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
The Coast Guard Is Seizing Record Amounts of Drugs. Why More Funding Is Needed for the Fight.
After a record-breaking year for drug interdictions in 2016, the Coast Guard is continuing to make significant strides in countering the illegal drug trade in 2017. On Feb. 16, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier, assisted by the coast guards of Trinidad and Tobago, seized 4.2 tons of cocaine with an estimated value of $125… -
news
E-Cigarette Critics Get Research Dollars From Industry Competitors
Some interesting news recently landed in Jeff Stier’s inbox. “Today’s a good day to quit smoking!” proclaimed an email from NYC Quits, part of a statewide tobacco control program that gives away free nicotine patches and gum every year. Stier said the fact that the patch has government backing as a smoking cessation product is… -
opinion
Arizona Scored a Big Win With School Choice. Here’s How It Will Help Children.
Last week, Arizona leaped to the front of the education choice pack. Already a leader in school choice, being the first state to create education savings accounts back in 2011, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has now signed into law an expansion of the program, transforming it into a near-universal option for students across the state…. -
news
Claremont College Students Shut Down Conservative Speaker
Protesters from the Claremont Colleges successfully prevented conservative commentator Heather Mac Donald from speaking on the Claremont Mckenna College campus. Students at the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts colleges in Claremont, California, blocked entrances to the building that Mac Donald was scheduled to speak in. Mac Donald, a senior fellow… -
opinion
Syria Strikes Signal an End of ‘Leading From Behind’
With his surprise, 180-degree decision to avenge innocents in Syria, President Donald Trump entered the particle accelerator that is foreign affairs. The barrage of urgencies—inhumanity, chemical weapons, Syrian civil war, North Korean missiles, Russian warships, truck bombings, ISIS—has streamed his focus into a statesmanship that impresses even his detractors. This reminds us of Trump’s speech… -
opinion
Trump’s Response to Syria a Bold First Step in Rebuilding US Credibility
On Thursday, President Donald Trump ordered the launch of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles against an airfield in Syria. The strike came in response to Tuesday’s chemical weapons attack ordered by Bashar Assad against the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in northwestern Syria. Trump immediately condemned that attack, which reportedly killed 80 people, including men, woman,… -
news
US Cruise Missiles Strike Air Base in Syria
The United States fired dozens of cruise missiles at an airfield in Syria that military officials said was the source of the poison gas attack by the Assad regime that killed at least 80 civilians less than 48 hours earlier. “No child of God should ever suffer such horror," @POTUS says. President Donald Trump said… -
opinion
Here Are 6 Reasons to Lower the Corporate Tax Rate Immediately
At close to 40 percent when including state rates, the U.S. corporate tax rate is one of the highest in the world. By comparison, the average corporate tax rate among nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development stands at 25 percent. Politicians and pundits often talk about companies moving operations to more friendly… -
news
Interior Employees Paid $6 Million While Facing Misconduct Investigations
Department of the Interior officials were paid $6 million while on extended administrative leave—often while under investigation for misconduct—without documented approval, a government watchdog reported Wednesday. The $6 million went to 242 department employees on administrative leave for at least 45 days between January 2013 and July 2016, the agency’s inspector general reported. “[The Department… -
opinion
Time to Put an End to Sports Stadium Cronyism
Last week, the NFL approved the long-anticipated move of the Raiders from Oakland, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Understandably, Raiders fans are feeling betrayed. But there’s an even larger group that’s getting the short end of the stick: taxpayers. The Raiders will be moving into a $2 billion stadium in Las Vegas that will end… -
news
Arizona Undertakes Sweeping Reform of Occupational Licensing Laws
This past week saw two major reforms for Arizona’s occupational licensing regime, which could kick off a lightening of the regulatory burden in the state. On March 29, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order requiring all state licensing boards to report on their minimum requirements for obtaining an occupational license. Should those requirements exceed national… -
opinion
How World War I Changed America, 100 Years On
One hundred years ago today, April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I. The Great War’s centennial is especially poignant because of the massive sacrifice America made in both blood and treasure, mostly forgotten and faded now as so much mist over the ocean. More than 53,000 Americans lost their lives on the… -
opinion
Export-Import Bank’s Secret Dealings Demonstrate the Problem With Crony Capitalism
The annual conference of the Export-Import Bank begins Thursday, which is an opportune time to catch up with the federal agency that doles out billions of dollars in subsidies to benefit foreign governments and titans of industry. Of particular interest are transaction details that the bank won’t reveal, as well as its relatively limp support… -
news
What Could Be Next for Susan Rice in ‘Unmasking’ Controversy
Susan Rice, national security adviser to President Barack Obama, likely will figure in congressional investigations of Russia’s interference in the presidential election. That prospect arose after news reports that Rice sought the identities of persons close to President Donald Trump whose communications were captured after the election in surveillance of foreigners by U.S. spy agencies…. -
opinion
California Races to Become Sanctuary State, Shunning Federal Law and Its Own Residents
Lucky Luciano and other gangsters like Los Angeles mobster Simon Scozzari, an illegal alien who was finally deported back to Italy in 1962, would love the sanctuary bill rapidly making its way through the California Legislature. It would implement a policy that ensures the entire state of California becomes a sanctuary for dangerous criminal aliens—like… -
opinion
Why Self-Reliance Is Key in Fighting Big Government
Most Americans don’t expect the federal government to stay out of their lives altogether. What they expect is minimal involvement: Let Washington be the last resort, the one Americans turn to only when they truly can’t devise any alternative. Given our resourcefulness, that should be rare. As Alexis de Tocqueville, the 19th century French political… -
opinion
23 Ways Big Government Is Hurting the Poor
Advocates for big government often equate expanding government with concern for the poor. But reality speaks to the contrary: Expanding government often has very harmful effects on the poor. This reality is precisely what is addressed in a forthcoming special report from The Heritage Foundation, “Big Government Policies That Hurt the Poor and How to… -
news
The Public Won’t See the Rest of Hillary’s Emails Until 2020
A federal attorney said Tuesday that officials at the Department of State and other agencies can’t make the remaining 100,000 unreleased Hillary Clinton emails public for 42 months, or until October 2020. Justice Department attorney Jennie Kneedler told U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg Tuesday that “processing takes time.” She also told Boasberg during… -
opinion
This Government Office Has Long Needed Reform. Now, Congress Is Acting.
U.S. industries that depend heavily on copyright—which protects books, movies, films, photos, music, as well as software from unauthorized reproduction by third parties—are an important key to American economic growth and innovation. These industries yield hundreds of billions of dollars in sales and licensing revenues each year. In 2015 alone, American copyright-related industries generated $1.2…