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
A Voluntary Civic Oath May Keep Our Society Both Civil and Free
Few of these protesters fear any legal consequences when they violate the law. Nor do those who disrupt public officials at restaurants, stalk them on their way to work, or post their private information on the internet. Yet most Americans are tired of hearing the lame excuses that the protesters’ supposedly noble ends justify their… -
opinion
EU Risks Dangerous Blowback by Undermining Iran Sanctions
Since the election of President Donald Trump, the European Union and the United States have increasingly disagreed on Iran policy. The divergence widened in May with Trump’s announcement that the United States was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement. Washington has since reimposed nuclear sanctions on Iran in two rounds in August and November. Meanwhile, the EU… -
news
Judge Rejects Bill Nelson’s Push for Recount Deadline Extension, Calling Florida a ‘Laughingstock’
A federal judge rejected a push by Democratic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson to extend the machine recount deadline in a Thursday ruling and labelled Florida a “laughingstock” because of its election failures. “We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this,” U.S. District Judge Mark Walker said… -
opinion
Podcast: The Consequences of the Sexual Revolution Continue
On this week’s “Problematic Women” edition of The Daily Signal podcast, we cover the “sex recession,” the fanfare surrounding former first lady Michelle Obama’s new book, and the absurd new ad promoting gender-neutral clothing. Plus: We cover a heartwarming push from the Down syndrome community. We also cover these stories: Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., says… -
opinion
Children With Down Syndrome Are Applying to Be on the Endangered Species List
Get ready to watch one of the most heart-wrenching pro-life ad campaigns you’ve ever seen. It’s called “Endangered Syndrome,” and in it, children with Down syndrome dress up as endangered species—pandas, polar bears, and lions. Why? Because like endangered animals, in many parts of the world, children with Down syndrome are becoming critically endangered, if… -
news
Rubio Promotes ‘Dignified Work,’ Decries Universal Basic Income
“America’s not an economy, it’s a nation of peoples and families and communities, and our economy works for the people, not the people for the economy,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said as keynote speaker of the Antipoverty Forum hosted by The Heritage Foundation on Thursday. The foundation’s annual forum invites policy experts and practitioners to… -
opinion
Gov. Cuomo’s Shameless War on the NRA
Recently released documents from a lawsuit involving the Obama administration’s Operation Choke Point are casting more light on federal financial regulators’ unlawful shakedown of disfavored businesses and their financial institutions. The documents also show how tempting and easy it could be for state bureaucrats to launch similar operations, so long as their legislatures empower them… -
opinion
Americans Should Be Grateful for a Poland That Prospers and Protects
We celebrated a significant milestone this Veterans Day: 100 years since the end of World War I. But another noteworthy anniversary fell on that day. Nov. 11, 2018, also marked the centennial of a free Poland, one of America’s most important allies in Europe. It’s been a rough journey, though. The road since that historic day… -
opinion
Record Numbers of Women in Congress Disprove the Need for Feminist Policies
In January, a record number of women will serve in the U.S. House and Senate. Depending on the outcome of races that are still too close to call, the 116th Congress will have anywhere from 109 to 117 women. That is three-and-a-half times as many women as were in the 102nd Congress of 1991-1992. And it’s cause… -
news
White House Predicts NFL Players’ Support for Prison Reform Bill
The Trump administration anticipates finding some common ground with players in the National Football League in pushing a bipartisan prison reform bill through Congress before the end of the year, a senior White House official said. Several conservative and liberal organizations are backing the bill, co-sponsored by Reps. Doug Collins, R-Ga., and Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.,… -
opinion
Trump Is Leading the Way on Conservative Criminal Justice Reform. Here’s the Proposal.
This past May, the Trump administration’s leadership on meaningful, conservative criminal justice reform helped the House to pass the Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person (or First Step) Act by a vote of 360 to 59. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced his support for the Senate’s amended version of the First… -
opinion
I Agree With Ocasio-Cortez: Tax Subsidies for Select Corporations Are Wrong
Amazon announced its decision on Tuesday that it will split its second headquarters—“HQ2”—between the Crystal City section of Arlington County, Virginia, and New York City. For more than a year, cities across the country had been competing to earn Amazon’s business, offering special deals, such as hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks. Rep.-elect… -
news
Conservatives Continue to Honor Jack Kemp’s Legacy Nearly a Decade After His Death
Conservative leaders gathered Tuesday night at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., to posthumously salute Jack Kemp—one of the conservative movement’s most outspoken advocates of economic freedom—and honor his present-day followers. “He understood that capitalism without capital is just an -ism,” Jimmy Kemp, president of the Jack Kemp Foundation, said about his late father in opening… -
opinion
Our Identity Crisis
According to a recent report in The New York Times, Health and Human Services Department officials have been circulating a proposal to define sex. Their memo says, “Sex means a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth.” They add, “The sex listed on a person’s birth… -
news
Why This California College Student Is Choosing to Stand Up for Her Beliefs on Gender
A 20-year-old student senator at the University of California Berkeley says she didn’t expect the intense opposition she received for voicing her Christian beliefs on sexual identity and gender. Although Isabella Chow, a junior, has the support of the school’s College Republicans chapter, her own student party cut ties with her and other students and… -
news
As Federal Prosecutor and Watchdog Chief, Acting AG Whitaker Went After Both Democrats, Republicans
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker went after Democratic and Republican politicians alike while serving as a federal prosecutor and as the head of an ethics watchdog group. Now at the center of a political firestorm in Washington, Whitaker returns Wednesday to Iowa—the state where he made his name in both politics and sports. Whitaker will… -
news
Rep. Liz Cheney Is Poised to Win a High-Ranking Role in GOP Leadership
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming is poised to win the GOP leadership election on Wednesday to become the party’s third-ranking member as the Republican conference chair. Cheney is running unopposed following GOP Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ decision not to re-run for the seat. Consequently, the Wyoming congresswoman will be the only female in the party… -
opinion
Trump’s Trade War Is Causing Long-Term Damage
Since launching the trade dispute with China, the Trump administration has curbed concerns about its tariffs and subsequent retaliation with the mantra “short-term pain for long-term gain.” President Donald Trump has even gone so far as to call the losers of the dispute, such as American soybean farmers, “patriots” for taking the hit for his… -
opinion
Trump Is Right: Poor Land Management Is Leading to Bigger California Fires
Another year, another set of deadly fires burning up California. The devastation is heartbreaking. The “Camp Fire” has almost completely obliterated the Northern California town of Paradise. It’s now officially the deadliest fire in California history. Over 40 people have died. https://twitter.com/colincampbell/status/1062380410397691905 Heartbreaking photos capture what Paradise looked like before and after the #CampFire ripped… -
opinion
If Gender Is Subjective, Makes Sense Age Should Be, Too
Emile Ratelband, a 69-year-old motivational speaker in the Netherlands, has petitioned a Dutch court for permission to change his legal age by altering his birth certificate to show he was born 20 years later than he really was—to legally make him 49 rather 69 years old. Ratelband told The Washington Post, “We can make our…