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
What the House Freedom Caucus Chairman Wants From a Paul Ryan Speakership
Rep. Jim Jordan, a former college wrestler and coach, looks ready to pounce from his chair as he taps his feet and leans forward his burly frame during a discussion about his expectations for the newly elected speaker of the House, Rep. Paul Ryan. “I hope going forward, the new leadership, the new speaker, will… -
news
Newly Elected Speaker Paul Ryan Has a New Motto for the House: ‘Opportunity for All’
Rep. Paul D. Ryan is the new speaker of the House and he’s already signaling that things will be different under his leadership. “No more favors for the few,” said Ryan, R-Wis., in an address before the full House on Thursday morning. “Opportunity for all. That is our motto.” Ryan, after easily being elected the… -
news
First, an Earthquake Struck Nepal. Now, the Nation Is Dealing With Another Disaster.
POKHARA, Nepal—In 2010 Dilu Ranabath left Nepal to find work in Iraq. He took out a $4,000 bank loan to pay a fixer to get him into the country without a visa and to find him a job at a U.S. military base. For about three months Ranabath lived in a shipping container in Baghdad… -
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Why the Legacy of Tibet’s Cold War Freedom Fighters Still Matters
DHARAMSHALA, India—When Sonam Dorjee was a Buddhist monk at the Debung Monastery in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, he would not kill an insect. After all, that annoying fly buzzing in your ear could be the reincarnation of a beloved family member. But when Chinese soldiers opened fire on the Tibetan refugees with whom Dorjee… -
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Thanks to Abraham Lincoln, These Young Moms and Kids Have a Home
HYATTSVILLE, MD—It’s 3 o’clock on a Monday in October, and Vianelly, a 19-year-old mother of two, is reflecting on the string of memories that led her to St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth, and Families. Her mother’s passing when she was six. Dropping out of high school. Two teenage pregnancies. Being kicked out of her… -
opinion
Multiculturalism’s Leftist Threat to the American Story
Is multiculturalism a decent if banal posture that basically boils down to respecting other cultures and getting sloshed on St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo? Or is it a much darker social model used as a Trojan horse to transform Western society fundamentally, especially this one? I think both can be true, but I worry… -
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Fighter Baby Born Weighing Just 1 Pound Makes Progress
A size five ring is almost as big as the hand of baby Sophia Reneigh Reynolds. Born at one pound, two ounces, Sophia spent the first few months of her life in a hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “Things were going all as planned [when] unfortunately and unexpected[ly] at 22 weeks [Sophia’s mom Valerie] went into… -
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Republicans Nominate Paul Ryan for House Speaker
Rep. Paul Ryan is House Republicans’ nominee to be their next speaker. Behind closed doors and by secret ballot, 200 Republicans nominated Ryan for speaker. The only other competitor, Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., received 43 votes, mostly from members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Ryan needed only 124 votes, the majority of Republicans, to… -
opinion
How Many Concerts Would Taylor Swift Have to Perform to Pay Off One Day’s Interest on the Debt?
If Taylor Swift decided she’d help Uncle Sam with some of those interest payments on our $18.1 trillion national debt, she’d have to do a lot of concerts. And what if famous boxer Floyd Mayweather wanted to pay off our whole debt? Well, let’s hope he knows the secret for how to live a… -
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House Republicans Move to Impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen
House Republicans, enraged by the inaction that has hindered federal investigations into the IRS, introduced a resolution Tuesday to impeach Commissioner John Koskinen, charging him of lying under oath and failing to respond to subpoenas for evidence. House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz declared in the four articles of impeachment that Koskinen “engaged in… -
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Find Out How Your Congressman Voted on Reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank
Nearly four months after Congress shut the door on the Export-Import Bank and allowed its charter to expire, 127 Republicans and 186 Democrats voted to bring the controversial agency back to life. The majority of Republicans, along with House Democrats, passed a bill reauthorizing Ex-Im through 2019, 313-118. One Democrat, Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida,… -
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Texas Inspector General Says Whistleblower Prompted Planned Parenthood Probe
Stuart Bowen, the inspector general of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, told The Dallas Morning News that a whistleblower alleging Medicaid fraud at Texas Planned Parenthood clinics spurred the agency’s investigation. The Daily Signal previously reported that inspectors from the Texas Office of the Inspector General recently served subpoenas for clinic records at several Planned… -
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Top House Democrat Calls Planned Parenthood Panel a ‘Farce,’ Indicates Party May Boycott
A leading House Democrat has indicated that the party’s leadership is considering not participating in the Energy and Commerce Committee’s new select investigative panel on Planned Parenthood. In an interview with The Huffington Post, Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., the chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said that Democratic leadership is contemplating a boycott of the panel. “You… -
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Freedom Caucus Members Will Stick With Daniel Webster in Conference Vote but Eventually Elect Paul Ryan Speaker
Despite the fact that the House Freedom Caucus is on board for Paul Ryan’s expected ascension to speaker, many members of the conservative group will vote against him in a private conference vote Wednesday. In an attempt to be loyal to the first man who won them over, many Freedom Caucus members will vote for… -
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After Being Fired for Religious Views on Sexuality, Navy Chaplain Gets His Job Back
A military chaplain who was fired from his job after being accused of misconduct was cleared of any wrongdoing, reinstated to the Navy, and now accepted to serve at the San Diego naval base. “I’m glad the Navy had my back,” Lt. Cmdr. Wesley Modder told The Daily Signal in an interview Monday. Modder is… -
opinion
How a Green Climate Change Fund Would Transfer the Wealth of Nations
Delegates from around the world will meet in Paris in December to negotiate an international climate treaty with the goal of reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Some countries will push a “green” agenda to increase use of energy resources such as wind and solar, and decrease the use of more affordable, reliable,… -
opinion
Undersea Cables: How Concerned Should You Be?
The U.S. has reportedly been monitoring Russian naval activity along sea routes transited by undersea communications cables. News reports over the weekend speculated that Russia may be laying the groundwork to sever these cables in the event of war with the U.S., or to tap into them for intelligence gathering. Installation of the first underwater… -
news
62 House Republicans Join Democrats to Clear Path for Vote Reviving Export-Import Bank
The House of Representatives moved one step closer to bringing the Export-Import Bank back from the dead Monday after 62 Republicans teamed up with 184 House Democrats to force a vote to reauthorize the embattled agency. Despite opposition from the vast majority of Republicans, the House passed a motion to discharge a bill reauthorizing Ex-Im… -
news
Fla. City Ordered to Pay $290K to Church, After Church Argues It Faced Discrimination From City
Oct. 5 heralded victory for a growing Anglican church in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., as it settled a lawsuit with the Jacksonville Beach City Council. After nearly two years of litigation, the case of Church of Our Savior v. The City of Jacksonville Beach was settled and allows Church of Our Savior to begin constructing a… -
news
Two Republican Committee Chairmen Call On Colleagues to Oppose Measure to Save Export-Import Bank
The chairmen of two House committees are calling on their fellow Republicans to vote against a rarely successful tool that would force a vote on the Export-Import Bank’s reauthorization. Republican Reps. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, and Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the Rules Committee, sent a letter to…