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
Why This Chef Thinks Food Is the Right Recipe for U.S. Diplomacy
SAN FRANCISCO—For Sam Chapple-Sokol, a chef who has spent time working at the White House, food is the missing ingredient in international relations. The Daily Signal connected with the food connoisseur in San Francisco’s Mission District, where he explained the concept of “culinary diplomacy,” a term he coined. Chapple-Sokol defines the idea of culinary diplomacy… -
opinion
Keeping a Constant Eye on Ebola
In the age of the 24-hour twenty-four hour news cycle, our attention constantly shifts from topic to topic and from crisis to crisis. Various headlines and stories compete for our immediate attention, and some recede from public view before they receive the attention they should. The most recent Ebola outbreak—a global health security crisis—seems to… -
opinion
How the Government Should Go About Gathering Data
“We’ve got to figure some way out of this.” That’s Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, referring to congressional deadlock over key provisions of the Patriot Act that are about to expire. The question, amid concerns over government data-gathering and the dramatic uptick in terrorist attacks, is what that way should be. Like it or not,… -
opinion
Don’t Tweak the Biofuels Mandate, End It
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its biofuels targets for 2014-16 as part of the Renewable Fuels Standard passed in 2005. In the interest of forcing biofuels into the market, the agency now will require 17.4 billion gallons of biofuels be produced in 2016, 14 million of which can be corn-based ethanol. The proposal… -
opinion
Civil Servants Have Rights, Too. Government Should Respect Them.
Yesterday, the North Carolina House passed a bill that would protect magistrates who object to performing solemnizing ceremonies for same-sex marriages and clerks who object to issuing same-sex marriage licenses. The bill, should it become law, would make it clear that no one can be denied a marriage license but magistrates or clerks could recuse… -
news
‘Say What?’ Planned Parenthood Calls Itself a ‘Safe Haven’ for Newborns
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England is advertising itself as a “safe haven” for newborns. According to Vermont’s Department for Children and Families, the state’s Baby Safe Haven Law “offers you safe places you can give up your baby—anonymously and legally.” Under the Baby Safe Haven Law, parents may deliver a child younger than 30… -
news
Chris Christie Vows to Scrap Common Core in New Jersey
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he will pull the state out of Common Core education standards—increasingly unpopular among parents and teachers alike—in favor of “higher, New Jersey-based standards” to be developed by the end of the year. He has asked the state’s top education official to convene parents, teachers and educators to drive development of… -
news
Conservatives ‘Uncomfortable’ With It, So Nebraska Abolishes the Death Penalty
The Nebraska Legislature has voted to end the death penalty in the state, overriding the governor’s veto. Lawmakers voted 30-19 to abolish capital punishment in Nebraska on Wednesday. Only 30 votes were required to override the veto. The Daily Signal previously reported that Nebraska lawmakers approved legislation that would end capital punishment in the state… -
opinion
Maryland Governor Vetoes Forfeiture Reform
Last Friday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan vetoed State Senate Bill 528, a civil asset forfeiture reform measure that had been passed nearly unanimously by the State Senate. S.B. 528 would have closed the “equitable sharing” loophole that perversely incentivizes Maryland’s law enforcement agencies to circumvent state forfeiture laws for financial gain. Property owners caught up… -
opinion
What You Should Know About the Recent Wave of Islamist Terrorist Attacks
On the evening of May 3, two men armed with rifles attacked the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest in Garland, Texas. While both shooters were killed before they could get inside the exhibit, this attack is the 68th Islamist terrorist plot or attack against the U.S. since 9/11. The incident has raised significant questions about… -
news
Labor Pains: Why the Birth Rate Is Down and What That Means
When Maria Harrill was growing up in suburban Maryland in the early 1990s, she kept a journal outlining all the things she’d do when she was a mom. She attentively monitored her own family of 10 and—more like a discerning social worker stopping by for a visit than the second youngest of a brood of… -
news
Takeaway of Reform: It’d Be Harder for Authorities to Take Away Your Cash, Property
The Internal Revenue Service seized $107,702 in company profits from Lyndon McLellan just because agents didn't like the size of the convenience store owner’s bank deposits. If a bipartisan proposal before Congress had been the law of the land, though, the IRS could not have justified the money grab. Countless Americans like McLellan, who never intended to… -
news
‘Free Range’ Parents Not Charged for Letting Their Kids Walk Home Alone
Child Protective Services has ruled out neglect charges in one of two investigations into Maryland’s “free range” parents, according to the Associated Press. Danielle and Alexander Meitiv, the parents of Dvora, 6, and Rafi, 10, practice what they call a “free range” parenting style in which their children are given a great deal of independence…. -
opinion
Give Indian Prime Minister a C for His First Year in Office
This week marks the end of Narendra Modi’s first year as prime minister of India. Elected with an unprecedented majority in Parliament, Indians had high expectations his economic reforms would resuscitate India’s economy and investment environment. In democracies, the first year of an administration is typically when the most dramatic political and economic reforms are… -
opinion
We’re Paying More Than Ever for Government to Regulate Us
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., claims Americans are suffering from Stockholm syndrome, a condition in which hostages begin to have misplaced positive feelings toward their captors. The captors in this case are the federal regulators who impose some 2,400 new regulations each year, and the senator suggests Americans are not sufficiently wary of their resulting ill… -
opinion
Why Is the Share of Prime-Age People Working Full Time Still So Low?
In 2009, the percentage of prime working-age U.S. residents who work 35 hours or more per week plunged to a 24-year low. Six years later, it remains five percentage points below its pre-recession level. So today, even though there are 1.3 million more people in the 25-54 age group than in 2007, there are 4.7… -
opinion
What Republicans Should Learn From the Transgender Moment
In less than two years, transgender rights have gone from a non-issue to non-negotiable in the Democratic Party. Rather than dismiss this change as a politically irrelevant story that belongs in the tabloids, Republicans should view it as a case study in the political power of principle. For it was principle, not a political campaign,… -
news
West Virginia Joins Five Other States in Bailing on Interior Department Mine Regulation Agreement
After watching federal officials with the U.S. Department of the Interior unilaterally rewrite regulatory rules without state input in what was supposed to be a joint venture, West Virginia has joined with five other states to withdraw from a cooperative agreement they say the Interior Department has violated. In 2010, the Interior Department’s Office of… -
opinion
A Future Freely Chosen
The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists consists of members of the European Parliament who oppose the centralized power of the European Union; they favor “the exercise of power at the lowest practicable level—by the individual where possible, by local or national authorities in preference to supranational bodies.” On May 22, Heritage Foundation President Jim… -
opinion
How David Axelrod Views the 2016 Campaign
It’s increasingly rare these days to see two people from opposite sides of the political spectrum sit down and have a conversation—which is why I was happy to have the opportunity recently to do just that with former White House senior adviser David Axelrod. We both were guests on Bill Maher’s show a couple of months…