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
Latest Woke Triumph: Feminist Spelling for Third Graders
The team behind the Scripps National Spelling Bee whacked a hornet’s nest when it identified specific words for potential competitors to ponder. Its list of “50 challenging third grade words” includes giraffe, groceries, and jigsaw. So far, so good. But beneath the “preferred spelling” of women, a permitted option appears: “womyn.” Naturally, this feminist twist…Deroy Murdock -
- Opinion
Proposed Bill Risks $196B Hit to Social Security, Accelerating Insolvency
Lame ducks never make for good policy. Having passed a lame-duck vote in the House, HR 82, the so-called Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 is now set for a lame-duck Senate vote. Despite its name, the Social Security Fairness Act is neither fair, nor accurate, nor fiscally responsible. It violates Social Security’s progressive…Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
Many Unhappy Returns: Journalists Deserve All the Angst Trump’s 2nd Term Brings
The reelection of Donald Trump has created overwhelming angst among the press. With Trump, they have been like the opposite of the Humpty Dumpty rhyme. The media are all the king’s horses and all the king’s men—and they couldn’t tear Humpty Dumpty apart. All their screeching about his menace only makes him successful. Longtime CBS…Tim Graham -
- Opinion
No, Billionaires Like Elon Musk Don’t Run American Politics
Some prominent Democrats are suggesting that the U.S. is becoming an oligarchy or kleptocracy, where billionaires like Elon Musk have the real power and essentially elect presidents after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. Billionaires like Musk do play a role in American politics, but it is far more limited than it appears. For every SpaceX founder…Tyler O’Neil -
- Opinion
It’s Time for a National Conversation About Left-Wing Violence
Even before we knew the targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione was politically motivated, many leftists were justifying, celebrating, and rationalizing the shooting. There’s a real debate going on in some quarters of the progressive Left over whether slaying CEOs is a bad thing. And it’s unsurprising. Of course, if any…David Harsanyi -
- Opinion
No ‘Buts’ About It: Leftist Democrats Are Wrong in Excusing Violence
Democrats are slowly, but surely, building a permission structure for progressive activists to kill those they determine are bad. From the rise of antisemitism to, now, the killing of an insurance CEO, few Democrats seem capable of condemning violence without adding a “but.” To their credit, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. John Fetterman, both D-Penn.,…Erick Erickson -
- Opinion
Why Is American Health Care So Bad?
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the accompanying video from professor Peter St. Onge. How did American health care get so bad? Why do we tolerate a system where you go bankrupt for a hip replacement? Compared to socialized medicine, on almost any metric the U.S. has one of the best medical…Peter St. Onge -
- Opinion
‘Gladiator II’ Is a MAGA Metaphor
Hollywood sequels rarely achieve the magic of the original, but “Gladiator II” comes close. Except for the familiar populist framework of a lone man taking on “the system” against all odds, the echoes to the original are sufficiently distant that the new movie feels fresh and original. Plus, it turns out that Ridley Scott’s blockbuster…Richard Porter -
- Opinion
Trump’s George Washington Moment
Months before the November election, a research study with which I was involved asked respondents which of 10 historical presidents they wished were in the Oval Office today. To prevent “recency” bias, we kept the list to former presidents whose legacies are largely defined: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore…Steve McKee -
- Opinion
How Vietnam Can Be Key to America’s Strength, Stability in Indo-Pacific
Forget “Made in China.” There’s a much better alternative that puts America first. Born in 1975, the same year the Vietnam War ended, I witnessed Vietnam’s profound struggles under socialism and its remarkable transition toward a market economy. My father, who served alongside U.S. forces during the war, brought our family to the United States,…Allison Huynh -
- Opinion
Stop the Smear
Young blood is here. President-elect Donald Trump has gone full throttle for a new generation of leaders. Consider these Trump nominees for Cabinet posts: Though Matt Gaetz, 42, withdrew his bid to lead the Justice Department, he fit the profile as well—young, outspoken, willing to cut against the grain. Not everyone welcomes the generational change. When smears and media…Citizen Soldier -
- News
Major Democratic State Faces Devastating Population Bomb
THE CENTER SQUARE—New York’s population could decline by more than 2 million people over the next 25 years as fewer people are born in the state and more people move out, according to a new report. The study by Cornell University’s Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy’s Program on Applied Demographics projects that New…Chris Wade -
- Opinion
Inside ‘the Blob’: How Bureaucrats Brought Down Britain’s Leader
A new documentary from Palladium Pictures and The Wall Street Journal examines how Britain’s permanent bureaucracy—nicknamed “the Blob”—played a pivotal role in ending Liz Truss‘ brief tenure in late 2022 as prime minister. Through interviews with Truss and other key players, director Michael Pack, a former CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, reveals…Robert B. Bluey -
- News
What Role Did Ex-FBI Head Andy McCabe’s Wife Play in Gov’t Weaponization Against Parents? Conservative Group Demands Answers
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A conservative group is demanding documents from the Justice Department that could shed light on whether former FBI Deputy Director Andy McCabe or his wife played any role in the campaign to sic federal law enforcement on parents who protested school boards in 2021. In a statement to The Daily Signal…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
Battleground Michigan Set to Debate Citizen-Only Voting Initiative
Lawmakers in Michigan—one of the most fiercely contested battleground states in the 2024 presidential election—will consider an amendment to the state Constitution to ensure that only citizens vote. Michigan state Rep. Bryan Posthumus, the No. 2 Republican in the House as floor leader, says that next month he will propose a constitutional amendment requiring prospective voters…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
How Not to Think About Syria
The rapid demise of the brutal Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria has taken every geopolitical analyst and self-proclaimed Middle East “expert” by storm. Following 53 years of brutal Assad family rule and 13 years of bloody civil war, the Syrian strongman abruptly fled for asylum in Moscow as rebels finalized their encircling of Damascus. In…Josh Hammer -
- News
‘Hell’: A Hostage’s Story
Aviva Siegel’s whole face brightened. “Of course, I have to,” she said when asked if she allows herself to dream about the day her husband is freed from captivity in Gaza. “My heart will explode. I will scream. I will jump into the air, and it’s just going to be … I don’t know, I’ll…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Make America Healthy Again: Sanders Calls for Ban on Using Food Stamps for Junk Food
One governor is fed up with taxpayers subsidizing junk food—and hurting the long-term health of their fellow Americans. Food stamps—formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—“is undermining the health of millions of Americans, on the taxpayer’s dime, by encouraging families to eat highly processed, unhealthy junk food,” writes Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in…Katrina Trinko -
- News
MORE THAN TWO DOZEN: New Report Reveals How Many Informants FBI Had on Jan. 6
Two dozen FBI confidential sources were part of the crowd outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and four of those informants illegally entered the building, according to a new report by the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General. Another 13 of the 26 confidential human sources were in restricted areas around the Capitol…Fred Lucas -
- News
EXCLUSIVE: What Has HHS Withheld on COVID-19 Vax? Sen. Ron Johnson Is About to Find Out
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A new letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., puts federal health agencies on notice that he plans to subpoena unredacted records withheld by the Biden administration on potential adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccines. “It appears that even in the waning days of the Biden administration, your agencies will remain defiant…Fred Lucas