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
Jahi’s Life Mattered
Amid all the raging political headlines and hyperventilating tweets of the Summer of Resistance, a searing ember of news stopped me in my tracks this week. Jahi McMath has passed away. I never had a chance to meet the young California teen, but her fight for life gripped me three years ago and was never… -
opinion
Affirmative Action Boosts White Liberals’ Feelings at the Expense of Minorities
Amy Wax, a University of Pennsylvania law professor, has come under attack and scathing criticism because she dared criticize the school’s racial preferences program. In an interview with Brown University economist Glenn Loury, discussing affirmative action, Wax mentioned how racial preferences hinder the ability of blacks to succeed academically by admitting them into schools at… -
opinion
On the Fourth of July, Honoring American Exceptionalism and an Exceptional American, Charles Krauthammer
Amid all the pomp and parades, the fireworks and other illuminations, the hot dogs and the ice cream, the home runs and the World Cup goals, let us be sure to pause on this Fourth of July holiday and say with grateful hearts and proud voices, “Happy birthday, America!” This land—our land—is 242 years young… -
opinion
Terror Plot 104 Targets the Fourth of July
On July 1, the FBI arrested Demetrius Pitts for planning a terrorist attack in Cleveland on the Fourth of July. This plot was the 104th Islamist terror plot or attack against the U.S. homeland since 9/11 and the 91st plot or attack that was homegrown. The FBI first became aware of Pitts at the end… -
opinion
Another Court Term, Another Sign That Congress Must Fix Overcriminalization
Another Supreme Court term has come and gone and overcriminalization—Congress’ overuse and abuse of the criminal law to “fix” every problem and punish every mistake—remains a concern at the court. A closely-divided Supreme Court recently ruled, in Currier v. Virginia, that when a criminal defendant agrees with the government to adjudicate multiple charges through multiple trials,… -
opinion
The Left’s Drumbeat of Hysteria Is Leading Toward Violence Against Conservatives
Because of the ever-descending moral and intellectual state of the mainstream news media, there has been no outcry against the leftists who call President Donald Trump and all Americans who support him Nazis. Indeed, members of the media now regularly do so. Without that outcry, this labeling will only increase; and this steadily increasing drumbeat… -
opinion
Celebrating the Spirit of July Fourth With the Marines
The Independence Day celebration on the National Mall is always a big, crowded event with music, celebrities, and fireworks and artillery being fired off along the Potomac River at the end of the evening. But this year, my wife and I, along with one of our daughters, got a wonderful and more intimate preview of… -
opinion
The Next Phase of Our National Moral Panic
It looks as if the next phase of our ginned-up national moral panic will feature the public shunning and harassment of people we disagree with. And in a free country, even the pretend oppressed can kick imaginary Nazis out of their establishments, as we saw when the co-owner of The Red Hen in Lexington, Virginia,… -
news
Netflix Investigated for Allegedly Allowing Child Porn on Site
Netflix is under investigation for allowing what could be considered child porn on its streaming site. The Argentinian film “Desire” is the movie in question because it includes a graphic scene where two underage girls engage in “sexually suggestive behavior.” The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is currently investigating the movie, according to the Daily Mail. “Sexually… -
news
We Went to Families Belong Together Protest. Here Are 6 Things We Saw.
A sea of protesters clad in white from across the nation descended on the White House Saturday to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and the separation of families at the border. Later, chants like “No justice, no peace” rang out along Constitution Avenue as protesters, led by a police escort, marched from the White… -
opinion
Must-See Moments: The Left’s Rhetorical Tailspin
The Daily Signal’s Facebook Live show “Top 10” features the top news stories of the week. Is leftist rhetoric out of control? This week, we discuss rhetoric and civil discourse, as lawmakers and leftist activists call for continued harassment of Trump administration officials. Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement announcement spawned a whole new level of hysteria, Florida… -
news
Scott Pruitt Is Rolling Back One of the EPA’s Most Expansive Powers
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is rescinding regulations that allow agency officials to veto projects before a permit is applied for or after it is granted, the EPA announced Wednesday. A section of the Clean Water Act authorizes the EPA to interfere with the permitting process for waste dumping projects managed by the Army Corps of… -
opinion
EU Hammers Out Migration Agreement, but the Devil’s in the Details
In the wee hours of Friday morning, leaders of the member states of the European Union announced they had reached an agreement at the European Council meeting on the contentious issue of migration. The agreement includes important measures seeking to stem migration at its source; however, the devil will be in the details. How countries… -
opinion
2 Reasons Why the Media Will Drop Coverage of the Capital Gazette Shooting
On Thursday, four journalists and one staff member of the Capital Gazette were murdered in the newspaper’s Annapolis, Maryland, office. While the event was initially widely covered by all major news outlets, the media is likely to quickly move on from the story, just like it did with the Santa Fe High School shooting, because… -
opinion
Electoral Violence in Mexico Threatens Its Democracy
On Sunday, Mexico is set to hold elections for the presidency and roughly 3,000 other federal, state, and local offices. Not even the politicians running for office are immune from the pervasive violence that has gripped the country. So far, in this election cycle alone, 130 politicians have been killed and hundreds have been physically… -
opinion
Iranian Protests Underscore Regime’s Vulnerability
On Sunday, protests spontaneously erupted in Tehran, Iran’s capital, as cellphone shop owners shut down their shops and demonstrated against the plummeting value of Iran’s currency, the rial, which has devastated their businesses. The next day they were joined by merchants in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, a key constituency for Iran’s clerical regime. The bazaar merchants… -
opinion
Podcast: The Week in Review, Plus an Exclusive With CRTV’s Eric Bolling
On today’s edition of The Daily Signal podcast, Rob Bluey and Ginny Montalbano share an exclusive interview with former Fox News host Eric Bolling about his new CRTV show “AMericA.” The new show will tape live from a Capitol Hill hotel bar where he’ll interview high-profile guests, and then take the conversation to the crowd…. -
news
The Capital Gazette Published as Promised, but It Was the Nearly Blank Page That Was Particularly Heartbreaking
The Capital Gazette published a paper the day after a gunman killed five of its staffers, but one nearly blank page was particularly heartbreaking. The suspect, Jarrod Warren Ramos, opened fire on the Annapolis, Maryland, newspaper Thursday afternoon with a “long gun,” killing five and injuring several others in a tragic event recognized as a the… -
opinion
The Benefits of the Small Business Audit Correction Act
As the table below shows, the number of broker-dealers in the U.S. declined by 29 percent between 2003 and 2017. Over the same period, the size of the economy (as measured by real, inflation-adjusted gross domestic product) grew by 29 percent. This matters because it leads to greater concentration and less competition in the financial…