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
The Problem With International Outreach to Iran
The nuclear deal with Iran announced by President Barack Obama is a mirage—an agreement now to agree later. But it stands for something bigger: the belief that it’s better to have the bad guys inside the tent than out of it. As the president put it last year, he believes that, if only Iran would… -
news
This Map Shows Most Conservative and Liberal Town in Each State
What are the most conservative and liberal towns in your state? This map, compiled by Business Insider, depicts the most left-leaning and right-leaning towns in each state based on data provided by the research organization Clarity Campaign Labs. Clarity Campaign Labs surveyed users’ responses to a series of questions on issues like guns, abortion and… -
opinion
1 in 20 of Working-Age Americans Receives Disability Benefits
With the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program heading toward insolvency before the end of next year, lawmakers are looking for reforms to help individuals with disabilities but the capacity to work to return to work. Why it is so hard to get them to do so? Olga Khazan explores the question in a new piece… -
opinion
How the Iran Deal Could Increase Chance of Conflict
Let’s be honest, the joint comprehensive plan of action announced last week in Lausanne, Switzerland, between the P5+1 (U.S., France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany) and Iran is essentially a Rorschach inkblot test. People will see what they want to see. Some people, like Team Obama, see the deal as a flurry of white doves… -
opinion
Congress Can Raise Your Income 10 Percent By Updating the Tax Code
Congress could raise your family’s income by 10 percent, or maybe even more. And it could do it with a policy reform that has the support of 71 percent of the American people. Even better news is this is not some big-government spending program that would deliver a 10 percent raise. Instead, it’s tax reform…. -
news
Public Citizen Earned Four Pinocchios from The Washington Post’s Fact Checker
We all know the story Pinocchio: Every time he told a lie, his nose grew. The same thing has happened to Public Citizen, which is often considered “influential on the left in the trade debate.” A March 13 press release on trade-related job-loss statistics by Public Citizen failed the Washington Post’s famous Pinocchio test. The… -
news
Number of Independents Increases. Which Party Do They Lean Towards?
A new study provides insights into which demographics of the American public identify with each political party. In a report called “A Deep Dive Into Party Affiliation,” the Pew Research Center explores Americans’ political affiliations by categories such as religion, gender, race, age and education level. The study examines “long-term trends in party affiliation among… -
opinion
Big Labor’s 5 Misconceptions on Free Trade
As the congressional trade agenda ramps up, labor leaders and anti-trade groups are out bashing free trade and circulating misconceptions about globalization. At a recent event at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka led the charge, floating these five particularly egregious misconceptions about open markets. >>> In Depth: What Big Labor… -
opinion
Medicare Report: House ‘Doc Fix’ Bill Not Permanent Fix, Pays Doctors Less in Long Run
Medicare’s Chief Actuary released a report on Thursday confirming the Congressional Budget Office’s bleak assessment of H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, otherwise known as the House “doc fix” deal, to keep Medicare doctors from receiving a 21 percent pay cut. According to the Actuary’s report, net federal health… -
opinion
What Media Gets Wrong on Cuba: No Objective Public Opinion Polls in a Police State
A recently released poll by Univision/Fusion and The Washington Post would have you believe the iron curtain in Cuba has been lifted. That is definitely not the case. They claim that 97 percent of Cubans support the new policy of normalization between the U.S. and Castro regime. While I cannot speak to the beliefs of… -
news
Exclusive: Mike Lee on His New Book, Walter Scott’s Death and the 2016 GOP Field for President
Sen. Mike Lee serves as one of the most conservative members of the U.S. Senate and is well known for his legal prowess. Today, Lee, R-Utah, addressed an audience at The Heritage Foundation and discussed his new book, “Our Lost Constitution: The Willful Subversion of America’s Founding Document.” “Our Lost Constitution” focuses on five specific… -
news
Republicans Demand Government Agencies ‘Publicly Disclaim’ Their Involvement in Operation Choke Point
Republican leaders on the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday formally demanded that four federal financial regulatory agencies “publicly disclaim” their involvement in Operation Choke Point. “In order to avoid the appearance that your agency is misusing government resources to pursue partisan ends, we request that you publicly disclaim your agency’s past, present and future… -
news
Amidst Drought, California Struggles to Find Solution to #SaveOurWater
Yesterday, California Gov. Jerry Brown met with water, agricultural, and environmental leaders to collaborate and discuss solutions to address the state’s worsening drought. .@JerryBrownGov meets w/water, agricultural & environmental leaders from across CA to talk #CADrought. #SaveOurWater pic.twitter.com/KloExvGQtm — Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) April 8, 2015 Brown came under criticism last week for an… -
opinion
Cyber Breach at the White House: Time to Increase Cyber Defenses and Deter Cyber Aggression
In a CNN report released yesterday, U.S. officials determined that Russian hackers penetrated the unclassified network of the White House, which serves the executive office of the President. According to the report, this attack stems from the State Department’s e-mail system breach that occurred over much of the last year. Although the information infiltrated was… -
news
Start From Scratch on Taxes? Why There’s a Bipartisan Push to Sunset the Tax Code
Few people in either party in Washington are happy with the current tax code, so what if we simply started over? That is at the root of a proposal to sunset the current tax code on Dec. 31, 2019. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., has introduced the Tax Code Termination Act (HR 27), which would do… -
news
How a Bystander’s Video of the Deadly South Carolina Police Shooting Reignited Debate Over Body Cameras
The stark visual of watching a white policeman fire eight shots at the back of a fleeing black man in North Charleston, S.C. this weekend would not have been known to America if not for a bystander capturing the scene on video. Those precise details as shown in the video allowed the state to charge… -
opinion
Florida Taking the Lead on Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
Florida is poised to become the new front in the civil asset forfeiture reform movement. State Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Republican from the Tampa area, has filed reform legislation, which the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice discussed in a hearing today. >>> The Heritage Foundation will co-host of an event next week… -
opinion
Book Review: Mike Lee on the 6 ‘Lost’ Provisions of the Constitution
Sen. Mike Lee has written a fascinating book about the six most important “lost” provisions of the U.S. Constitution, and how they need to be “restored.” According to Lee, a Republican who represents Utah, that is the key to reinvigorating our country and getting rid of “what the founding generation would never have ratified and… -
opinion
Is Your State on the Path to Prosperity or the Poorhouse?
States across the U.S. share the common goal of economic prosperity, but they differ vastly in how they set out to achieve it. The latest edition of the American Legislative Exchange Council- Arthur Laffer Rich States, Poor States competitiveness index examines policies that maximize economic growth and assesses which states are on the path to… -
opinion
Don’t Re-Inflate the Housing Bubble
Revealing just how difficult it is for politicians to learn from even recent history, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Julian Castro, is campaigning for an expansive role for the federal government in support of increased homeownership and various community development initiatives—the exact same policies that played such a large role in the…