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
Trillion-Dollar Deficits Don’t Make America Great
Ten years ago, the federal government reached a dismal milestone: a one-year deficit of $1 trillion. Now, like too many movie franchises, we’re getting the sequel whether we want it or not. A new Congressional Budget Office report reveals that the federal deficit for the current fiscal year has once again exceeded $1 trillion. The… -
opinion
Pastor-Turned-Congressman Is Taking Conservative Ideas to New Places
Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., is building bridges between conservatives and communities of color. The congressman spoke out against the chant “send them back,” directed at critics of President Donald Trump such as Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. Walker, also a Baptist pastor, is challenging his colleagues, and all Americans, to honor and respect those who disagree…. -
opinion
A New Way to Help Our Local Heroes: First Responders
Consider two groups. One wears a uniform to serve the country, deploying overseas and entering war zones where their lives might be at risk. The other wears a uniform to serve the community, deploying at all hours of the day to protect and serve us, while putting their own lives at risk. We depend on… -
opinion
Podcast: Is Vaping an ‘Epidemic’?
Youth vaping is a problem that President Trump wants to address. How exactly? One idea is to ban flavored e-cigarettes. Daren Bakst at The Heritage Foundation says that’s not the best way forward. Today, he joins the podcast to discuss the vaping controversy and what can be done to protect kids. Plus: Do conservative students… -
news
EPA Touts ‘Accelerated’ Cleanup of Hazardous, Contaminated Sites
The Environmental Protection Agency has hit the acceleration button to clean up Superfund sites across the country on President Donald Trump’s watch, according to a new task force report detailing progress over the past two years. The Superfund Task Force, commissioned in May 2017, developed a list of sites requiring the EPA’s “immediate and intense… -
opinion
Ms. Monopoly’s ‘Woke’ Rules Are Bad for Girls, Devalue Women
I have three girls and three boys. Some of them have recently gotten into Monopoly, the classic board game. But my kids won’t be playing Hasbro’s new version, Ms. Monopoly, which gives women 20% more than men when they pass go. As an economist, I love classic Monopoly and its real-world financial lessons. As a person, I… -
opinion
When Government Runs Health Care
DUBLIN—”When would you like to schedule your knee replacement surgery?” asked my American doctor before I left for Ireland? I gave him a date that works for me (I’m calling it the result of an old basketball injury, not advancing age). His office scheduled it for that date. Contrast this with a headline in the… -
opinion
Why Flushing the ‘Clean Water Rule’ Was the Right Thing to Do
Thursday saw a major win for the rule of law, property rights, and the environment: The Trump administration announced that it had finalized its repeal of President Barack Obama’s infamous 2015 Clean Water Rule. For decades, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have struggled to define the Clean Water Act’s… -
opinion
The Equation That Explains Evil
Our age loves scientific equations. Here’s one you weren’t taught at college but which affects you as much as the law of gravity: GI – W = E Good Intentions (GI) minus Wisdom (W) leads to Evil (E). You weren’t taught this rule at college because the modern university believes only science has rules. “Rules… -
news
Media Hyped ‘Wrong’ Study Linking Trump Rallies To Hate Crimes, Then Ignored Second Study Debunking It
Establishment media outlets like The Washington Post hyped a now-disputed study that linked President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies to a spike in hate crimes, but they’ve yet to cover a second study that debunked the first one. The first study, which three Texas university professors conducted, said counties that hosted Trump rallies in 2016 saw… -
opinion
Pension Bailout Bill Would Only Worsen the Underfunding Crisis
A friend of mine recently had the unfortunate experience of dealing with multiple abscessed teeth in her children. These abscesses occurred because a neglectful dentist had “treated” her kids’ cavities by concealing them with quick, painless fixes instead of drilling down and eliminating the root of the problem. In the end, the kids had to… -
opinion
College Bias Leads to Grade A Intolerance
“You don’t talk about it.” That’s how one student at Washington University in St. Louis described being a conservative on campus. Drew McPike isn’t the only one who feels that way. Turns out, a shocking majority of young Republicans are hiding their views. Just as surprising is the reason: they don’t want their grades to suffer…. -
news
Over a Quarter of Democrats Think It Should Be Illegal to Join NRA
Nearly one-third of likely Democratic voters want the National Rifle Association (NRA) to be labeled a terrorist organization, a new survey reveals. A Rasmussen survey released Monday found that 32 percent of likely Democratic voters want their local communities to follow the example of San Francisco and designate the NRA as a terrorist group. San… -
news
Andy Biggs, New Chairman of House Freedom Caucus, Vows to Fight for Conservatives
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., new chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, says he has some big plans for what he’ll accomplish in the role. “We must fight against increased government spending and for a balanced budget. We must fight for border security and the elimination of all loopholes that incentivize illegal entry into this nation,”… -
news
Volunteer Cleanup Day Aims to Inspire Hope in Baltimore
BALTIMORE—When President Donald Trump called part of Baltimore “a disgusting rat and rodent-infested mess,” Scott Presler decided to take action. Presler, a self-described conservative activist who gained recognition for his work on the Trump campaign in 2016, first organized a cleanup day in West Baltimore on Aug. 5, after the president’s much-publicized feud with Rep…. -
opinion
We Must Never Forget 9/11 or the Lessons We Learned From It
Wednesday marks the 18th anniversary of 9/11. On that day, terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people in attacks against the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and on Flight 93. The U.S. mindset irreversibly changed that day. No longer did we perceive a world largely at peace following the end of the Cold War. Instead, evil came… -
news
Infanticide Hearing Witness Says Hospital Created ‘Comfort Room’ Where Aborted Babies Die
Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, allegedly has a ‘comfort room’ for aborted babies who are born alive to die in, according to nurse Jill Stanek. Stanek spoke about her experiences Wednesday at a hearing on the Born Alive Act in Washington, D.C. The nurse explainied that while she was working at the hospital, she observed… -
opinion
Did We Learn the Lesson of 9/11?
It’s now been nearly a full generation since Sept. 11, 2001. There are people currently serving in the U.S. military who weren’t born when that act of evil took place — and the military still has thousands of troops in Afghanistan, the home base of the Taliban-supported al Qaida attack on the United States that… -
opinion
A Former Abortionist Explains Her Change of Heart
For years, Dr. Kathi Aultman, an OB-GYN, performed abortions, believing she was helping women. Then, a trio of abortions she performed after having her first child left her unsettled–and put her on a different path. Now she is an advocate for giving medical care to abortion survivors, and a pro-life speaker. Read our interview with… -
opinion
The Latest College Lunacy: Correct English Grammar Is ‘Racist’
Just when we thought colleges could not spout loonier ideas, we have a new one from American University. They hired a professor to teach other professors to grade students based on their “labor” rather than their writing ability. The professor that American University hired to teach that nonsense is Asao B. Inoue, who is a…