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
How the Left’s Narrative on Crime Makes Communities Worse Off
The FBI reported that the total number of homicides in 2015 was 15,696. Blacks were about 52 percent of homicide victims. That means about 8,100 black lives were ended violently, and over 90 percent of the time, the perpetrator was another black. Listening to the news media and the Black Lives Matter movement, one would… -
news
Al Sharpton Makes Some Serious Charges Against Jeff Sessions. Here Are the Facts.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is organizing a resistance movement comprised of black civil rights leaders to protest the presidency of Donald Trump. He showed up Tuesday at Sen. Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing for attorney general. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Sharpton rehashed allegations of racism against the Alabama senator, claiming they were “found to be substantial.”… -
news
8 Takeaways From the First Day of Jeff Sessions’ Confirmation Hearings
It got rowdy at times during the hearing Tuesday on Sen. Jeff Sessions’ nomination to become attorney general, but not so much because of fellow senators who questioned the Alabama Republican. Protesters interrupted the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing multiple times, some dressed in Ku Klux Klan outfits, others wearing the familiar Code Pink attire. They shouted… -
news
Despite Controversies, Holder Had Easier Road to Confirmation Than Sessions
President Barack Obama’s first attorney general pick skated through Senate confirmation hearings, but top Democrats have indicated that President-elect Donald Trump’s selection may have a tougher time getting through. Ahead of the confirmation hearing Tuesday for Trump’s attorney general designee, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, brought up issues that prevented… -
news
Kentucky’s Right-to-Work Earthquake Reverberates Across State Lines
Kentucky’s Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, has now officially signed right-to-work legislation–along with other jobs legislation–into law. Yet the impact of Kentucky’s right-to-work legislation could move beyond the state’s borders. Right-to-work laws prohibit employers from entering into agreements that make union membership and the payment of union dues a condition of employment. Additionally, Bevin signed… -
opinion
Ryan: Reconciliation Bill Will Block Planned Parenthood Funding
Stopping the stream of federal funding to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, will be part of the upcoming budget reconciliation package, House Speaker Paul Ryan said during a press briefing Friday. This important announcement maintains the strong policy stance Congress took in the 2015 reconciliation bill that would have repealed Obamacare and stopped… -
news
How Trump’s Presidency Could Retool the Auto Industry
President-elect Donald Trump’s public campaign to push U.S. companies to make their products in America is already having an impact, especially on one of his favorite targets: the auto industry. On Tuesday, Ford Motor Co., the nation’s second-largest automaker, said it will cancel a plan to build a small-car assembly plant in Mexico that Trump… -
opinion
Ghana Is Leading the Way for Democracy in Africa
Ghana, a West African country, has experienced peaceful transitions of power each time there has been a change in government since the country ended military rule in 1992. Solidifying its notable status as one of Africa’s most stable democracies, Ghana is about to embark on another handover of power from the sitting head of state… -
news
A General Joins the House’s Conservative Ranks as New Congress Convenes
Six months shy of serving 30 years, Brig. Gen. Don Bacon decided to end his Air Force career so he could speak out on the concerning direction he saw the country taking. A run for Congress, however, was not what Bacon had originally envisioned. “I decided to retire a little early because I wanted to… -
news
6 Alarming Findings in House Panel’s Planned Parenthood Probe
Planned Parenthood affiliates profited by transferring parts of aborted babies to outside organizations in violation of the law, a special House panel has concluded after a yearlong investigation. In a 418-page report released Wednesday, the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives also found that other organizations involved in the transfer of fetal tissue broke… -
opinion
REINS Act Will Check Executive Overreach, Restore Constitutional Balance
As a new Congress begins, Republicans have made it clear that regulatory reform is a priority that puts the interest of all Americans first, especially concerning the economy. It’s been said that sometimes government rules “have gotten out of balance, placing unreasonable burdens on business—burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect… -
opinion
Helpful Tips for Discussing Politics During Trump’s First 100 Days
Good or bad, people have an opinion about President-elect Donald Trump. He’s been part of the national conversation for years and will continue to be for at least the next four. Now, it’s time to figure out how you want to engage with your neighbor, co-worker, or friend who may not like the incoming leader… -
opinion
Liberals Think They Can Alter Reality. They’re Wrong.
We will never understand liberals and progressives until we recognize that they often see reality as a social construct subject to being challenged and changed. For example, throughout the world, boys and girls have different toy preferences. Typically, boys like to play with cars and trucks, whereas girls prefer dolls. Liberals explain this with the… -
news
New York Proposes Free College, but Not Everyone’s Buying It
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an “aggressive” new plan to provide free college tuition to families earning up to $125,000 a year. Under the proposal, nearly a million families would qualify. “We’re making college tuition-free for middle-class families,” Cuomo, a Democrat, said. “This is the most aggressive plan ever proposed.” To participate, students are… -
news
She Got the Car the Government Seized Back. But Her Fight Isn’t Over
An Albuquerque, New Mexico, woman whose car was seized last year by New Mexico police received her vehicle back from the city last month after challenging the seizure in court. But Arlene Harjo plans to continue fighting the city of Albuquerque in court over the legality of a controversial program that allowed law enforcement to… -
news
This Nonprofit Is Saving Kids—and Taxpayer Money
When David Anderson began asking volunteers in Chicago to host children from high-risk families to give them a break, he never imagined his idea would take off. “I’m a son of a bricklayer so I never imagined that we would grow,” Anderson told The Daily Signal. But 14 years later, his organization, Safe Families for… -
opinion
Court Strikes Down Transgender Mandate, Protecting Doctors, Children, and Hospitals
While family and friends were counting down to the new year, I was watching a different kind of countdown—whether doctors and health care providers would be forced to violate their medical judgment and provide procedures, including gender transition services and abortions, under a new government mandate. The mandate is a 362-page regulation that claims to interpret… -
opinion
6 Political New Year’s Resolutions You Should Make
As the calendar year ends, minds quickly turn to losing weight, eating healthy, saving money, and spending more time with family. But just as 2016 caused us to rethink politics, it’s time to rethink this year’s New Year’s resolutions. The voice of the American voters has never been louder, and with unified Republican control of… -
news
Remembering George Washington’s New Year’s Victory Over the British at Princeton
PRINCETON, N.J.—What began as a retreat from battle-hardened, bayonet-wielding British soldiers 240 years ago, Gen. George Washington reorganized into a counterattack after arriving with well-armed reinforcements in a place known as Maxwell’s Field. This battleground in Princeton, New Jersey, is where the U.S. War of Independence reached a critical turning point. “Parade with us, my…