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
Believers, Not Judges, Should Decide What Their Religion Teaches
Last week, over the dissent of Justice Samuel Alito, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving a prison’s refusal to allow a Jewish man to study the Torah with others because of the prison official’s erroneous interpretation of Jewish doctrine. Israel Ben-Levi, an inmate in the Hoke Correctional Institution in North Carolina,… -
opinion
Cartoon: Welcome Home, Nancy
Lee Edwards wrote earlier this week on Nancy Reagan: She was his closest and most influential adviser in matters of personnel. She was his closest and most influential adviser in matters of personnel. When she felt that someone was not serving her husband well or was putting his own interests ahead of the president’s, she pushed—sometimes… -
opinion
‘Hangry’ Study Should Make Taxpayers Angry
We’ve all been there. You’re tired, you’re hungry, and something happens that sets you off. It happens to the best of us. The term for this phenomenon is “hangry”—an amalgam of hungry and angry. As a grandfather of 10, I would suggest that anyone who has spent time around a hungry toddler would agree that,… -
opinion
Florida Moves to Reform Controversial Police Practice
The Florida state Senate recently voted unanimously in support of a major civil forfeiture reform package. On Tuesday the Florida House of Representatives followed suit, voting 116-0 in favor of the bill. Forfeiture reform has won the full-throated support of state legislators. Now the bill heads to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, who has… -
opinion
Republicans Deal a Blow to the IRS
Millions of Americans are filing their taxes this month—and getting a good reminder of why they despise the IRS. But thanks to the Republican majority in Congress, the IRS is being forced to start cleaning up its act. When the IRS scandal broke, Congress demanded answers from the agency’s top officials. Were they targeting groups… -
opinion
Atheists Give Up Case, Christians Can Continue to Help Ex-Convicts
A judge ruled last month that two Christian organizations in Florida can continue helping newly released prisoners reintegrate into society. The Christian organizations had been brought to court by a New York-based atheist organization called the Center for Inquiry that sued to strip the ministries of government funding because of their religious identities. Because the atheist… -
news
This Governor Ordered a Raise for Some State Workers. Here’s Why Business Groups Are Against It.
Business groups Tuesday criticized Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, for his decision to raise the minimum wage for state employees and contractors from $7.25 to $10.15 an hour. The increase, authorized by Wolf through an executive order Monday, would elevate the wages of workers in Pennsylvania state government and certain businesses that contract with… -
news
Mike Lee Will Let Federal Aid Flow to Flint If It Doesn’t Add to Deficit
Sen. Mike Lee is willing to drop his objection to the Flint, Mich., federal aid package under one condition: It can’t add to the deficit. The Utah Republican would lift his hold on the legislation, an aide told The Daily Signal Wednesday, if the bill is “budget neutral,” and if relief dollars are paid for… -
opinion
The Problem With the Bipartisan Push to Bail Out Flint
Anyone who agrees that the federal government has gotten too big and that Washington lawmakers are addicted to spending money we don’t have should applaud Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, for his efforts to block the funneling of more federal dollars to Flint’s water clean-up project. First of all, the state of Michigan has the resources… -
news
Here’s Why Mike Lee Opposes Federal Aid for Flint
If you give a city a bailout, it’s bound to ask for another. That’s the philosophical foundation of Sen. Mike Lee’s opposition to federal aid for Flint, Mich., the city with contaminated drinking water. “Washington politicians are using the crisis in Flint as an excuse to funnel taxpayer money to their own home states,” says… -
news
Meet the College President Taking on ‘Ideological Fascism’
Campus protests swept the nation last fall, costing some college presidents their jobs. But at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Everett Piper didn’t cower and quit. He stood up to what he calls “ideological fascism.” Piper, the university president, received the Kirkpatrick Award for Academic Freedom at last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference. He spoke to The… -
news
Conservatives Make Their Case for Criminal Justice Reform
Conservative criminal justice reform advocates are making the case that reducing the prison population, treating drug addiction, and giving a second chance to lawbreakers are policy prescriptions that mesh with conservative ideals. While advocates cite polls that show that most conservatives support ideas like providing alternatives to prison for low-level drug offenders, GOP leaders on… -
opinion
Glenn Beck Got a Rousing Ovation Simply by Reading the Constitution
Glenn Beck’s closing speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference brought the crowd to its feet. At a time when Americans are clamoring for a return to constitutional principles, this is a must-see video. You can see the full 45-minute CPAC speech here. -
opinion
What Many Small Businesses Call Their Biggest Challenge
The 2015 Small Business Credit Survey Report on Employer Firms, released March 3 by seven Federal Reserve Banks, contains disturbing news. Twenty-two percent of small businesses with annual revenues over $10 million identified compliance with government regulations as the biggest challenge they faced over the past 12 months. That’s up from only four percent in… -
opinion
How to Reduce the Deficit by $9 Trillion
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the annual federal deficit will rise to $1.4 trillion by the 2026 fiscal year. The U.S. is on an unsustainable course that threatens to reduce economic prosperity for current and future generations. The Heritage Foundation’s Blueprint for Balance: A Federal Budget for 2017 quickly reverses this course, turning trillion-dollar… -
opinion
Nancy Reagan Was a First Lady for the Ages
Not since John and Abigail Adams in the early years of the Republic was there a first couple like Ronald and Nancy Reagan, so perfectly joined in heart and mind and soul. He said more than once that he could not imagine life without her. She was his closest and most influential adviser in matters… -
opinion
Dana Perino: To Win Millennials, ‘Conservatives Should Not Cede Any Ground’
If conservatives don’t engage with the huge millennial generation, they will miss an opportunity to shape the future of the nation through those younger voters, Dana Perino, co-host of “The Five” on Fox News Channel, says. “There’s like 83 million of them. They’re going to be voting in great numbers in the election,” Perino told me… -
news
Remembering Nancy Reagan
Former first lady Nancy Reagan’s life was remembered and celebrated after news of her death Sunday. The wife of Ronald Reagan, the nation’s 40th president, died of congestive heart failure at her home in Los Angeles, a spokeswoman said in a formal statement. She was 94. Here are just some of the initial remembrances of Nancy Reagan:… -
news
20 Highlights From Presidential Candidates’ Speeches to Conservatives
Three of the four remaining Republican presidential candidates made their policy pitches Friday and Saturday to conservative grassroots voters at a conference outside Washington, D.C. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas took their turns at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, in separate speeches. The fourth… -
opinion
Sheriff David Clarke on ‘3 Big Lies of Criminal Justice Reform’
Proposed reforms to the criminal justice system at the state and federal levels won’t do what advocates say it will, an outspoken county sheriff says, citing “the three big lies” of some proponents who want to reduce prison sentences. “I can’t figure out where coddling criminals and having sympathy and empathy for the hardened criminal is a conservative issue,” David…