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

    Be Not Afraid of the Climate

    President Joe Biden reiterated before Christmas that climate change is an existential threat even as climate alarmism reaches new levels of urgency. But the premise that the world is becoming less livable because of climate change is simply incorrect. Government data show that the world is getting better for human life in nearly every measurable…
    Diana Furchtgott-Roth
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    • Opinion

    Tonight, We’re Gonna Party Like It’s 2019!

    Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the new Department of Government Efficiency should help President reelect Donald J. Trump implement a straightforward reform: Return federal spending to 2019 levels. Americans lived large just before COVID-19. On New Year’s Eve 2019—nearly five years ago—the U.S. economy boomed.  Real annual gross domestic product grew by 2.5%. Unemployment was just 3.5% and at or near record depths for blacks, Hispanics,…
    Deroy Murdock
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    • Opinion

    Defunding Planned Parenthood Is a Matter of Life and Death for Black America

    The prospect that American taxpayers, who morally object to abortion, may no longer be forced to fund Planned Parenthood when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, feels promising this time around. And according to Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, the newly slated Department of Government Efficiency advisory committee just might lead the charge to…
    John Amanchukwu Sr.
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    • Opinion

    A Light in the Darkness

    The week before Christmas in 2006, on the same day I lost my job, doctors gave my wife six months to live. I had to be the one to break the news to her. I sat in her recovery room following a lung biopsy surgery, waited for her to be awake and aware, and told…
    Erick Erickson
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    • News

    Pornhub to Block Access in 13 States as Age-Verification Laws Spread

    THE CENTER SQUARE—The pornography website Pornhub soon will be inaccessible in 13 states after lawmakers passed a flurry of restrictions for social media and other internet sites.  The bills require certain age-verification measures for websites hosting adult content.  A total of 16 states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina,…
    Nolan McKendry
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    • Opinion

    The Vindication of Daniel Penny

    It didn’t take long for Daniel Penny, the subway savior who was persecuted by the New York City justice system for having the temerity to help fellow passengers, to be completely vindicated. By trying—and, fortunately, failing—to convict Penny in the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless drug addict with a long rap sheet who yelled…
    Jarrett Stepman
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    • News

    Rand Paul’s Report Details $1 Trillion in Gov’t Waste. Here Are the Worst Offenders.

    Sen. Rand Paul released a report on Monday outlining more than $1 trillion in government waste from the past year. The 2024 “Festivus” report highlighted various instances of wasteful government spending from the federal government, including a pickleball complex in Las Vegas and a cabaret show on ice. This year marks Paul’s 10th annual report. “This year,…
    Ireland Owens
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    • Opinion

    Questioning Vaccines Shouldn’t Be Verboten

    In the Harry Potter series, the villain, Lord Voldemort, is known as “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.” There’s a similar sentiment whenever someone expresses a heterodox opinion on vaccines. The long knives are already out for Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. While there are valid concerns among pro-life activists, the most prominent objection is…
    Victor Joecks
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    • News

    A Christmas Tale, 1919

    Editor’s note: This true story about my family was first published by The Wall Street Journal in 2008. It has now been 105 years since my father fled Russia after the communists took over, but his five children, of which I was the fourth, still celebrate his escape every Christmas. And we still feel very blessed to have…
    Hans von Spakovsky
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    • Opinion

    Jordan Peterson’s New Book on Religion Strikes a Chord

    In his new book, Jordan Peterson solidifies a complete transformation away from his teenage beliefs claiming “religion was for the ignorant, weak and superstitious.” His fourth book, “We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine,” is essentially a Bible study, albeit one far more sophisticated and classical than your average Protestant workbook. Peterson surveys…
    Carrie Sheffield
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    • Opinion

    The White Pill

    The movie “The Matrix” gave us the “red pill” and the “blue pill.” The red wakes you up to reality; the blue keeps you indoctrinated. Internet culture then invented a black pill. Those who take it think the world is doomed. So, podcaster Michael Malice wrote the book “The White Pill,” calling it a “symbol…
    John Stossel
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    • Opinion

    Capitol Hill’s DOGE Lawmakers Ready to Reduce Regulatory Burdens for Everyday Americans 

    In Ronald Reagan’s stirring 1964 “A Time for Choosing” speech, he said: “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. So governments’ programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.”  Reagan’s words were as true 60 years ago as they are…
    Rep. Ron Estes
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    • Opinion

    How to Reduce Housing Costs

    Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the accompanying video from professor Peter St. Onge. Can Donald Trump reduce house prices? A recent study by Redfin found that millions of Americans are skipping meals, selling belongings, and even delaying medical care to afford housing. Three in four Americans making less than $50,000—nearly half…
    Peter St. Onge
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    • Opinion

    A Return to Narnia Through Blue’s Tooth by Way of Ford’s Edge

    It’s been quite some time since I’ve visited Narnia. I tend to give Disney’s 2005 adaptation of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” a watch every Christmas season—it is a Christmas movie after all. I’ve loved the film since seeing it in theaters. It is a faithful representation of the book, though not quite…
    Bradley Devlin
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    • Opinion

    Trump’s Bank Deregulation

    Donald Trump wants to unchain the financial sector to flood lending into the economy. Will it boost growth? Or will it boost inflation? The Wall Street Journal recently summed up Trump’s plans to eliminate overlap, duplication, and regulations that shut out competitors and reduce lending. Specific things he wants to get rid of include the…
    Peter St. Onge
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    • News

    Thoughts on Fatherhood: A Post-Birth Dispatch

    One year ago, almost to the day, I used this column as a “post-wedding dispatch” to offer some (very) preliminary thoughts on marriage. The column was published five days after my wedding. Now, almost exactly one year later, I am using this column as a “post-birth dispatch” to offer some (very) preliminary thoughts on another…
    Josh Hammer
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    • Opinion

    California’s Downfall Funded by ‘George Soros and the Cartels,’ Former Democrat Claims

    Following Donald Trump‘s election victory in November, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, convened a special session of the California Legislature to “Trump-proof” the state. At the top of the agenda: Newsom’s effort to prevent the second Trump administration from deporting illegal aliens who live in California.  “This is going against the rule of law and…
    Virginia Allen
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    • News

    UnitedHealthcare Covers Double Mastectomies for 17-Year-Olds With Gender Dysphoria

    America’s largest health insurance company covers double mastectomies for some 17-year-old girls who identify as transgender. UnitedHealthcare’s “Gender Dysphoria Treatment” guide, which took effect Dec. 1, says: “For mastectomy or breast reduction, individuals must be at least 18 years of age; however, individuals within one calendar year of turning 18 can be considered on a…
    Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell
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    • Opinion

    A Government ‘Shutdown’ Isn’t Really a Shutdown. Here Are the Facts.

    The current battle in Congress over the continuing resolution to fund the government is a fight worth having to stop the bloated spending of the federal government—spending that increases our unsustainable, monumental debt; funds dangerous and unnecessary government programs; and keeps unaccountable bureaucrats in office whose goal in life is to control our lives from…
    Hans von Spakovsky
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    • News

    Disney Under Fire for Partnering with Ad Association That Discriminated Based on Political, Religious Beliefs

    Religious liberty law firm Alliance Defending Freedom will meet with The Walt Disney Co. in early January to question its collusion with a now-defunct advertising giant known to censor news outlets and personalities. The Global Alliance for Responsible Media likely violated federal antitrust laws by censoring and boycotting the speech of conservative news outlets and personalities,…
    Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell
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