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
7 Issues the New GOP Leadership Must Address
The upcoming leadership races should not be driven by personality, quid pro quo committee assignments, and fundraising prowess. Instead, those races should be determined by policy and process. The complete absence of a conservative agenda by the Republican-controlled Congress must change. In evaluating leadership candidates, members should demand clarity as to how each one would… -
news
Lankford Introduces Bill to Eliminate Wind Tax Credits
The winds could soon be changing on Capitol Hill. Today Senator James Lankford, R-Okla., introduced legislation that would gradually eliminate federal energy tax credits for a decades-old wind subsidy. Originally designed as a temporary buoy for an emerging industry, the Wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) was included in the Clinton administration’s Energy Policy Act of… -
news
Early Boehner Opponent in House Gets Vote of Confidence From Home
>>> Updates with Oct. 9 statement from North Carolina’s lieutenant governor amid wide-open race for speaker of the U.S. House. The congressman who stood up to Speaker John Boehner weeks before the House’s top Republican quit got some fan mail Tuesday afternoon from state lawmakers back home. “To see him push back against the old… -
news
Media Research Center: Nancy Pelosi Owes Reporter ‘an Unqualified Apology’ and an Answer to His Question on Human Life
The Media Research Center has called for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to apologize for her refusal to respond to a reporter’s question about when human life begins, and for her to answer it. In a letter hand-delivered to Pelosi’s office, Brent Bozell, the founder and president of the Media Research Center, wrote that… -
news
Center for Medical Progress Founder Previews Previously Unseen Planned Parenthood Footage
David Daleiden, the founder of the Center for Medical Progress, previewed previously unseen footage of a conversation with a Planned Parenthood abortionist during a recent interview on TheBlaze. In the video, Dr. Amna Dermish of Planned Parenthood’s Greater Texas affiliate describes how she performs abortions up to 24 weeks. Dermish described obtaining an intact calvarium,… -
news
House Democrats Move to Investigate Creator of Planned Parenthood Videos
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have accused David Daleiden, the founder of the Center for Medical Progress, of engaging in “potentially illegal activities” during his undercover investigation of Planned Parenthood. Daleiden has maintained that the Center for Medical Progress obeyed all applicable laws during the course of the investigation. Democrats on the committee released… -
news
ACLU Sues Catholic Health Organization for Refusing to Perform Abortions
The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan have announced that they have filed a federal lawsuit against Trinity Health Corporation, a Catholic health organization, for refusing to perform abortions. A spokesperson for Trinity Health said in a statement provided to The Daily Signal that “this case has no merit.”… -
news
Abby Johnson: Planned Parenthood Employees Need to Hear ‘I Love You’
Abby Johnson loves quitters. In fact, she is one. A former clinic director at Planned Parenthood, Johnson is now the founder and president of And Then There Were None, a ministry to help abortion workers quit the industry. “No abortion clinic workers, no abortion clinics, no abortions. It starts with the workers,” the organization states on… -
opinion
4 Reasons Congress Needs to Review the EPA’s Ozone Standard
A look at headlines about the EPA’s recently finalized ground level ozone standard quickly and clearly illustrates that Congress’ approach to setting air quality standards is broken: EPA Sets Tighter Smog Limit, Drawing Flak from All Sides Obama’s New Ozone Standard Has Greens Seeing Red Eight Counties in Northeast Ohio Unable to Comply with Tighter… -
news
Paul Ryan Questions Ex-Im Bank’s Role in Wisconsin GE Plant Closing
ELKHORN, Wis.—General Electric last week announced it was closing its Waukesha, Wis., plant and moving to Canada because Congress did not reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., addressed the issue Monday, explaining why he’s personally opposed to the bank and what really prompted GE’s move. Ryan, who chairs the House Ways and Means… -
opinion
US Still Without Strategic Focus in the Long War on Terror
As incredible as it may sound, the U.S. government still lacks the capacity to coordinate its global counterterrorism strategy. This disturbing finding is reflected in two recently released reports, one by a bipartisan task force of the House Homeland Security Committee and the other, the “2015 Comprehensive Annual Report on Public Diplomacy” by the Advisory… -
news
With No Nominee of Their Own, House Conservatives Struggle Over Speaker Vote
The same House conservatives who not so quietly helped push out Speaker John Boehner have been tight-lipped about whom they want to replace him. Not enamored with the candidates before them, and without the clout to elevate one of their own, the 40 or so conservatives of the House Freedom Caucus nonetheless effectively have veto… -
opinion
The Debt Limit Is Back. Why That’s a Good Thing
Debt limit panic is about to hit Congress. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced last week that the U.S. government may not have enough cash on hand by Nov. 5, 2015, to meet all of its payment obligations. Congress could avoid repeated debt limit panics by acting prudently and with enough foresight to address the federal… -
news
Why This Wounded Iraq Veteran Opposed the Iran Deal
It was not difficult for retired Staff Sgt. Robert Bartlett and his wife to settle on a name for their newborn son two months ago. “I named my son after my buddy who was killed next to me [in Iraq],” Bartlett says, referring to the fateful day in May of 2005 when he says an… -
news
New EPA Regulation Causes Concern Even Among Democrats
When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week it was toughening the country’s rules for ground-level ozone—what’s commonly known as smog, which comes from sources such as tailpipes and smokestacks—it caught flak from environmental groups and business officials. But when all is said and done, the people most affected financially figure to be everyday Americans, who… -
opinion
What Can J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Teach Us Today?
Over a century has passed since the beginning of World War I, a war that lasted over four years, claimed around sixteen and a half million lives with more than twenty million injured, and left the majority of writers, artists, and intellectuals disillusioned with religion and skeptical of the goodness of human nature. Out of the… -
opinion
Cutting Off Funding to Planned Parenthood Doesn’t Violate the Constitution
Some critics of the attempt to stop federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s number one abortion provider, are now making the erroneous claim that to do so would be unconstitutional. However, that claim, as expressed by Drexel law professor David S. Cohen, who says that cutting off federal funding would be an unconstitutional bill… -
news
‘Gosnell’ Movie Begins Filming
“Gosnell,” a film about late-term abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell, has begun filming, the film’s producers announced last month. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Phelim McAleer, one of the producers of the film, said the first week of filming has been an “amazing experience.” “The actors are fantastic,” McAleer said. “They have incredible skills… -
opinion
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Don’t Judge It Before Reading It
On Oct. 5, the Obama administration announced completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement between the United States and 11 other countries. Although many politicians and pundits will be tempted to weigh in on the TPP deal immediately, it is premature to evaluate the agreement until the final text is available for public review. As… -
opinion
How Do You Improve Worker Pay? Licensing Reforms, Not Unions.
What do today’s workers need? The White House appears to believe the answer is “a union.” At a summit Wednesday, the administration plans to showcase workers unions have helped. That is fair enough, but most workers don’t find unions relevant to their working lives. A much greater problem is the barriers the government itself erects….