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
US-Funded News Station Wants to Bring Free Press to Cuba. But Raúl Castro Wants to Shut It Down.
MIAMI—Carlos García-Pérez, who heads the U.S. government’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting, is used to his news station being a target. The Miami headquarters of Radio and TV Martí is protected as if it is one. Located randomly off the side of an expressway, the building is guarded by a barbed-wire gate. Signage outside confirms the… -
news
Bobby Jindal on Anti-Common Core Moms: ‘I Wouldn’t Bet Against Them’
While promoting his new education platform today in Washington, D.C., Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said more moms than ever are speaking out against the national education standards known as Common Core. Of those moms, Jindal said, “I wouldn’t bet against them.” The Republican governor took on the issue of Common Core while speaking to a… -
opinion
Canada’s Highest Court Has Overturned Ban on Assisted Suicide
In a decision with serious international ramifications, Canada’s highest court has overturned an absolute ban on assisted suicide/euthanasia and has given Parliament one year to create a “stringently limited, carefully monitored system of exceptions.” The decision was unanimous, 9-0, and it should be viewed as a victory for advocates of assisted suicide and euthanasia. The… -
news
Gen. John Allen: ISIS on a ‘Entirely Different Level Than al-Qaeda Was’
Gen. John Allen, the president’s special envoy for the coalition against ISIS, told ABC News on Sunday that the terrorist group “is at an entirely different level than al-Qaeda was.” ISIS is “better organized” and its “command and control is better,” Allen told ABC. He added that ISIS has a “situational awareness of a broader… -
news
John Kerry: Iranian Nuclear Talks Unlikely to Be Extended
In an interview Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the deadline for Iranian nuclear talks was unlikely to be extended. “If we’re not able to make the fundamental decisions that have to be made over the course of the next weeks, literally, I think it would be impossible to… -
opinion
The New Arms Race Is About Bytes, Not Bombs
The new arms race scrambles for bytes, not bombs. To take and hold the cyber high ground, the armed services (and just about everybody else) want more fingers on keyboards and eyes on screens. Army leaders have kicked around the idea of filling the cyber-ranks by grabbing talent off the street rather than combing through… -
news
Why Marty McFly and a DeLorean Traveled to Capitol Hill
In the movie “Back to the Future Part II,” Marty McFly travels in a DeLorean to 2015 to keep his son out of jail. Now that the date has actually arrived, two policy groups, Americans for Tax Reform and Digital Liberty, are leveraging the movie to bring attention to the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The… -
news
How Customers at This Philadelphia Pizzeria Are Helping the Homeless
Mason Wartman, 27, is the proud owner of Rosa’s Fresh Pizza, a restaurant known not only for its pizza but for its efforts to help the city’s homeless. Wartman told “Today” that he felt “burnt out” after spending three years in a Wall Street job. He wanted to open his own business, bringing the $1… -
opinion
The Connection Between High Taxes and Stagnant Wages
President Obama has wisely abandoned his lead-filled trial balloon of taxing college savings plans. Congressional offices were deluged over the last week with indignant calls from voters on this middle-class bait-and-switch scheme and finally Democrats caved. Good riddance. But the worst Obama ideas on taxes are directed at investors, entrepreneurs and risk-takers. These Obama investment… -
opinion
Washington Might Not Be Pushing Tax Cuts, But Republican Governors Are
While the prospects for tax reform in Washington are dim, as many as 20 Republican governors are moving forward with their own pro-growth tax-relief initiatives. This is on top of the 14 states, including Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, whose 2014 tax cuts will take effect this year. Arizona’s new Gov. Doug Ducey says his… -
news
South Carolina Finds a Way Around Federal Nutrition Standards to Allow Student Bake Sales
South Carolina student groups looking to raise money should get out their baking supplies. Schools in the state will soon be able to apply for waivers to sell food that isn’t in compliance with federal nutrition standards in order to facilitate fundraising. South Carolina’s State Education Superintendent Molly Spearman announced in a statement that the… -
news
This Daughter of a Gay Parent Thinks Traditional Marriage Should Be Protected
In an open letter to Justice Anthony Kennedy, the daughter of a same-sex couple writes that the Supreme Court should “protect marriage.” Katy Faust, who serves on the Academic and Testimonial Councils of the International Children’s Rights Institute, writes that the interests of children are best protected by preserving marriage as a union between one… -
opinion
How Government Unions Take Advantage of the Rest of Us
It’s a special-interest group that exercises disproportionate influence over public policy at all levels of government. Government bestows special favors on it, thereby perpetuating and strengthening its political power. It’s classic cronyism — and you are paying for it. Government unions operate in direct conflict with the interests of the public. Their initiatives drive government… -
news
What Some Would-Be Successors Tweeted About Ronald Reagan on His Birthday
On the 104th anniversary of his birth, Ronald Reagan was saluted today on Twitter by many of the fellow Republicans who are seriously thinking about seeking to become one of his successors as president. Joining them was Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., with a Reaganesque tax message that surely would have made the Great Communicator chuckle. Sanders, a… -
opinion
Harry Jaffa and the Most Controversial Speech in Political Convention History
In academe, the late Harry Jaffa of Claremont McKenna College was most famous for his groundbreaking scholarship on the Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln, whom he revered. He also was well-known for his short temper and the long letters he wrote in which he eviscerated anyone who disagreed with him that the Declaration and… -
news
Congressman Reintroduces Bill to End Operation Choke Point
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., today reintroduced legislation to end the Justice Department initiative known as Operation Choke Point. “While steps have been made in the case against Operation Choke Point, there is still a need for my legislation to be reintroduced this Congress,” he said in a press release. The legislation, which Luetkemeyer previously introduced… -
opinion
My Kid Is Going to Be Eight Feet Tall!
The media has made a big deal about the recent NASA/NOAA announcement proclaiming that 2014 was the hottest year on record. Googling “NASA 2014 hottest year” generates more than a million hits, and the first page has stories from all of the major news outlets. To them the “hottest year” determination confirms that global warming… -
opinion
How to Free the Government’s Grip on Freedom of Information
There is something on which Democrats and Republicans agree: the Freedom of Information Act is broken. The law, known as FOIA, is intended to facilitate the timely release of public information. Instead, federal officials routinely use it to delay and obstruct the release of information. A bipartisan effort to reform the law died at the… -
opinion
ISIS Execution Video Ignites Jordanian Backlash
The grisly propaganda video issued by the Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), showing a captured Jordanian air force pilot being burned alive has sparked a popular backlash in Jordan against ISIS. Like many Americans before 9/11, many Jordanians did not fully appreciate the threat posed by Islamist… -
opinion
Most Believe the Conservative Vision for America Is Best
Conservativism is becoming hip. A new survey of adult Americans conducted by the American Perceptions Initiative, a project of The Heritage Foundation, found that in October 2014 Americans' perceptions of the conservative approach for America had improved from October 2013. The Issue Agenda Is Tipping Toward Conservatives In a rather significant change from October 2013,…