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
Missouri Lawmaker Attacked for Wanting Parents to Have Say in Drag Queen Story Hours
Ben Baker is used to getting pushback. A conservative in the Missouri Statehouse, he’s been on the wrong side of the fringe left before. But nothing compares to this. The dad of four is getting death threats at his office, violent messages on his phone—all for trying to give parents a say on Drag Queen… -
opinion
Rights Versus Wishes
Sen. Bernie Sanders said: “I believe that health care is a right of all people.” He’s not alone in that contention. That claim comes from Democrats and Republicans and liberals and conservatives. It is not just a health care right that people claim. There are “rights” to decent housing, decent food, a decent job, and… -
opinion
California Lawmaker Wants to Fine Stores for Labeling Clothes, Toys for Boys or Girls
If you’re wondering who’s running California, it’s the 8-year-olds. That’s where state Assemblyman Evan Low got his ridiculous idea to fine department stores that don’t create gender-neutral aisles for clothes and toys. “I was inspired to introduce this bill,” Low said, after the third-grader of one of his staffers asked, “‘Why should a store tell me… -
news
Sasse Calls for Federal Investigation Into Pornhub’s ‘Disturbing Pipeline’
Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Pornhub. Sasse wrote to Attorney General William Barr in a Monday letter that asks for a federal investigation into Pornhub and Pornhub’s owner, MindGeek, for their alleged involvement in videos of women and children being raped and exploited. “In several notable incidents over… -
opinion
The Shame of Chuck Schumer
Just when you may have thought that the low quality of political rhetoric in Washington could not get any worse, along comes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to prove otherwise. At a pro-choice demonstration outside the Supreme Court, which is considering a Louisiana law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at… -
opinion
‘Open Borders Are Absolutely … the Greatest Threat This Country Faces,’ Texas Lawmaker Says
Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, joins me on The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss illegal immigration, sanctuary cities, and some possible fixes to the U.S. immigration system. We also cover these stories: In a Monday tweet, President Donald Trump urges Americans to put coronavirus in perspective. Monday turns out to be another bad day for the… -
opinion
Standalone Nuclear Interim Storage Amendment Sidesteps Solutions, Creates Problems
As the Senate debates an expensive and wasteful new energy bill, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has proposed an amendment to launch a pilot program for interim storage of nuclear waste from commercial nuclear power plants. It’s a complex policy problem with plenty of nuance. But this amendment basically resuscitates the Obama administration’s approach, offers only… -
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…