smashed down, enslaved, and obliterated from memory by more numerous and more powerful whites. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison… -
news
Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program to Be Blocked on Section of Border
A federal appeals court said it will block the Migrant Protection Protocols program within its jurisdiction next week, unless the Supreme Court chooses to wade in. In the latest back-and-forth between the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Trump administration, the appeals court announced late Wednesday that it will block Migrant Protection Protocols—more popularly… -
opinion
Green New Deal Would Ruin America’s Dairyland, Study Warns
It’s been pretty clear that the Green New Deal would be a disaster for businesses and for consumers. Now a new study confirms just how disastrous the environmental and wealth-redistribution plan would be for Wisconsin. Wisconsin families would be shackled with $40,000 in new costs, and the Dairy State’s struggling agricultural sector would be crippled, according to… -
opinion
Matt Schlapp Wants You to Love America: ‘Feel Pride in What You’re Doing’
The Conservative Political Action Conference is the nation’s largest annual gathering of conservative activists, attracting thousands of people to the event, which takes place just outside of Washington, D.C., every year. Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, joins The Daily Signal Podcast to talk about the impact of this year’s… -
opinion
‘Conspiracy Theory’: NYT’s 1619 Project Faces Scrutiny From Scholars, Historians
Over the course of this week, the New York Post has published a series of op-eds attacking the 1619 Project—the controversial and erroneous history of America from The New York Times (see links to each op-ed below). Today, the New York Post features an op-ed by David Bobb, president of the Bill of Rights Institute…. -
opinion
Liberals’ FAMILY Act Would Hurt Low-Income Workers and Families
If liberals want to provide access to paid family and medical leave, they need to come up with a better solution than they have so far. According to a recent analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, Democrats’ proposed Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act would fail to benefit most of the workers who need it… -
opinion
How Poor, Really, Are America’s Poor?
Editor’s note: This commentary was written and published before the coronavirus pandemic began to disrupt life and work in America and around the world. The Census Bureau recently announced it wants advice on ways to develop more accurate measurements of poverty—a welcome and much-needed change. Year after year, the Census Bureau reports that more than… -
news
Border Apprehensions Rise Slightly, Ending 8 Straight Months of Decline
While enforcement actions along the U.S. southern border rose for the first time in nine months, the increase is much smaller than the historical average, a consequence that is being attributed to the administration’s immigration policies. Border enforcement actions increased slightly in February, Customs and Border Protection acting Commissioner Mark Morgan told reporters during a… -
news
Arizona Lawmaker Outlines Steps to Secure the Border
An Arizona lawmaker says he sees three concrete steps that should be taken to further secure the southern border with Mexico. “No. 1, I make sure we do get the fence,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., co-chairman of the House’s Border Security Caucus, told The Daily Signal in an interview. Chief Rodney Scott, the 24th chief… -
opinion
Without These Protections, States Will Tax Small Businesses to Death
Small and midsize online stores are being put out of business one tax bill at a time. The Supreme Court ruled almost two years ago that all 50 states and tens of thousands of local tax jurisdictions are permitted to reach outside their borders and require out-of-state internet retailers to collect and remit local sales… -
opinion
The Quiet Success of Trump’s Politically Appointed Ambassadors in Europe
Article II of the U.S. Constitution states that the executive “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors.” Unlike parliamentary systems where oftentimes civil servants fill the roles of key ambassadorships, (a recent example being the appointment of Karen Pierce as the new British ambassador to the… -
opinion
Liberals’ ‘Medicare for All’ Plans Reject Americans’ Preferences
Democrats are debating among themselves how to massively expand government coverage to all Americans, apparently unaware that a majority of Americans like their current private health care. According to the latest Gallup polling data on health care, 52% of Americans rate the quality of health care overall in America as “excellent” or “good.” When just over half of… -
news
ICE Catches Illegal Alien Accused of Child Rape After His Release by NYC
An illegal alien charged with raping a child was released by New York City authorities because of the city’s sanctuary policies, but federal immigration agents were able to arrest him shortly afterward. Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday arrested Miguel Federico Ajqui-Ajtzalam, 20, an illegal alien from Guatemala, according to a press… -
opinion
Government-Controlled Health Care Won’t Help Us Live Longer
Will government-controlled national health insurance increase Americans’ life expectancy? Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and some of his colleagues in the House of Representatives often claim that “Medicare for All” legislation will improve American longevity and reduce American health care costs. According to a comprehensive 2018 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the… -
opinion
We Don’t Need Divisive Attacks on Legislative Prayer
Opening public meetings with prayer is such a long-standing American tradition that it is puzzling why some continue to seek the demise of the practice based on subjective claims that such prayers are “inappropriate and divisive.” Consider these news reports just since Jan. 26: A newspaper in Venice, Florida, reported that the Venice City Council… -
opinion
Coming Soon Near You: Government-Approved Places to Shoot Drugs
South Philadelphia residents are outraged that a nonprofit called Safehouse had “ambushed” them by announcing, with virtually no warning, that it would open a supervised drug-injection site in their neighborhood this week. One mother, concerned about walking her 6- and 10-year-old children past the injection site every day, called former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, chairman…