Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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news
US Is ‘Least Racist, Least Xenophobic Country’ in History, Prager Says
While speaking last year with a black man shining shoes at the airport in Newark, New Jersey, about his time in America, syndicated talk-radio host Dennis Prager said he asked the man whether he thinks America is racist. There was a tense pause as the man nervously looked around. “It was clear he was a… -
news
Nikki Haley Challenges Student Conservatives to Persuade, Not Just ‘Own the Libs’
Ambassador Nikki Haley told high school students that conservatives should use facts and persuasion to make their case, rather than simply attack liberals. “Raise your hand if you’ve ever posted anything online to quote-unquote ‘own the libs,’” Haley said Monday, speaking at the High School Leadership Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at George Washington… -
opinion
We Are Living Amid the Greatest Hysteria in American History
You and I are living through the greatest mass hysteria in American history. For many Americans, the McCarthy era held that dubious distinction, but what is happening now is incomparably worse. For one thing, any hysteria that existed then was directed against the greatest evil in the world at the time: communism. Then-Sen. Joseph McCarthy,… -
opinion
It’s Time to End Double Taxation With Croatia
Croatia is a strategic security and economic partner of the United States in the Balkan region, but the effectiveness of that partnership is limited by the fact that Croatia is the only European Union nation that does not have a double taxation treaty with the U.S. Double taxation treaties are international agreements whose chief purpose… -
opinion
How Liberal Housing Policies Made San Francisco Unaffordable for All but the Rich
The San Francisco Bay Area is a booming locale, and certainly one of the most naturally beautiful. It should be a fantastically desirable place to live. Yet, according to a recent poll, nearly half of San Francisco residents say they want to leave the Bay Area entirely. A study from the Bay Area Council, a… -
opinion
5 Ways Uncle Sam Could Ruin Your Summer Road Trip
The summer road trip: Is it pure family fun, or a vile crime spree? If you’re planning a wholesome cross-country adventure, beware: Uncle Sam has over-packed the federal code with more criminal laws and regulations than anyone can count. Here are a few ways that excess legal baggage could ruin a road trip. 1. Peanut… -
news
Unlikely Senate Allies Lee, Booker Use Film to Document the Need for Criminal Justice Reform
A conservative Republican from Utah and a liberal Democrat from New Jersey are unlikely allies in a bipartisan bid to reform the U.S. criminal justice system. “In many instances, federal mandatory [minimum] sentencing laws impose unjust and illogical outcomes, leaving the judge with no discretion at all,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told The Daily Signal… -
opinion
At FreedomFest, Libertarians Debate Whether Glass Is Half Full or Half Empty
Libertarians are a bundle of contradictions. At this year’s FreedomFest in Las Vegas, purveyors of doom and gloom in tailored Brioni suits warned their fellow libertarians that the next Great Depression was on its way, and “Now! Now! Now!” was the time to buy gold, silver, and diamonds. Meanwhile, the editors of Reason magazine argued… -
news
Victims of Religious Persecution Tell Their Stories at International Conference in DC
Iren Fogel was only 13 when her family was brought to Nazi Germany’s Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Her parents, four of her five siblings, and most other relatives were murdered upon arrival from a Hungarian-ruled part of Czechoslovakia. For eight months, Iren and her 17-year-old sister Serena worked and lived next to the crematorium…. -
news
Fallen Navy SEAL’s Parents Forgive Teen Arrested for Destroying Their Son’s Memorial
The parents of fallen Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy said that they forgive the teen who was arrested on Friday for smashing their son’s memorial. “Michael was the type of person who would have wanted to take that man under his wing and talk to him,” said his father Daniel Murphy, according to ABC 7…. -
opinion
The Reasons Women Aren’t Happy Today
Listen here to the full podcast, which features an interview with Mona Charen and a discussion of a new study showing kids don't play as much outside, or read the lightly edited transcript of the Charen interview below. Katrina Trinko: Joining us is Mona Charen, the author of the new book "Sex Matters: How Modern… -
news
Husband Praises ‘Amazing’ Chick-Fil-A Staff After Wife Gives Birth in Restroom
A man praised the “amazing” Chick-fil-A staff after his wife gave birth in the restroom, he told “Fox & Friends” Sunday. Robert Griffin commended the Chick-fil-A staff who helped after his wife Falon Griffin gave birth to their daughter Gracelyn in a bathroom in one of the company’s Texas locations Tuesday night, he said on “Fox & Friends.”… -
news
Cuomo Offers State Help to Turn Around NY Daily News After Layoffs
New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is willing to offer state help to the New York Daily News after nearly 50 percent of the editorial staff was laid off Monday. Cuomo asked Tronc Inc., which owns the newspaper, to reconsider the decision as it hurts “a New York institution and one of our nation’s journalism… -
opinion
This New Health Plan Expansion Is a Godsend for Small Businesses Like Mine
Last month, the Trump administration took a concrete step to lower skyrocketing health care costs for middle-class families like mine. The Department of Labor issued a final rule expanding association health plans, which allow small businesses like my farm to band together with others to negotiate bulk rates on health care costs. Association health plans… -
opinion
Podcast: Tax Reform Leads to More Cookies, Not Crumbs
On today’s edition of The Daily Signal podcast, Rob Bluey and Ginny Montalbano interview small business owner Joseph Semprevivo, president and founder of Joseph’s Lite Cookies of Sebastian, Florida. He shares how tax reform has benefited his company and employees. Heritage Foundation tax policy analyst Adam Michel weighs in on newly released research on the benefits of tax… -
opinion
New Report Shows Every Congressional District Benefits From Tax Reform
What would you buy with $26,000? A new car? A year of college tuition? A down payment on a house? This is not a hypothetical question. New research from The Heritage Foundation shows that the average American household can expect about $26,000 more in take-home pay over the next 10 years thanks to the tax… -
opinion
Media Misses: Judge Jeanine Pirro Triggers Whoopi Goldberg
We break down the top media moments this week—and plenty of misses. The media lost it this week when President Donald Trump made some questionable comments about Russian election meddling during his press conference with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland. One MSNBC expert even compared the summit to Pearl Harbor in what might have… -
news
‘Pig Book’ Spotlights 232 Earmarks Amid Pork That Wastes Taxpayers’ Money
All but a relative few farmers and other rural residents have had electricity and telephone service for a generation, but the U.S. government devoted $10 million in the current budget to a duplicative Rural Utilities Service program designed to help pay for energy costs. Taxpayers continue to finance the program even though then-President Barack… -
news
Actor Apologizes for Telling Liberals to Follow Ben Shapiro
It was the mere suggestion that his fellow liberals should listen and seek to hear out to the ideas of conservatives that landed actor Mark Duplass in major hot water on Twitter. “Fellow liberals: If you are interested at all in ‘crossing the aisle’ you should consider following Ben Shapiro,” Duplass tweeted, adding that Shapiro… -
news
Paul Ryan: ‘White Identity Politics’ of Alt-Right Isn’t Conservatism, but Racism
House Speaker Paul Ryan warned that the alt-right was about “identity politics” and said conservatives must reclaim “hijacked” terminology. “Intellectually do everything you can to defeat the alt-right,” Ryan said Thursday in an interview with Jonah Goldberg, a senior editor at National Review and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where the interview was…