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
Frederick Douglass’ Message for Conservatives Today
Welcome to the fifth in our series, Landmark Speeches in American History. We are celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with articles by prominent authors about how some of the greatest speeches in our history—by celebrated orators like Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr.—honored the vision of our founding document, the Declaration of Independence…. -
opinion
Colonial America Already Ran the Socialist Experiment. It Failed.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told ABC’s Jonathan Karl last month that a democratic socialist can win any office in the country. He may be right about the contemporary politics, but he is dead wrong about the underlying economics, and Colonial America proved it four centuries before he took the oath of office. The… -
opinion
Red Flag Case Studies Highlight Corporations Putting Shareholder Value at Risk
When corporate governance experts speak about “red flags,” they are typically referring to information signaling a problem at a corporation that warrants additional oversight. As a related law firm memo on Delaware law notes: “The duty of oversight requires directors to … take action to address red flags that indicate potential corporate wrongdoing.” As a… -
opinion
If the Driver Had Just Stopped the Car, the Officer Would Have Lived
A Philadelphia officer answered a gun call on June 27. The car he’d stopped shifted into reverse, plowed into two marked cruisers, and threw him onto the hood, into the windshield, and over the roof before speeding off. He survived. In Greenwood, South Carolina, an officer died in May when a driver fleeing a stop… -
opinion
Abigail Spanberger and the 3 Little Words That Should Terrify Every Virginian
What do John Tyler, James Monroe, and Thomas Jefferson have in common? They are the three Virginia governors who have gone on to become president. Just a couple of years from now, the United States could sleepwalk into adding a fourth name to the list: Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger is a choice beloved by the… -
opinion
Innovation Can Make Data Centers Cleaner—If New York Lets It
As communities across America debate whether to approve new data centers, some are implementing moratoria based on concerns over water use and noise pollution. Most recently, New York issued an executive order banning data center construction for one year while the state looks to address environmental concerns with more regulation and red tape. Those concerns… -
opinion
The Exceptional Members Backing Accountability in Federal Spending
When people think of the rights and responsibilities of a legislator, they typically first imagine lawmaking: the slow and arduous task of crafting laws and policies. Thankfully, some members of Congress are moving beyond a passive view of lawmaking and are recovering a fuller picture of what it means to exercise their duties as elected… -
opinion
Why I Named an International Airport After President Trump
America has a strange habit of waiting until its leaders are gone before deciding they are worthy of honor. We name buildings after them; place their portraits on our walls; and speak about their courage, accomplishments, and place in history; but by the time we do, the person being honored is no longer here to… -
opinion
The H-1B Visa System Has a Repeat Offender Problem
One scandal proves nothing. Two may be a coincidence. But after years of violations and investigations, let’s admit the H-1B visa system is rife with fraud and abuse of American workers. We are not talking trivial numbers here. The site Layoffhedge has compiled records of H-1B Labor Condition Application filings from 2015 to 2026. There… -
opinion
New Kentucky Audit Shows Why Families Need Education Freedom
Kentucky State Auditor Allison Ball’s recent report on Jefferson County Public Schools should alarm every taxpayer and parent in the state. Not only because of the report’s contents, but also because JCPS is the state’s largest school district, serving 1 in 7 students in Kentucky. The audit not only highlights the dire financial situation the… -
opinion
AI Companies, Data Centers Must Defend Themselves—Silence Is No Weapon Against the Exploding Backlash
Artificial intelligence companies and the data centers that power them are devoting mouth-watering sums to achieve their potential. The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Meta, and Amazon are “expected to spend more than $670 billion this year” on capital expenditures. McKinsey & Company forecasts that “global spending on data centers… -
opinion
To Fix Health Care We Need Prices, Not Price Controls
You can’t have a market without prices, which is a major reason why health care is such a mess. Nobody knows what anything costs, even though the vast majority of medical services are not emergencies. In President Donald Trump’s first term, he took this problem on by mandating that hospitals that participate in Medicare and… -
opinion
Biden Turned Patient Protection Into Slush Fund, and Trump Is Doing Something About It
President Donald Trump signed the No Surprises Act in 2020 to stop patients from getting ambushed by medical bills they never agreed to pay. Under the Biden administration, it became one of the most lucrative slush funds for providers who use a loophole in the law to overbill for procedures and drive-up costs for all… -
opinion
America’s Promise to Veterans Cannot Become a One-Way Ratchet
America has made a sacred promise—some might call it a contract—to our veterans. That contract should never be broken. But does upholding it mean that Congress must maintain every veterans’ program exactly the way it is today? Or could keeping that promise mean having the courage to evaluate whether veterans’ programs are still effective at… -
opinion
OMB’s Proposed Grant Reform Promises a Major Victory for Religious Liberty
Americans should not have to surrender their constitutional freedoms to partner with a government program. Churches that receive federal grants should not have to hide their crosses. Religious charities should not have to secularize their missions. And citizens should not face higher fees to speak on public property simply because officials dislike their political or… -
opinion
Indiana Watchdog Releases DEI Audit. This Is a Model for States Across the US.
Last year, many Indiana public school teachers promised to end racist diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in schools. If successful, such assurances and the policies that follow would be models for other states. How’s it going? Turns out, the racism in public education runs deep. This week, the Indiana Family Institute released an audit of… -
opinion
What DEI Means to You
To most Americans, diversity, equity, and inclusion is an abstract, boring idea they don’t have time to worry about. But I’ve written a book on it—“The Ten Woke Commandments (You Must Not Obey)”—and I’m here to tell you why you should be paying attention to DEI. DEI means that when you apply for a job… -
opinion
Why Lower Gas Costs Take Time to Reach the Pump
When crude oil prices drop sharply, why do drivers have to wait for relief at the pump? The answer follows a convoluted and policy-constrained path from drill rigs to local gas stations. The prices we encounter at the pump result from this complex chain, which begins with global crude and passes through refining, wholesale, independent… -
opinion
Texas Expects Students to Know the Bible Because It Is Part of Our History
On June 26, the Texas State Board of Education voted on the new K-8 social studies standards. These revised standards remove critical race theory, reject disputed claims about Islam’s influence on the Alamo, restore instruction on classical Greek and Roman influences, and—most controversially—include instructing students about America’s Judeo-Christian heritage. The motion passed 9-5. As you… -
opinion
False Narrative: How Dare Trump Deport Venezuelans to Earthquake ‘Hell’
AUSTIN, Texas—The close timing of two high-casualty earthquakes in Venezuela on June 24 and a June 25 Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to deport some 605,000 U.S.-based Venezuelans has given rise to a mounting pressure campaign arguing that President Donald Trump must, on moral grounds, let them stay. Seizing on one tragic event…