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
Pastors in John Boehner’s District Encourage Him to Be ‘Bold’ and Defund Planned Parenthood
A group of pastors in House Speaker John Boehner’s congressional district are encouraging him to defund Planned Parenthood. In a letter, the pastors asked Boehner, R-Ohio, to support efforts to defund Planned Parenthood in a spending bill, and to meet with them to hear their concerns. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Johnathan Newman,… -
news
Medicare Yet to Save Money Through Heralded Medical Payment Model
A high-profile Medicare experiment pushing doctors and hospitals to join together to operate more efficiently has yet to save the government money, with nearly half of the groups costing more than the government estimated their patients would normally cost, federal records show. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services offers the lure of bonuses to… -
opinion
Congress Must Defund Planned Parenthood and Protect Life
Over the past several weeks, Americans were shocked to see undercover videos of Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, discussing harvesting and trafficking organs from aborted babies—a disturbing practice that many did not know Planned Parenthood performed. To blindly continue Planned Parenthood funding would be irresponsible. Chatting casually while eating a… -
opinion
What Miss Tennessee Got Wrong About Planned Parenthood and Women’s Health
Miss Georgia may have won the Miss America pageant, but it’s Miss Tennessee who probably won Planned Parenthood employees’ hearts Sunday night. That’s because Miss Tennessee, 21-year-old Hannah Robison, helped perpetuate the myth that ending federal funding for Planned Parenthood could hurt women’s access to health care. Asked if Planned Parenthood should continue to receive… -
opinion
Another Hack With Another 10 Million Compromised
While the biggest names in the intelligence community testified last week on Worldwide Cyber Threats, news continued to break over another health insurance company being hacked. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield released a statement this week about a cyber theft that could compromise the personal information of up to 10.5 million customers. Excellus reportedly learned about the… -
opinion
New York City’s Latest Attempt to Control Uber
Earlier this year, when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tried to cap the growth of Uber and other ridesharing companies, he was forced to back down. The public, it seems, likes the convenient and reliable services these companies offer. And it did not help the mayor’s cause that he had no evidence to… -
opinion
3 Years After Benghazi Attack, Select Committee Hones in on Clinton Emails
Bryan Pagliano, a State Department employee hired by Hillary Clinton to work on her controversial private email server, appeared before the House Benghazi Select Committee last week. Pagliano’s lawyer warned that he would be invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self- incrimination, even though he has been offered immunity (if only he would shed light… -
news
‘It’s a War’: A Look at How the US and Its Allies Are Fighting ISIS
U.S. ARMED FORCES, Southwest Asia—It’s dinnertime at the DFAC (the military acronym for chow hall) at this remote desert base somewhere in the Persian Gulf region. As they eat, a group of four U.S. Air Force A-10 pilots talk about their war against Daesh, which is what the U.S. military and its coalition partners call… -
opinion
Does Allowing Noncitizens to Be Counted in Redistricting Violate One Person, One Vote Standard?
When states, counties, and towns redraw political districts, is it constitutional for them to include individuals who are ineligible to vote, such as noncitizens? Or does that dilute the vote of eligible citizens and violate the one-person, one-vote standard that the U.S. Supreme Court established for all redistricting fifty years ago in Reynolds v. Sims… -
opinion
Planned Failure
Over the last several months, video evidence has documented that the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, may have been selling baby parts for profit. The evidence also suggests they may be harvesting organs from babies who are still alive. Congress now gives Planned Parenthood over $500 million from federal taxpayers every year, but a… -
opinion
America’s Suffering From a Crisis of Confidence
Syria’s raging civil war has transfixed the West’s collective consciousness two summers in a row: last summer with ISIS’s unspeakable barbarity and in 2015 by unleashing a refugee crisis on Europe. Those searching for solutions would do well to take a comprehensive approach. Yes, better military options are needed in the Middle East. But in… -
news
Chris Pratt Asked People to #ThankaVeteran on 9/11. Here’s What Happened.
September 11th is a day to remember. Actor Chris Pratt also says it is a day to thank a veteran. Pratt posted a video to Facebook on Friday asking people to post a video to their social accounts in which they thank a veteran. “In the face of unexpected violence, most of us freeze,” Pratt… -
opinion
Heterosexuals Are to Blame For the Breakdown of Marriage
In recent days, many Americans have reveled in the hypocrisy of a number of well-known people revealed as subscribers to the Ashley Madison pro-adultery website. But there is a far more important revelation from the hackings: the alarming number who signed up for the site—33 million people. That startling statistic reminds us that no one… -
opinion
The Double Standard on Smoking vs. Marijuana
A lot of things can date an old movie or TV show: clothes, furniture, cars. And another thing: cigarettes. They’re all over the place in many films, markers of an era when smoking was far more common. It took a while—the surgeon general’s report came out five decades ago—but the percentage of smokers has declined,… -
news
Remembering 9/11 During America’s War on ISIS
U.S. ARMED FORCES, Southwest Asia—For the 14th year in a row, a wartime U.S. military remembered the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But this was the first 9/11 anniversary for U.S. military members deployed as part of Operation Inherent Resolve—the U.S.-led air war against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. On Friday, as the sun beat… -
opinion
What’s Behind the Large Medicare Part B Premium Hike for Seniors?
Next year, millions of Medicare enrollees will see their premiums jump from $104.90 to $159.30, a stunning 52-percent increase. Today’s bureaucratic premium setting is inherently defective. Real market-driven Medicare reform based on expanded patient choice, cost-cutting competition, and defined contribution financing would be much better for America’s seniors. What’s Happening? Medicare Part B, a voluntary… -
opinion
The Lessons From Solyndra Still Haven’t Been Learned
In a letter to Department of Energy Secretary Ernie Moniz this week, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology expressed concern over the use of $1 billion in new energy project loan guarantees promised by President Obama at last month’s National Clean Energy Summit. Just days after Obama’s announcement, the Department of Energy’s inspector… -
news
California Assembly Approves Legislation to Legalize Assisted Suicide
The California State Assembly passed a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide on Wednesday. According to a report by Reuters, the bill is likely to be approved by the state Senate, but Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., has not made his position on the bill known. The bill, ABX2-15, requires a patient seeking life-ending drugs to make a… -
opinion
Puerto Rico’s Warning to the Mainland: Stop Kicking the Can Down the Road
The findings of Puerto Rico’s Fiscal and Economic Recovery Working Group should serve as a warning sign to the U.S. Government that putting off economic and budgetary reforms will ultimately cause much deeper and more painful cuts that severely hinder economic growth. After accumulating $72 billion in debts that Puerto Rico’s governor declared unpayable in…