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
How Charlie Hebdo Is Planning to Strike Back at Terrorists
Charlie Hebdo is pressing on following the terrorist massacre that killed 12 people this week, vowing to continue its weekly publication with a mass printing of 1 million copies next Wednesday. “The paper will continue because they didn’t win,” Patrick Pelloux, casualty doctor and contributor to the paper, said through tears to France’s iTele TV station yesterday…. -
opinion
What Do Americans Think About the Fight Against ISIS?
A new opinion poll released Thursday shows Americans in continued support of the goal to “downgrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State (ISIS), as President Obama has articulated it. The poll, “American Public Attitudes Towards ISIS and Syria,” also reveals some reservations about the effectiveness of the Obama administration’s air-only campaign to keep ISIS from… -
opinion
5 Recent Terrorist Attacks by Islamists You May Have Missed
On Wednesday, three terrorists in France attacked the offices of a satirical magazine, killing 12 and injuring scores more. Sadly, the terror attack in France is one of many recent incidents carried out by Islamists (that is, Islamic extremists). While most Americans are familiar with recent terrorism perpetrated against the citizens of Canada and Australia,… -
opinion
Did the EPA Ignore the Law to Make These Rules? Judges Will Decide.
On Friday morning, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is going to hear an important challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s rules on greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and trucks. The Pacific Legal Foundation is bringing this challenge, arguing that the EPA failed… -
opinion
Atlanta Fire Chief Fired for Expressing Christian Beliefs
Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired on Tuesday by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. Why? Because, on his own private time, Cochran wrote a book expressing his biblical understanding of sexual morality. At the center of this controversy is whether governments should push those who hold traditional beliefs out of government jobs. The decision by… -
news
This Year’s March for Life Spotlights the ‘Not Perfect’
The 2015 March for Life will focus on a population at specific risk for abortion: those who receive a prenatal disability diagnosis. The March for Life Education and Defense Fund announced that the “Every Life is a Gift” theme “seeks to draw attention to the pre-born populations that are at the greatest risk for abortion.” For the… -
news
Here Are the Translated Charlie Hebdo Covers
Twelve people were killed Tuesday morning at the Paris headquarters of the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo. Reports say the violence came as backlash to the paper's provocative content. Yesterday, we published some of the newspaper's covers. After numerous requests from our readers, we're publishing them again today—with translations. 1) This September 2012 issue was titled… -
news
Jeb Bush: We Need to ‘Show Respect’ for Both Supporters, Opponents of Same-Sex Marriage
Florida Republicans Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio – both potential presidential candidates – offered their reaction to their state’s recent decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, after a federal district judge ruled that it was unconstitutional for county clerks to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Earlier this week, Bush issued a statement… -
news
Colorado Launches $5.7 Million Campaign to Encourage Responsible Pot Use
“Just say no” is a thing of the past for Colorado’s marijuana users. The state is shifting its weed tactics, pouring $5.7 million into a marijuana education program aimed at encouraging responsible use. Larry Wolk, the state’s chief medical officer, told USA Today the new “Good to Know” campaign is not intended to prevent marijuana… -
news
Boehner: ‘I’m the Most Anti-Establishment Speaker We’ve Ever Had’
House Speaker John Boehner couldn’t disagree more with conservatives who label him an “establishment” Republican and a “squish.” In fact, while speaking at his first press conference since surviving the most divisive speaker election in more than a century, the Ohio Republican argued he is the “most anti-establishment speaker we’ve ever had.” “I tell you… -
opinion
Surprise Move: The Fed Pulls Back on Deposit Insurance
Yesterday’s release of the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in December revealed very little new information on the Fed’s overall monetary policy stance. The headline statement was that “the Committee judges that it can be patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy.” Translation: We’re not doing anything different for… -
news
‘Take the War to the Enemy,’ Foreign Policy Expert Urges After Paris Terror Attack
The Heritage Foundation’s Nile Gardiner warned last night that the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks are likely to extend beyond Paris if the West does not “take the war to the enemy.” “There is no doubt about it: We are at war against militant Islamists who seek our destruction and the destruction of everything that we… -
news
Paris Terror Attack Suspects Are Still on the Run. Here Are Their Photos.
French authorities have released photos of two suspects who are still on the run after Wednesday’s terrorist attack at Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Paris that left 12 people dead. Police say the men, identified as Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi, are brothers in their early 30s. Watch the video to learn more about them. As a massive… -
news
This Man Is Now Third in Line for Presidential Succession
Since Election Day, pundits have bombarded the incoming Republican majority with a common refrain, “Republicans must prove they can govern.” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, hopes to silence these critics with his new office as president pro tempore. Hatch told The Daily Signal that he’s frustrated the “foundations of the Senate’s unique character” have been sacrificed… -
news
23 Conservative Leaders Warn Boehner Not to Punish GOP Dissenters
A coalition of 23 leaders in the conservative movement today urged Speaker John Boehner not to punish Republicans who voted against him for the House’s top job. Boehner, who removed two of those dissenters from the powerful Rules Committee after the speaker vote, is now rethinking the decision, according to Politico. A total of 25… -
news
Mick Mulvaney Defends His Boehner Vote, Dubbing the Attempted Overthrow a ‘Fool’s Errand’
Two years ago, Rep. Mick Mulvaney learned a lesson in the often-conniving game of politics. The South Carolina conservative was part of the trickle of Republicans attempting to oust John Boehner as speaker of the House in 2013. Like Tuesday, the coup failed and Mulvaney’s hopes for greater conservative leadership ended in backlash. “Conservatives were… -
opinion
Why We Are Standing With the French
On Sept. 13, 2001, two days after 9/11, the Parisian daily Le Monde published an editorial titled “Nous sommes tous Américains,” or “We Are All Americans” in the language of Moliere. It shocked many, not least Le Monde’s legions of readers. “How can we not feel, as we have in the gravest moments of our… -
news
The Charlie Hebdo Covers the Terrorists Didn’t Want You to See
Two police officers and 10 employees were killed by three gunmen this morning at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Paris. Witnesses say the gunmen shouted, “We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad." President Francois Hollande called it "an attack on free speech." >>> Here Are the Translated Charlie Hebdo Covers But this isn't the first time the… -
news
Change Up: New Congress Brings ‘Fresh Ideas, Fresh People’
On Nov. 18, 2014, the clock started ticking for Rep. Jason Chaffetz. The Utah Republican had just been named head of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee following two years of dogged government oversight from Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who was forced to step down because of the GOP’s self-imposed term limits on… -
news
Paul Revere and Samuel Adams’ Time Capsule Finally Opened in Boston. Here’s What Was Inside.
Historians have finally opened a post-revolutionary era time capsule that was unearthed in Boston last month. According to the Associated Press, the time capsule was placed in a cornerstone of the Massachusetts Statehouse during its construction in 1795. The contents were transferred to a brass box in 1855. The capsule “was rediscovered last year during…