Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
-
news
Cruz Says He Pushed Colleagues to Fund Wall Before Democrats’ Takeover
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Friday that he urged the Trump administration and his fellow Senate Republicans to make a strong push for the border wall while the GOP still controlled both chambers of Congress. “What I urged my colleagues, and I urged the president and I urged the vice president, and I urged the… -
news
Conservative Activist Describes Being Assaulted at UC Berkeley
This transcript is from a Thursday recording of The Daily Signal Podcast at the Conservative Political Action Conference and has been edited for length and clarity. The full interview is available on the podcast here. Katrina Trinko: We’re here at CPAC and with me is Hayden Williams. You might have heard about him in the news coverage this week. He was at University of California, Berkeley last… -
opinion
Learning About America’s Forgotten Civil Rights History
Early in the morning last Saturday, a group of 12 Heritage Foundation interns (including myself) boarded a bus bound for Holly Knoll, the manor house of Robert Russa Moton. Most of us had never heard of Moton before. This is unsurprising, as he was “the forgotten civil rights leader,” in the words of professor Brian… -
news
After Nearly Going to Jail for Shoplifting, This Football Player Now Advocates Criminal Justice Reform
Growing up in a small town outside of Jackson, Mississippi, NFL linebacker Demario Davis had never seen a two-parent household that put faith first. His mother had him when she was 16 years old and his father served in the Army. As a child, he was surrounded by drugs, crimes, and gangs. His football career… -
news
Tax Refunds Are on the Rise, Treasury Reports
Tax refunds have increased this week, the Treasury Department announced Thursday, after critics attacked the initial lower refunds that resulted from Americans paying less to government coffers. Through four weeks of the filing season, the average tax refund in 2019 increased to $3,143—up from last week’s average of $2,640, according to the Treasury Department. Treasury… -
news
Government Failed Parkland Students Before Massacre, Teen Activist Says
Instead of looking to government for protection and security, Americans should work to preserve and strengthen Second Amendment rights, a student who became an activist after last year’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida, told hundreds of conservative activists Thursday. Kyle Kashuv, now director of high school outreach for Turning Point USA, a nonprofit youth organization,… -
opinion
Alabama Shows How Law Enforcement Can Get Behind Asset Forfeiture Reform
Alabama is taking important steps to bring greater transparency to civil forfeiture, the much-criticized practice that allows property to be seized even without evidence of a crime. On Thursday, lawmakers and law enforcement leaders in Alabama gathered in the State Capitol to announce a voluntary new reporting initiative, the Alabama Forfeiture Accountability System. Starting Friday,… -
news
Georgia Lawmaker Touts Nation’s ‘Greatest Economic Turnaround’ Under Trump
A Georgia lawmaker and former business executive says the economy is seeing historic gains under President Donald Trump. “This is the greatest economic turnaround in U.S. history, 5 million new jobs … we’re growing the economy,” Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., told the Thursday morning crowd of conservatives gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference. … -
opinion
House Democrats Unveil Plan to Bring Total Government Control Over American Health Care
Liberal House Democrats just unveiled the Medicare for All Act of 2019, a comprehensive bill to abolish virtually all private health plans—including employer-sponsored coverage—and impose total federal government control over Americans’ health care. Despite its sweeping and detailed government control, as well as the imposition of huge but unknown costs, the 120-page bill has nonetheless… -
news
Mike Lee Hits Left for Double Standard on Federalism
The government system known as federalism is what makes America great and guards against too much power in too few hands, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in remarks Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “What is making America great again, and what I believe will continue to make America great again, is our continued… -
opinion
States Shouldn’t Use Protectionist Schemes to Limit Consumer ‘Meat’ Choices
Veggie burgers don’t come from cows. There’s no such thing as tofu turkey farms—as far as I know. Consumers know this, but that is not stopping some state legislators from trying to use state consumer protection laws to limit how “meat” alternatives are advertised to the public. Missouri is the first and only state, to date,… -
opinion
On the Cusp of Catastrophe, California Has No Margin for Error
Californians brag that their state is the world’s fifth-largest economy. They talk as reverentially of Silicon Valley companies Apple, Facebook, and Google as the ancient Greeks did of their Olympian gods. Hollywood and universities such as Caltech, Stanford, and Berkeley are cited as permanent proof of the intellectual, aesthetic, and technological dominance of West Coast… -
opinion
Oregon’s Proposed Rent Controls Would Shrink Supply of Housing
Oregon just took a big step this week toward becoming the first state in the nation to impose statewide rent controls—a step in the wrong direction. Senate Bill 608—which has now passed both houses of the Legislative Assembly—limits annual rent increases to the inflation rate plus 7 percent and imposes stringent restrictions on the ability… -
opinion
3 Reasons Medicare for All Would Hurt Americans
House Democrats released their plan to bring “Medicare for all” to the country Wednesday. There’s one upside: Through this proposal progressives are now being more open about what they plan to do to the American health insurance market. They intend to make private health insurance a thing of the past as they move the country… -
news
Effort to Abandon Electoral College Gains Steam. Here’s What It Would Ruin for America.
Colorado is joining a list of states attempting to overturn the way Americans have selected their presidents for over two centuries. The Colorado Legislature recently passed a bill to join an interstate effort called the “interstate compact,” to attempt to sidestep the Electoral College system defined by the Constitution. Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, called… -
opinion
6 Key Exchanges From the Peace Cross Oral Argument
The Supreme Court heard oral argument Wednesday in a case challenging the constitutionality of a World War I memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland. In American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Supreme Court will weigh in on whether a state’s maintenance of a 93-year-old World War I memorial that includes a 40-foot cross—known as the Peace… -
news
The Conservative Legacy of Jay A. Parker
If you haven’t heard the name Jay A. Parker, you don’t know about someone who was a giant of the modern conservative movement and counted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as one of his most faithful readers. “His signal contribution to the conservative movement was the founding of the Lincoln Institute and its journal, The… -
news
Colorado Set to Become 12th State Moving to Kill Electoral College
Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’s signature is all that remains to include Colorado among the ranks of states prepared to abandon the Electoral College system in favor of nationwide popular voting for the next presidential election. Colorado would bring the number of states who have joined the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact to 12, plus the District of… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: 1 Point Where White House Says Trump Far Surpasses Reagan
President Donald Trump has won praise from governors in both parties for outreach to states, after a high number of face-to-face meetings with the state leaders. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, said Trump’s outreach to governors is a major underreported story, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said his own talks with the… -
news
From Atheist Marxist to Christian Conservative: Sohrab Ahmari Shares His Journey
Sohrab Ahmari grew up in Iran. Then as a teen, he immigrated to America, and became an atheist and a Marxist. But as a young man, his path took another twist: He found himself interested in Christianity. Ahmari, author of the new book “From Fire, by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith,” joins us to share his complicated path. Read…