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
Q&A: The Terrorist Group That Took Credit for Charlie Hebdo Attack Also Has Targeted U.S.
A leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for last week’s deadly terrorist attack by brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. AQAP, as the Islamic extremist group is known, is Yemen’s al-Qaeda affiliate. The group is also bitter rivals with the Islamic State, the terrorist group… -
news
At Invitation of John Kerry, James Taylor Sings ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ to the French
Secretary of State John Kerry sought to show the United States’ support of France after the recent terrorist attack against the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo by having James Taylor sing “You’ve Got a Friend” at a Paris press conference. Nile Gardiner, director of Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, blasted this decision,… -
opinion
Forfeiture Reform Gains Traction on Capitol Hill
On Friday, a bipartisan group of leaders from the United States Senate and House Judiciary Committees sent a letter calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to abandon the Department of Justice’s “Equitable Sharing” program, which has distributed billions of dollars of civil asset forfeiture revenues to state and local law enforcement agencies. The letter also… -
opinion
New GOP Plan Would Force Online Sales to Be Taxed at Rate of Seller’s State
House Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., this week jumpstarted the sputtering effort to allow states to collect sales taxes on sales by out-of-state, mostly Internet-based, sellers. Known as “home rule and revenue return,” his plan would allow Internet purchases to be taxed – but at the rate established by the seller’s state, not the… -
news
Seeking to Hold Congress Accountable, Conservatives Release ‘Citizens Mandate’
A group of conservative leaders has a message for Congress: Remember what voters told you in November. “The message from voters was an emphatic rejection of President Obama’s policies,” says @RichardViguerie The “Citizens Mandate From the November 2014 Election” provides Congress with marching orders and vows to hold lawmakers accountable if they fail to heed… -
opinion
Kerry Urged to Speak Out Against Religious Persecution in Pakistan
A group of South Asia experts recently submitted a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry urging him to address rising religious persecution in Pakistan during his trip to the region for the U.S.–Pakistan Strategic Dialogue this week. Unfortunately, Secretary Kerry did not publicly raise U.S. concerns on sensitive issues such as Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy… -
opinion
Charlie Hebdo Attack Shows West What Rising Threat Islamist Terrorists Pose
Last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris against the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists and a Jewish grocery store that killed 17 people have underscored the rising threats posed by Islamist terrorists inside Western countries. Since the 1979 Iranian revolution and the rise of al-Qaeda in the 1990s, the launching of terrorist attacks against western targets by radicalized… -
opinion
Kelly Clarkson’s New Song Featuring Her Baby’s Prenatal Heartbeat Debuts as Two Heartbeat Cases Are Heard in Court
On Monday, new mom and pop/country superstar Kelly Clarkson released “Heartbeat Song”—an upbeat, synth-driven single that celebrates her new baby girl in a unique way. “The beat is actually River’s heartbeat slowed down from when she was in my tummy!”shares Clarkson in a radio interview. Clarkson and her husband Brandon Blackstock, married in 2013, welcomed… -
news
21 Tweets About the Pope’s Charlie Hebdo Comments
Pope Francis spoke out on last week’s terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, suggesting there should be limits to freedom of expression, especially when dealing with insults to religion. “If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch,” Francis said, according to numerous press reports…. -
news
Map Reveals Where Americans Moved in 2014 (Hint: It Wasn’t Ohio)
More families moved out of Ohio than moved into the state last year, according to reports from three of the nation’s largest moving companies. While each company’s records show only a small subset of all relocations across state lines, their annual reports offer a glimpse at interstate migration before the release of the U.S. Census… -
opinion
MetLife Mounts First Legal Challenge to FSOC Process
Life insurance company MetLife has been locked in a battle with the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) for months. Last July, the FSOC, a sort of super-regulatory agency created by the 2010 Dodd–Frank Act, designated MetLife for special regulation by the Federal Reserve even though MetLife fought the process at every step. Tuesday, MetLife announced… -
news
Have Environmentalists Hijacked the Government’s Dietary Guidelines?
A government advisory committee will soon issue its recommendations for the 2015 dietary guidelines to the federal agencies. And this year, it’s weighing environmental concerns along with nutritional needs. “You’re going to have kids eating what’s best for the environment, not what’s best for them,” says @DarenBakst The U.S. Department of Agriculture calls these guidelines… -
news
Political Startup Ranks the Most Conservative, Liberal 2016 Candidates
A new political startup has studied the potential 2016 presidential field—and those who donate to them. Researchers at Stanford University started Crowdpac, a website that not only analyzes a candidate’s voting record and statements but their history of political donations as well. The founders of Crowdpac say that combining these factors provides a more accurate picture… -
news
IKEA Wants Millions in Tax Incentives for Tennessee Store
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An unelected board of 11 people in this city soon will decide whether to grant $9.5 million in tax incentives to the IKEA corporation. Company officials want to open their first store in Tennessee and are asking city and county officials for that much government assistance through its first 11 years of operation. The… -
news
Jon Stewart Actually Likes Marco Rubio’s Idea to Raise Wages, but …
Toward the end of Jon Stewart’s on-air interview last night with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the comic suggested tea party conservatives would reject policy ideas in his new book, “American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone.” Rubio, who is mulling a run for president next year, would have none of it. The Florida Republican rebuffed… -
news
Could Millennials Change Their Views on Same-Sex Marriage? What Ryan Anderson Thinks.
Have conservatives lost millennials in the marriage debate? A pro-traditional marriage panel speaking on issues of life, marriage and religious liberty was challenged with that question yesterday at Heritage Action’s 2015 Conservative Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. Ryan Anderson, who researches and writes about marriage and religious liberty at The Heritage Foundation, argued that the… -
news
Bernie Sanders: Keystone XL Pipeline Would Leave Planet ‘Significantly Less Habitable’
President Obama has promised to veto any legislation that reaches his desk authorizing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., thinks that is a “good idea.” Appearing on MSNBC’s “The Rundown with José Díaz-Balart,” the potential 2016 presidential candidate explained why. “Well, because I think it’s a good idea for the president,… -
news
This State Hardly Has Any Fracking. But Activists Want to Ban It Anyway.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Fresh off a statewide fracking ban in New York, environmental activists are taking the fight to Florida. Never mind that fracking hardly exists in the Sunshine State, at least compared to the North and Midwest. The message is clear: Shut it down. “Follow New York’s lead and ban fracking in Florida!” says… -
news
Christie Looks Beyond Jersey With Swipe at Partisan Politics, Appeal for ‘American Renewal’
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie used his annual State of the State address today to suggest to a national audience of activists and donors that his brand of bipartisan, results-oriented leadership is sorely needed in the White House. In remarks meant to be heard far beyond the Garden State, Christie sought to recast a pugnacious… -
news
Sen. Tom Cotton: U.S. Has ‘Surrendered Repeatedly to Iran’s Demands’
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is concerned about what he calls the Obama administration’s “all carrot and no stick” approach to Iranian nuclear power. During his remarks at Heritage Action’s 2015 Conservative Policy Summit, Cotton said that what began as an “unwise policy” of appeasement has morphed into a “dangerous farce.” Nuclear proliferation in Iran could…