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 Visa Waiver Program Protects America
Following the terrorist attacks in Paris last month, commentators have speculated on the possibility of an attack on U.S. soil by terrorists possessing passports from France or other Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries. Many in the media and elsewhere continue to labor under the misimpression that security standards are looser for VWP travelers than for… -
opinion
LGBT Activists Fight State Law That Protects Believers Against Gay Marriage
Historically, Democrats and Republicans have agreed that religious liberty is a core American value that should be protected whenever possible. Yet over the past decade, this consensus has come under increasing assault from the left. A recent manifestation of this hostility to people of faith is a Dec. 9 lawsuit challenging a North Carolina statute… -
opinion
Congress Shouldn’t Buy In to a Cadillac Tax Delay
As Obamacare’s implosion continues to unfold, Democrat lawmakers have been desperate to postpone some of the law’s most adverse impacts on Americans. Now it appears K Street lobbyists have convinced some Republican lawmakers to join their Democrat colleagues by attempting to delay the so-called “Cadillac tax,” which is an excise tax on all plans offered by employers… -
opinion
Tony Blair Isn’t Politically Correct When Talking About Islam and Terrorism
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair strode into Washington last week speaking urgently about the need to have a long-term strategy to defeat Islamist extremism on the ground as well as ideologically, with both superior military force and confident Western values. It was as if he were a visitor not from the U.K., but from… -
opinion
Time to Be Frank: Linking Terrorism and Climate Change Is Ridiculous
President Obama certainly knows how to use a red-hot news hook to highlight his agenda. This week, during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris, he appeared to conflate climate change with terrorism. Coming hot on the heels of the ISIS massacres in the “City of Light,” that kind of rhetoric was bound… -
news
Regional Spats, ‘Climate Justice’ Hijack Paris Talks on Global Warming
PARIS—Competing national interests and even personal rivalries have cast a cloud over the international summit on climate change meeting here, and the issue of “climate justice” has proven to be a significant stumbling block in the way of any meaningful deal. At various points during the two-week conference, realpolitik took over, overshadowing the summit’s larger objectives. "You don’t come… -
news
Freedom Is a ‘2-Way Street’: Heritage Scholar Talks About What Marriage Means at LGBT Event
Do special rights for some get in the way of civil liberties for others? A prominent voice for the historic view of marriage, Ryan T. Anderson, agreed to disagree while speaking at a summit Thursday in Washington, D.C., addressing issues of importance to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual activists. “What we want here is equality under the law,… -
opinion
Government Report Highlights EPA’s Involvement in Colorado River Spill
The Environmental Protection Agency recently commissioned an analysis of how EPA contractors and officials, on August 5, caused a deluge of 3 million gallons of water containing toxic heavy metals into the Animas River, which serves as a drinking water source for thousands of residents in Colorado and other states. The EPA activity that produced… -
opinion
John Kerry’s Surprising Comments on International Regulations and Climate Change
Although he probably didn’t mean to, Secretary of State John Kerry made a compelling case for why the U.S. and other countries should not go down the path of shutting down coal-fired plants, raising energy prices and stunting economic growth to combat global warming. Speaking in Paris, Kerry said: The fact is that even if… -
opinion
Making Investors Joint-Employers of the Small Businesses They Invest in, Is a Bad Idea
U.S. immigration law awards a limited number of EB-5 visas to foreign entrepreneurs who create at least 10 U.S. jobs. The program is not perfect, and Congress is considering reauthorizing the program while also adding reforms intended to prevent abuse. Unfortunately, a provision buried away in that draft legislation threatens to make the program almost… -
news
This Evangelical Leader Says US Has ‘Responsibility’ to Accept Syrian Refugees
Russell Moore, one of the nation’s leading evangelical Christian voices, says America has a moral obligation to take in Syrian refugees fleeing the brutality of the terrorist army known as the Islamic State, or ISIS. “We have a responsibility as a country to this region of the world,” Moore said in an interview with The… -
opinion
‘Green’ Cronyism Is on Full Display In Paris
PARIS–Cronyism is on display here at the United Nations climate conference (COP21), as developing countries aren’t the only ones trying to cash in on carbon regulations. The conference is full of exhibitors showcasing their carbon cutting technologies–each of which would benefit greatly from taxing carbon or forcing commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The general… -
news
This Program Helps Underprivileged Children Believe in Santa
WOODBRIDGE, Va.—This holiday season, across the country, communities are pulling together to provide Christmas gifts for underprivileged children. “For many children, the gifts they receive through Angel Tree are the only ones they will open on Christmas.” It’s a part of the Salvation Army’s annual “Angel Tree program,” which has locations based everywhere from Knoxville… -
opinion
Why You Can Now Legally Mine an Asteroid
It is the beginning of a new space age. On Nov. 25, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill passed by a Republican congress that provides legal clarity and economic incentives for the growing American private space flight industry. The law, which was moved through Congress by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Sen. Ted… -
opinion
Why Criminal Intent Should be Part of Justice Reform
Critics of mens rea (criminal intent) reform claim it would shield white-collar criminals from prosecution. Rejecting the default criminal intent standard because we are rightfully upset by the lack of accountability for corporate wrongdoing is simply cutting off your nose to spite your face. Criminal intent standards improve the criminal law for white-collar criminals, migrant… -
news
France Just Had a Political Earthquake, and It Looks Good for the Kremlin
PARIS—The National Front, a far-right French political party with financial backing from Moscow, won the first round of France’s regional elections, taking the lead in six of France’s 13 regions and reaping 28 percent of the overall vote. The anti-EU, anti-immigration party’s electoral breakout upheaved France’s political order, and its success Sunday was not universally… -
news
Sen. Tim Kaine on Why He Backs Changes to the Visa Waiver Program
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., says that while the Syrian refugee crisis gets the big headlines, he and colleagues are concerned with changes they think are needed in the nation’s Visa Waiver Program. “We have a Visa Waiver Program with 38 nations where if you visit [one of] these 38 nations, you don’t need to get… -
news
Sen. Tim Kaine: America Shouldn’t Go to War With ISIS ‘Without a Vote of Congress’
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., says it’s way past time for Congress to formally authorize military force to press America’s war against the Islamic State, the terrorist group also known as ISIS. It’s been 17 months since the United States officially has engaged in battle, Kaine said, arguing for a new Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF,… -
news
Boehner Gets Hill Digs, Hundreds of Thousands in Benefits. Two Conservatives Want to Change That.
John Boehner might be out of a job. But by law, the former House speaker still will enjoy a Capitol Hill office complete with a full-time staff, all on the taxpayer’s tab. Two conservative lawmakers are trying to change that. Reps. Walter Jones, R-N.C., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., were set to introduce legislation today to… -
news
Marco Rubio: ‘We Can’t Accept Refugees That We Can’t Truly Vet’
Even though Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voted against temporarily stopping the issuance of visas to more than 30 countries with high-risk terrorist areas, he says he believes that the process of vetting refugees has to be fixed. “There is a real challenge in vetting people from the Middle East,” Rubio told The Daily Signal, adding: It’s…