Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
-
opinion
CNN Documentary Gets Reagan’s Legacy Wrong
Is it possible to devote 90 minutes of prime TV time to Ronald Reagan as an actor who changed the presidency through his use of the mass media and still miss why he was a great communicator? CNN did it with its all too predictable documentary, “The Reagan Show.” The producers presented all the liberal… -
opinion
Foiled Virginia Attack Brings Total US Terror Plots to 97 Since 9/11
Last year, FBI agents and undercover operatives watched as Lionel Williams, 27, of Suffolk, Virginia, revealed plans to help Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, as well as plans for an attack against the U.S. homeland. Last month, Williams pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State,… -
news
Trump Stumps for Simplifying Tax Code in North Dakota
President Donald Trump took his crusade for tax reform to North Dakota Wednesday. Though he said the tax reform plan will boost prosperity and make America more competitive during the remarks at the Andeavor Refinery in Mandan, North Dakota, Trump jokingly singled one industry that wouldn’t grow under a reformed and simpler tax code. “A… -
opinion
Utah Blood Draw Incident Shows the Limits of Police Authority
On July 26, Alex Wubbels was just trying to protect her patient by following a longstanding hospital policy—one she rightly understood to reflect the protections of the Fourth Amendment. She was rewarded with handcuffs and a seat in the back of a police cruiser. Wubbels, a former Olympic athlete and current head nurse of the… -
news
President Deploys Ivanka as Emissary on Tax Reform
Congress should at least double the child tax credit, Ivanka Trump urged Tuesday, as the president’s daughter and key White House adviser stressed the administration’s commitment to tax reform this year. “We are keeping the administration’s working families agenda top of mind,” @IvankaTrump says. “This administration is determined to keep working families at the forefront… -
news
Why Lisa Murkowski’s Senate Vote Preserving Obamacare Riles Alaska Conservatives
Some Republicans in Alaska are frustrated that one of their own broke ranks to vote with Senate Democrats against repealing Obamacare. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, was one of three Republicans to join forces with Democrats to defeat the Senate bill that would have prompted a conference with the House on how to repeal… -
opinion
There Is No Such Thing as a ‘Deserving Dreamer’
Over and over again, from the mouths of politicians in both parties, identity politics purveyors and cheap labor lobbyists, we hear the same refrains about President Barack Obama’s 800,000 amnestied illegal alien youths: “They don’t deserve to be punished.” “They deserve protection.” “They deserve the American dream.” Deserve, deserve, deserve. Over and over again, in… -
opinion
Black Leaders Should Focus on Lifting People Out of Poverty, Not Purging Statues
Many blacks and their white liberal allies demand the removal of statues of Confederate generals and the Confederate battle flag, and they are working up steam to destroy the images of Gens. Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee and President Jefferson Davis from Stone Mountain in Georgia. Allow me to speculate as to the whys… -
opinion
As Conflict Erupts Around the World, the US Must Not Defund This Critical Program
In the coming days, Congress will vote on major spending legislation that will include funding cuts for foreign policy and defense programs. Among the items on the chopping block is the United States Institute of Peace, a government-funded think tank devoted to furthering development and peace in the world. In a world where North Korea… -
opinion
The Left’s Intimidation Tactics Against Conservative Opinion
For those unfamiliar with the term, Marranos was the name given to Jews in medieval Spain and Portugal who secretly maintained their Judaism while living as Catholics in public, especially in the 15th century during the Spanish Inquisition. There is, of course, no Spanish Inquisition in America today—no one is being tortured into confessing what… -
opinion
The Navy Is Having Collisions at Sea. Here’s Why It’s Happening and What Should Be Done.
In the past two and a half months, the Navy has experienced the worst peacetime surface ship collisions in over 41 years. Two recent collisions—first the USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), then the USS John S. McCain (DDG 56)—took place with commercial vessels and claimed the lives of 17 U.S. sailors during routine “independent steaming” operations… -
news
Tax Reform Will ‘Help Everyone,’ This Small-Business Owner Says
For one struggling business owner in America’s heartland, tax reform is a must. “Tax reform is gonna help everyone,” Carla Young, owner of C.J.’s Cleaning Service LLC in Sedalia, Missouri, told The Daily Signal in a phone interview. “There’s no way everyone can’t benefit.” Young, whose small commercial cleaning business is just months shy of… -
opinion
The Southern Poverty Law Center Almost Got Me Killed. Why Does the Media Still Propagate Its ‘Hate Map’?
When the elevator door opened in the lobby, my colleagues and I saw a man sitting, bleeding, surrounded by police. We stared in silence as police yelled at us to get back upstairs. The elevator door quietly closed, and we returned to our fifth-floor office. Up there, we hadn’t heard Floyd Corkins’ gunshot that hit… -
opinion
Why a Conservative Publisher Ditched New York Times Best-Sellers List
The New York Times is pushing fake news about book sales, according to a top conservative publisher. Citing bias and favoritism toward liberal writers and a lack of transparency, Regnery Publishing President and Publisher Marji Ross told The Daily Signal that the company will stop recognizing the Times’ best-sellers list, which has been used as… -
opinion
How to Bring Real Stability to the Health Care Market
Following Congress’ failure to enact “repeal and replace” legislation this summer, the new Obamacare buzz phrase for the fall is “market stabilization.” An ad hoc group of House members calling themselves the “Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus” has released a draft outline of a proposal to Stabilize the Individual Market, while in the Senate, the Health,… -
opinion
Southern Poverty Law Center Distorts the Legacy of Confederate Statues
In the wake of the ongoing controversy over Confederate monuments, many who would like to see them removed immediately have pointed to one chart that shows when the statues were put up, presumably to prove they are inherently hateful. A widely cited study, created by the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center, claims that most of… -
opinion
Don’t Withdraw From the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement
During his confirmation hearing in March, then-United States trade representative nominee Bob Lighthizer made the case that bi-lateral trade deficits are an issue in that they may point to protection embedded in the trading regimes of America’s partners. The U.S. and South Korea are currently at an impasse over the Trump administration’s demand to renegotiate… -
opinion
Union Bosses Have Too Much Control. It’s Time to Protect the Rights of American Workers.
For the past eight years, union bosses have held the upper hand over East Tennessee workers, as the previous administration tried to stack the deck in favor of unionization. The National Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor combined to pursue an agenda that put union bosses and special interests ahead of the rights… -
news
Congress Has About 60 Days Left. Here’s What Conservative Groups Think of the Progress It Has Made.
Congress has roughly 60 legislative days left in 2017, and conservatives want lawmakers to follow through on their promises. “The congressional agenda would be daunting even if lawmakers were content to just keep the trains running on time,” Dan Holler, spokesman for Heritage Action for America, the lobbying affiliate of The Heritage Foundation, told The… -
news
As GOP Senators, Governors Pitch Plan to Save Obamacare, White House ‘Can’t Imagine’ Backing Bailout
The White House says it “can’t imagine” supporting an Obamacare bailout, even as some Republican senators and governors are urging boosting federal subsidies to insurance companies to stabilize the endangered Obamacare exchanges. “I can’t imagine that would be something we would want to be involved in,” @PressSec says. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions…