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
House Republicans Lay Out Their Plan to Rein in the EPA
House Republicans released their proposal to balance the federal budget in 10 years, which included their plans to rein in the regulatory power of the Environmental Protection Agency. Republicans plan three broad reforms for the EPA: reduce its funding, cut global warming programs, and eliminate the agency’s policy office. “The Environmental Protection Agency has long… -
news
These House Democrats Heard They May Have Been Hacked but Don’t Seem to Care
House Democrats professing moral outrage over the hacking of the Democratic National Committee have apparently remained indifferent to the likely penetration of their congressional computer systems, declining to distance themselves from five Pakistani House server administrators who are the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. House authorities banned the five administrators from the congressional information… -
news
Federal Government Has Replaced Local Community, Says Sen. Mike Lee
Facebook can’t replace the Little League, and neither can the federal government, according to Sen. Mike Lee. In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Lee, a Republican, hailed the power of local communities and their institutions—families, churches, and groups like the Little League—to restore democratic life in America. “The beauty of localism,” the Utah… -
opinion
How Radical Feminism Sowed the Seeds of Our Transgender Moment
Today’s transgender movement is the latest effort to overturn what are in fact true assumptions about human life. My recent report, “Sex, Gender, and the Origin of the Culture Wars,” reveals the intellectual roots of today’s transgender movement so that citizens can defend common sense against the corruptions that this movement generates. Transgenderism literally means… -
opinion
How Character and Statecraft Shaped the Post-World War Order
Seventy-two years after the end of World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s leadership remains a shining example of statecraft for leaders in our own day. It is this great British figure that historian and public intellectual Lewis E. Lehrman writes about in his latest book, “Churchill, Roosevelt & Company: Studies in Character and Statecraft.”… -
opinion
How to Make NASA Great Again
In two years, it will have been a half-century since American astronauts first set foot on the moon. Apollo 11 was followed by five more successful voyages to the moon and back, an accomplishment of which NASA is duly proud. During the Apollo program, the National Aeronautical and Space Agency was at the top of… -
opinion
The Hypocrisy of Linda Sarsour and Her Use of ‘Jihad’
Linda Sarsour is fighting back after being criticized for calling for “jihad” against President Donald Trump and his administration. During a speech at the Islamic Society of North America Convention, she said: I hope, that when we stand up to those who oppress our communities, that Allah accepts from us that as a form of… -
news
From Cactus Theater to the Met, US Government Pours Hundreds of Millions Into Well-Heeled Arts
U.S. taxpayers have paid $90,000 for a theater “performance” in which people commune with a tall cactus for an hour in the middle of an Arizona desert, “to discover what it can teach them.” On a posher scale, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York netted $1.2 million in taxpayer-funded grants from the U.S…. -
news
Al Gore Likens the Climate Change Movement to Campaign Ending Slavery
Former Vice President Al Gore compared the fight to end man-made global warming to the abolishment of slavery and the push for gay marriage. “The abolition of slavery, woman’s suffrage … and more recently the gay rights movement,” Gore said Thursday about the importance of staying ahead of the curve on environmental issues. The mission to reduce the… -
news
McCain, Tunisian Leader Urge US Aid to Sow Democracy in Middle East
Tunisia’s commitment to democracy provides hope for a region awash in tumult, but the North African nation needs U.S. aid to move forward, its top government official says. And the Tunisian leader has a backer in Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Warning that “no country can address challenges without… -
news
Conservatives Look for Lower Premiums in Senate’s Revised Health Care Bill
The Senate’s Republican leadership released a revised health care bill Thursday afternoon, a move welcomed by House conservatives even as they were reluctant to comment before digesting it. “We are going to withhold judgment,” Rep. Mark Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said earlier in the day during the monthly Conversations With Conservatives event… -
opinion
CNN’s ‘Hate Groups’ Map Puts Conservative Lives at Risk
UPDATE Aug. 18, 2017: The mainstream media is at it again. CNN published today a map of "hate groups" relying on the Southern Poverty Law Center's list, which include groups like Alliance Defending Freedom and Family Research Council. ORANGE COUNTY, California—Once again, the mainstream media is demonstrating it doesn’t care about the impact of extremist… -
opinion
Congress Should Use Congressional Review Act to Strike Down Ill-Advised Arbitration Rule
On July 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a new rule to ban financial service providers, such as banks or credit card companies, from using mandatory arbitration clauses to deny consumers the opportunity to participate in a class action (“arbitration rule”). The arbitration rule’s summary explains: First, the final rule prohibits covered providers of… -
opinion
How Fossil Fuels Will Help Us Confront Climate Change
The debate over climate change policy pits two competing visions of the future against each other. On the one hand are the “true believers,” who see in global warming an existential threat to humanity. They want to slow the rise in temperature as soon as possible, and as much as possible. Their policy prescriptions focus… -
news
House Conservatives Renew Calls to Cancel August Recess
Members of the House’s most conservative caucus again are calling for leadership to cancel the August recess so lawmakers can work longer on priorities such as health care and tax reform. “It just makes sense for our leadership to keep us here to focus on getting things done,” @RobWittman says. The latest pressure Wednesday from… -
opinion
Sean Spicer’s Press Room Innovations Are Driving Elite Reporters Mad
“When Washington reporters ask hard questions, Sean Spicer turns to Skype.” That was the headline of a front-page article in USA Today last week, capping months of criticism of the White House press secretary. Spicer is being pilloried for the sin of including reporters outside the clubby White House press corps in daily press briefings—and… -
opinion
Malpractice in America’s Crime Labs Is Putting Innocents in Jail, Letting Convicts Off the Hook
Junk science endangers lives. Forensic junk science in the hands of overzealous prosecutors, ignorant police detectives, and reckless experts threatens liberty. There is a crisis in America’s government-run crime labs—and it’s not just the result of a few rogue operators. The problem is long-festering and systemic. In April, Massachusetts state crime lab chemist Annie Dookhan… -
news
For Congressman Behind Bill to Save Charlie Gard, It’s Personal
One of two House Republicans who introduced a bill in hopes of saving the life of a terminally ill British infant has a personal reason to do so. More than 20 years ago, doctors diagnosed his younger sister as having leukemia, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, told The Daily Signal. But the family's insurance company wouldn't… -
opinion
Too Many Government Policies Are Limiting Opportunity for All, and Hurting the Poor
Policymakers too often think that big government is the only solution to creating opportunity and reducing poverty. They fail to ask how government might be the problem. In fact, government often cuts off opportunities for many regular Americans, while encouraging cronyism and benefits for those who have the right government connections. If “draining the swamp”… -
opinion
It’s Unwise for Mayors to Embark on Costly Climate Plans. But It’s Also Their Right.
Since President Donald Trump announced America’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, mayors from across the country have announced a renewed commitment to the agreement, promising to achieve its objectives on their own. “If the federal government doesn’t act, it doesn’t mean we don’t have a national policy; the federal government doesn’t occupy the only…