Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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news
Judges Say Catholic Network’s Employee Health Plan Must Cover Contraceptives
A federal appeals court has ruled that Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), a global Catholic TV channel, must cover contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in employee health plans, as mandated by Obamacare. In a 2-1 decision, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Thursday that the U.S. government has “a compelling interest” to ensure that EWTN employees… -
news
Paul Ryan’s Reality Check: Conservative Reforms Can Happen Only With GOP President
On Monday night, Speaker Paul Ryan channeled the Rolling Stones and “Schoolhouse Rock” on Fox News’ “The Kelly File” to explain the concept of divided government and the current context of Capitol Hill gridlock. The Republican House speaker told host Megyn Kelly that Republicans can’t always get what they want. But if the electorate gives… -
news
Hold the Lobster. This New York Legislator Wants to Prevent ‘Luxury’ Purchases With Food Stamps
Food stamp recipients in New York could be barred from using their benefits to purchase “luxury” items like steaks and lobsters if a bill makes it through the state legislature. State Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Oswegatchie, introduced legislation last week that would impose restrictions on enrollees in New York’s food stamps program to ensure they purchase only food and… -
news
This Pro-Choice GOP Governor Wants to Succeed Scalia
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, has risen as a rumored Supreme Court successor to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but conservative lawyers say the “unqualified” governor’s nomination is highly unlikely. “This guy is a lightweight,” Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told The Daily Signal. “He’s not remotely qualified to… -
opinion
Texans Fight Back Against Ride-Sharing Regulations
Late last year, the city council in Austin, Texas, passed a new law requiring ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft to replace their current background check systems with costly fingerprint-based checks when vetting potential drivers. The mandate, ostensibly promulgated in the name of public safety, now threatens to drive ride-sharing services out of the city. Austin… -
news
Lawsuit Charges Unions Are ‘Unconstitutionally’ Compelling Workers to Pay Dues
An Oregon home health care provider filed a federal lawsuit against a union she claims is illegally collecting dues from employees in her field. Maryann Rose has been forced to continue paying dues to Service Employees International Union Local 503 despite multiple attempts to opt out. She argues that the union is violating her First Amendment… -
opinion
The Growing Threat of ISIS Unleashing a Weapon of Mass Destruction
The apocalyptic ideology that propels the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) is by now well known. Much less widely known are the use of chemical weapons by ISIS in Iraq and Syria and the disappearance of radioactive materials in Iraq that could be used in a “dirty bomb,” a radiological weapon of mass destruction (WMD)…. -
opinion
No, Women Should Not Be Included in the Draft
The question of drafting America’s young daughters is finally making the average voter consider the real implications of fully integrating the combat arms. The large majority of the population may have little or no connection to the military and therefore no concept of what’s at stake, until now. They’ve simply supported the idea because they… -
opinion
Cartoon: Problems on the Playground
Kim Holmes wrote earlier this week on the Supreme Court. The stakes are high—very high. Finding a replacement for deceased Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia will be a battle royale. But why should one government official’s position be so existentially important? Yes, control of the Supreme Court hangs in the balance, but that raises… -
opinion
The Rise of Intolerant Liberals
Why have liberals become so intolerant? They think nothing of denying someone as prominent as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from speaking on a college campus. They embrace activists who shut down speakers. They publicly shame people for the slightest deviation from liberal orthodoxy. Their mindset is the very definition of closed-mindedness. For them… -
news
Transgender Bathroom Bill Heads to South Dakota Governor
Citing student privacy rights, the South Dakota Senate this week passed a bill that would prohibit students at public elementary and secondary schools from using bathrooms, lockers, and shower rooms that don’t match their biological sex. The bill, however, also requires reasonable accommodation of students who identify as transgender through the provision of alternate facilities… -
news
House Panel Issues 3 Subpoenas in Probe of Planned Parenthood
A select investigative panel of the U.S. House of Representatives has issued subpoenas to a research company, a university, and an abortion provider, saying the organizations failed to cooperate fully with a probe of Planned Parenthood’s practices and procedures related to the distribution of aborted body parts. “We have been working diligently to acquire information that… -
opinion
Almost Half of US Residents Still Pay No Federal Income Tax
According to data published by the IRS and the U.S. Census Bureau, 44.2 percent of U.S. residents paid no federal income tax in 2013 (the most recent year for which data is available). No doubt many of the non-payers would willingly pay income tax in exchange for the chance to work in a more dynamic… -
news
See Unborn Twins Hold Hands as One Faces Death
Unborn twins Mason and Madilyn already have a bond. But they likely don’t share a future: Mason’s “only chance of survival would be heart surgery but they wouldn’t do heart surgery because of his brain,” said their mom Brittani McIntire, according to Pix11. A recent sonogram showed Mason’s hand clasped around Madilyn’s. “I know I’m… -
opinion
Number of Terror Plots in US Continues to Grow
The number of Islamist-inspired domestic attacks (and plots) on the United States since Sept. 11, 2001, continues to grow. The Department of Justice has released information on two past instances that bring the total number of plots and attacks to 83. The FBI has been investigating Khalil Abu-Rayyan since May 2015. According to a criminal… -
news
You Could Be Arrested for Hosting a Potluck Supper in This State
A state lawmaker is moving to close a bizarre regulatory loophole that prohibits residents from holding potlucks in their own home or church. Arizona state Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, called the ban a “legislative oversight” and is championing a bill to refine the statute’s language to legalize potlucks across the state. The law initially was written to subject all served food… -
news
There They Go Again: College Students Can’t Identify Photo of Ronald Reagan
A video shows “politically challenged” college students are unable to identify former President Ronald Reagan in a photograph. “Was that a former president?” a student majoring in government and international politics at George Mason University asked when shown the picture of Reagan. “Nixon, maybe?” Numerous students at George Mason University, located near Washington, D.C., in Fairfax,… -
news
8 Tributes to Antonin Scalia From His Fellow Justices
His eight colleagues on the Supreme Court reveal their affection and admiration for Antonin Scalia in the statements they released within 48 hours of the news of his death. The most poignant, perhaps, is that of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, arguably the high court’s most liberal justice, who emphasizes that she and “Nino” Scalia, arguably… -
opinion
This Government Agency Offends the Constitution and Needs to Be Eliminated
A little-known federal government agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, imposes enormous costs on consumers and financial service providers through costly and unwarranted command-and-control regulation. What’s more, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau runs afoul of the constitutionally mandated separation of powers. Thus, both economic and constitutional concerns indicate that it is time for Congress to… -
news
Americans’ Views of Scalia a Mixed Bag, Gallup Review of Polls Finds
Americans were divided over Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at the same time many didn’t know who he was, according to a historical review by the Gallup polling organization. In a July 2015 poll, Gallup found that “popular perceptions of the conservative jurist were evenly divided, with 29 percent seeing him favorably and 27 percent unfavorably.” Nearly a…