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
Dayaratna Testifies on the Impact of the Clean Power Plan
Kevin Dayaratna, PhD, The Heritage Foundation’s Senior Statistician and Research Programmer, testified before the House Subcommittees on Energy and Environment regarding the impact of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan on Wednesday. Dayaratna testified that his research, based on a variety of simulations performed with the Energy Information Administration’s National Energy Modeling Simulations,… -
news
Almost a Third of Abortions Performed at Planned Parenthoods
Planned Parenthood is performing almost a third of abortions in the United States, according to a new report by Americans United for Life. The report, titled “The New Leviathan: The Mega-Center Report, How Planned Parenthood Has Become Abortion, Inc.,” shows that the nation’s largest abortion provider has gone from performing one in five abortions in… -
news
John Kasich Makes His Way to Iowa for First Time in 16 Years
DES MOINES, Iowa—After more than 16 years without a visit to the Hawkeye State, Ohio Gov. John Kasich headed to Iowa yesterday to tout his record as governor and make the case to voters that he should be the Republican with a shot at the White House. Kasich, who appeared comfortable with the audience, spoke… -
news
Unions Made Big Donations to Planned Parenthood in 2014
Unions are donating money to Planned Parenthood, and members who object are often unable to hold their unions accountable. According to a search of union records on the Department of Labor’s website, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Service Employees International Union and United Food and Commercial Workers gave a combined… -
news
Mark Meadows Reinstated as House Subcommittee Chairman
Rep. Jason Chaffetz has reinstated Rep. Mark Meadows as a House subcommittee chairman, reversing a decision that prompted widespread criticism from conservatives. “I will continue to vote and conduct myself in accordance with my conscience, what my constituents want me to do, and what is best for the country,” says @RepMarkMeadows "Obviously I believe in… -
opinion
Top 9 Quotes From Justice Scalia’s Scathing Dissent in King v. Burwell
Justice Antonin Scalia is known for his sharp wit and even sharper pen. He pulled no punches in his dissent from the Supreme Court’s decision in King v. Burwell, allowing Obamacare subsidies to flow through the federal exchange. Here are nine highlights: 1. “We should start calling this law SCOTUScare … [T]his Court’s two decisions on… -
news
27 Tweets Reacting to King v. Burwell Decision
The Supreme Court decided Thursday to uphold subsidies provided by federally-run exchanges under the Affordable Care Act in a 6-3 ruling that keeps the heavily debated law intact. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion while Justice Antonin Scalia penned a scathing dissent. Americans quickly swarmed Twitter to voice their opinions on the latest… -
news
John Boehner Spokesman Attacks Reporter: ‘A Prop for Freedom Caucus Propaganda’
House conservatives have suffered their share of retribution from GOP leadership over the past few years. Now, it appears journalists could be in store for punishment, too. Roll Call reporter Matt Fuller, who has covered the conservatives’ clash with leadership, was on the receiving end of a personal attack from Speaker John Boehner’s top communicator… -
news
Sean Hannity: ‘We Need a New Speaker’
Conservative talk-radio host Sean Hannity voiced outrage over Speaker John Boehner’s treatment of House conservatives, calling leadership’s punishment of members “disgusting.” “How pathetic in my opinion that John Boehner is so petty,” says @SeanHannity During an interview Wednesday with two lawmakers who bucked party leadership, Hannity directed his criticism at Boehner, the Ohio Republican, for… -
news
GOP Chief Deputy Whip Accuses N.C. Colleague of ‘Siding With Democrats’
Rep. Mark Meadows lost his chairmanship of a House subcommittee when he bucked party leadership last week. Now he’s taking fire from a neighboring North Carolina Republican. During an interview Wednesday on WHKY Talk Radio, GOP Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry accused his North Carolina colleague of “siding with Democrats” when Meadows voted against a… -
news
Why Ken Buck Is the Latest Conservative to Be Punished by House Republican Leadership
Freshman Rep. Ken Buck is now the latest conservative member to face retribution from House Republican leadership, as his fellow freshman lawmakers will gather tomorrow to decide if he will remain freshman class president. Buck, of Colorado, joins a growing number of conservatives who have been punished by the party’s top leaders for bucking the… -
opinion
Does Obama’s New Hostage Policy Allow Negotiations With Terrorists? Details Must Be Clarified
Today, President Obama issued a presidential policy directive (PPD-29) and executive order (EO) concerning U.S. hostage policy. These actions are the result of an administration review of and report on hostage policy after several Americans had been taken hostage by ISIS and other organizations over the last few years. In his speech outlining the changes,… -
news
12 Interesting Facts About Bobby Jindal
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal became the latest Republican to enter the 2016 presidential race, announcing today that he will be making a run for the White House. >>> Bobby Jindal’s 4 Goals if He Wins the White House Here are 12 facts to know about Jindal: Jindal was born with the name Piyush. As a child,… -
news
Conservatives Really Do Have a Heart: Arthur Brooks’ Solutions for America
Arthur Brooks was a liberal bohemian musician studying economics when he embarked on a journey that led him to conservatism. He realized, for instance, conservatives had more sufficient answers to solving America’s poverty problem, one of the many issues he writes about in a new book, “The Conservative Heart.” As president of the American Enterprise… -
opinion
Think Millennials Are Immature? Hawaii Raising Legal Age to Smoke to 21 Won’t Help
If Hawaii wants to raise a generation of Peter Pans, they’re on the right path. Gov. David Ige, a Democrat, signed a bill Friday that bans smoking for those younger than 21. Teens and 21-year-olds can vote and can join the military but they won’t be able to light up in the Aloha State. The… -
news
Meet the 12 Republicans Punished by House GOP Leadership
Over the last few years, 12 Republicans have been punished by for bucking party leadership. Here’s who they are: Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, removed from Budget Committee Rep. Rod Blum of Iowa, denied a spot on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s fundraising initiative for vulnerable House members Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona, removed from… -
opinion
Expanding the Visa Waiver Program
Last week, Senators Mark Kirk (R–IL) and Barbara Mikulski (D–MD) introduced an amendment to allow Poland into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Poland’s acceptance into the Visa Waiver Program is long overdue. In fact, Congress should look to judiciously expand the VWP by adding new members. The VWP allows residents of the 37 other member… -
opinion
New Fuel Standards for Big Trucks Won’t Help the Environment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently proposed fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks to reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. In the press release Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx remarked, “Once upon a time, to be pro-environment you had to be… -
news
Amtrak Paid $200 Million in Overtime to Employees in 2014. But Many Fraudulently Recorded Their Hours.
Nearly $200 million in overtime pay was given to Amtrak employees in 2014, many of whom fraudulently recorded their overtime hours, according to an audit report from Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released Thursday. The audit identified various trends that suggested “potential fraud, waste and abuse” in reporting both regular and overtime hours. The… -
news
GOP Leadership Threatens Other Conservative Subcommittee Chairman as Punishment for Trade Vote
Conservative lawmakers serving as subcommittee chairmen are finding themselves on the receiving end of retribution from House leadership for defying party leaders. Last week, 34 Republicans broke from their party in voting against a routine procedural rule that would have advanced Trade Promotion Authority. Since then, GOP leadership has come down hard on those members,…