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
The Dog Ate My Vote: How Congress Explains Its Absences
On a Monday afternoon in October 2011, West Virginia Democrat Nick J. Rahall II waited at the Charleston airport for a 4:50 p.m. U.S. Airways Express flight to Washington. If the plane left on schedule, the roughly 80-minute flight would allow him to get to the Capitol in time for votes in the House of… -
opinion
Iran’s New Wave of Anti-Americanism
Tehran seems determined to demonstrate that the nuclear agreement struck by the Obama administration will not alter the nature of the Iranian regime one whit. President Obama’s proffered, outstretched hand to Iran, as proposed before the 2008 presidential election, has been repaid with a poke in the eye. Iranians today are still encouraged, as they… -
opinion
Happy 240th Birthday, US Marine Corps
On this day in 1775, the United States Marine Corps was created by a resolution of the Continental Congress. Within weeks of its formation, the Marine Corps had already seen combat action, having conducted a raid on the British-held Fort Nassau in the Bahamas. Throughout its renowned and celebrated history, the Marine Corps has fought… -
opinion
10 Reasons to Leave the Export-Import Bank Dead
The Export-Import Bank expired on June 30, over 100 days ago. This was a major policy victory for conservatives who are looking to roll back corporate welfare and stop Washington from picking winners and losers in the economy. However, as Ronald Reagan once said, “the nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on… -
news
Why These Women Think the Government Seizing One Home Benefited Their Neighborhood
PHILADELPHIA—Longtime residents know East Walnut Lane, on the outskirts of Philadelphia County, as a quiet street. It’s a street lined with houses all featuring the same façade—stone on the first story, brick on the second; alternating black and white screen doors; four steps leading up to the front porch. It's a street that has been… -
news
Here Are the 26 Most ‘Faith-Friendly’ Companies to Shop This Christmas
A new Christian-based consumer organization that ranks companies based on their friendliness toward people of faith released a Christmas “Best in Class” list, hoping to have a major impact on where people spend their money this holiday season. Topping the list are brands like Chick-fil-A, Dillards, Hobby Lobby, JetBlue, Pepsi, and Wal-Mart. The organization behind… -
opinion
Privacy for Bad Guys? … There’s an App for That – The Debate Continues
Off-the-shelf ability to protect your privacy just went up. Facebook knows all your friends, the friends of your friends, and the friends you should have. Google targets ads based on your recent searches. Amazon knows exactly what you want to buy. As convenient as these sites may be, however, it’s really starting to feel like… -
news
A Look Inside the Philadelphia Courtroom Where Property Owners Fight the Government to Get Back Their Cash, Homes, and Cars
PHILADELPHIA—On a September day in 2014, Leandro Banks saw his money disappear in an instant. Banks, an independent contractor, left the bank with $1,858 in his pocket. The money came from his paycheck of nearly $5,000, Banks says. Some of it he deposited, some he shared with an employee, and the rest—the $1,858—he says he… -
opinion
The Cozy Relationship Between Big Business and Climate Change Activists
Polls bear it out: When it comes to climate change, the world isn’t much interested in taking action. Most folks, it seems, are reluctant to embrace expensive, lifestyle-changing, ineffective “solutions” to a non-evident problem. But some big companies are gung-ho about “fighting” climate change. Well, at least they’ve jumped on the Obama administration’s climate-treaty bandwagon,… -
news
Here’s How Much Planned Parenthood Has Donated to the Democrats on the Panel Investigating It
Democratic lawmakers appointed to the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood received more than $81,000 in campaign contributions from the organization since 1990, according to a study by the Media Research Center. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced the Democratic appointments to the panel earlier this week. “I am proud to… -
opinion
Cartoon: The Pendulum Swings
Ryan Anderson wrote this week on Tuesday's election results: Kim Davis confounded the pollsters and propelled an underdog candidate, Matt Bevin, to victory in the Kentucky governor’s race. Nearly two-thirds of voters in Ohio rejected marijuana. And citizens in Houston vetoed their city council and rejected a bad policy on sexual orientation and gender identity. Conventional… -
opinion
Exaggerating and Distorting the News ‘While Black’
If you wonder about the bias and lack of objectivity and accuracy of reporters in the mainstream media, look no farther than what they are learning at schools like the University of North Texas, where Dorothy Bland is the dean of the school of journalism. Bland recently wrote an article in the Dallas Morning News… -
opinion
The House Just Passed Another Bailout, This Time for Highways and Transit
Today, the House overwhelmingly passed the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act (STRR) to much fanfare. The six-year, $325-billion bill reauthorizes highway and transit funding from the federal Highway Trust Fund that was set to expire on November 20. The bill is being heralded as no less than a historic “long-term” measure, emerging after “ten… -
news
Panera Bread CEO Says Digital Ordering May Soon Replace Labor at Renovated Cafes
Panera Bread, a popular American bakery and cafe, is undergoing a major renovation. According to reports from Business Insider, Panera Founder and CEO Ron Shaich predicts a “tech revolution” is upon the restaurant industry, and says that Panera Bread is steadily joining the movement. The company is in the process of rolling out improved and… -
news
Feel the Bern? Sanders Offers Bill to End US Prohibitions on Marijuana
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced a bill Wednesday to lift federal prohibitions on marijuana and throw the decision on legalizing the drug squarely into the hands of the states. Sanders’ plan would strike marijuana from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of the “most dangerous” substances, which currently classifies weed alongside drugs such as heroin, ecstasy, and LSD. The legislation also would remove… -
opinion
Why ISIS Is Killing Journalists
Last week, two press freedom groups—Reporters Without Borders and the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory—issued a press release detailing the plight of independent media in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which fell to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in June 2014. Unsurprisingly, the news is not good. Since June 2014, 48 members of… -
opinion
The “Simple People” Aren’t Jumping Out of Their Seats for the EU
Last month during a speech in Madrid, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, boasted of popular support for EU integration. The boast came across more as a plea: “We can’t lose the people who always believed in us, the simple people who work, who aren’t any less intelligent than the elites. They’ve always… -
news
Kevin Brady Set to Take Paul Ryan’s Tax-Writing Chairmanship in House
Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, is poised to become the new chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, after defeating Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, in a closed-door meeting. Brady will succeed Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who gave up the chairmanship to ascend to speaker of the House after being drafted by Republican colleagues. Ryan gave… -
opinion
Are We Headed Toward Another Housing Crisis? What Hasn’t Changed Enough.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-backed housing corporations bailed out seven years ago by federal taxpayers, may be headed for trouble again. Despite post-financial crisis pressure to reform, neither Fannie nor Freddie has done much to mitigate the risk to the American taxpayer inherent in government backing for these institutions. In fact, it… -
opinion
New Emails: Benghazi Cover Story Continues to Unravel
A new lot of emails released by the State Department on Halloween were so newsworthy that not even the holiday could drown it out. It turns out, three days after the Benghazi attack, on Sept. 14, 2012, the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli specifically warned the State Department in an email not to promote the idea…