Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
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Kamala Harris Raised Money in California as Hurricane Helene Wreaked Havoc
While millions of Americans came face-to-face with the reality that they no longer have a place to call “home,” Vice President Kamala Harris was campaigning around the country. Hurricane Helene, a massive Category 4 hurricane, made landfall Thursday in Florida and plowed through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Other states, including Virginia,…Christina Lewis -
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‘No Longer Trusts Anyone’: Iranian Officials Reportedly Gripped by Paranoia After Hezbollah Leader’s Assassination
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week has reportedly stirred paranoia among top Iranian officials and the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, according to Reuters. Israel targeted Nasrallah in a significant airstrike against his bunker on Friday, marking the latest blow to an increasingly weakening Hezbollah, which has been attacking Israel since…Jake Smith -
- Opinion
MSNBC’s Maddow Distorts History, Vance’s Views at Same Time
The Democrats were distraught when Rachel Maddow negotiated with her Comcast paymasters to do her show only one night a week. What would the Left do with their Maddow magic cut by 80%? For media critics, Maddow has been tougher to analyze as a cable “news” host. She goes on long pseudo-intellectual benders of historical…Tim Graham -
- Opinion
ESG Aims to ‘Push Politics Into Business,’ CEO Says
A leftist agenda known as ESG, or environmental, social, and governance, aims to “push politics into business,” according to OJ Oleka, the new CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation. State financial officers are under pressure from the Left to invest in businesses’ commitment to the ESG agenda at the risk of sacrificing their “fiduciary…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Naval Academy Allows Bancroft Lecture Series to Become Politicized
Anti-Trump historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat is scheduled to lecture midshipmen on “authoritarianism” next week at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, an event that is part of the Bancroft Lecture series but, in a break with tradition, will not be public. We know of Ben-Ghiat’s scheduled Oct. 10 speech only because she announced the…Matthew Lee -
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A New Show to Expose Washington
If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s Washington, D.C. politicians not following the will of the people. That’s not the way, of course, the Founders hoped it would work—but as all of us know, it is what too often happens. But why? The Daily Signal’s politics editor, Bradley Devlin, is launching a new show, “The Signal Sitdown,”…Katrina Trinko -
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WATCH: The Daily Signal’s Ultimate VP Debate Coverage
Join us for a special four+ hour LIVE broadcast of “The Tony Kinnett Cast,” covering the day’s top news and pre-debate antics, a simulcast of the vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, and follow-up postdebate analysis from Tony Kinnett, Bradley Devlin, and other special guests. In the run-up to Election Day, this final scheduled…Tony Kinnett -
- Opinion
Is America Undergoing a Quiet Coup, Courtesy of Wall Street?
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the accompanying video from professor Peter St. Onge. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the then-chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, Simon Johnson, warned that the same dysfunctional policies he saw in basket case banana republics had taken hold in the United States….Peter St. Onge -
- Opinion
WATCH: Harris Chose Campaign Fundraisers Over Hurricane Survivors
On the latest episode of “The Tony Kinnett Cast,” we explain how the Biden-Harris administration was faced with a dilemma—whether they should put time into hurricane relief or Harris-Walz campaign rallies over the weekend, and then we watch in disappointment as Vice President Kamala Harris chose fundraisers over survivors of Hurricane Helene. In what could only be…Tony Kinnett -
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How Harris Could Stop Fracking Without Banning Fracking
I believe Kamala Harris. She told a CNN town hall in 2019, “There’s no question: I’m in favor of banning fracking.” But she said in her Sept. 10 ABC News debate against former President Donald Trump: “I will not ban fracking.” That second comment might be the only campaign promise she ever keeps. How could these statements both be true? Harris…Deroy Murdock -
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Why Are Those Darn Baby Boomers So Rich?
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the accompanying video from professor Peter St. Onge. Or, more precisely, why are subsequent generations so poor? This might look mysterious, considering how irresponsible boomers are, compared to their parents. But it turns out the answer’s simple: It’s because they rode the big, beautiful economy they…Peter St. Onge -
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Faith-Based Groups Better at Solving Social Challenges Than Government, CEO Says
Americans have a responsibility to be civically engaged in their communities and when it comes to solving social challenges, faith-based communities have the best track record, according to Stacy Blakeley, the CEO of The Policy Circle. During a study examining the foster care and refugee crises today, The Policy Circle, a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Why Are More Young Women Than Young Men Moving Left?
It’s not news that young people are further on the left of the political spectrum than older generations. Of unique interest now is that the movement to the left is more disproportionate among young women than young men. As a nation we should know this is happening and try to understand why. Women, traditionally, have…Star Parker -
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Jonathan Skrmetti’s Top 5 Successes as Tennessee’s Attorney General
As Tennessee’s attorney general for only two years, Republican Jonathan Skrmetti is racking up wins for conservatives in policy and law against the Biden-Harris administration and private sector actors. One of those successes looms at the U.S. Supreme Court, where in the term that begins Oct. 1 the justices are expected to take up the federal…Audrey Streb -
- Opinion
When Did the Fourth Estate Become a Fifth Column?
The role of the media—once hailed as the “Fourth Estate” of democracy—is increasingly suspected of partisanship. Fewer and fewer believe journalism is trustworthy, as opposed to a neutral platform for competing truths. Many outlets today are seen as proxies for candidates or political parties, and even cheerlead at political fundraising extravaganzas. Networks such as MSNBC,…Armstrong Williams -
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Abraham Accords at 4 Years: They Matter More Than Ever
In commemorating the 4th anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords, which paved a way forward for unprecedented cooperation between Israel and Arab nations, the bipartisan Senate Abraham Accords Caucus underscored recently, “In the face of increased Iranian aggression, the foundation of this agreement is more important than ever to further cooperation in the…Anthony B. Kim -
- Opinion
Penn Law’s Persecution of Professor Amy Wax Is Textbook Leftist Intolerance
Higher education has been a cesspool of anti-Americanism, censorious leftism, and cultural radicalism for longer than I have been alive. The moral rot is, and always has been, particularly acute at Ivy League or otherwise putatively “elite” institutions. The pro-Hamas “protests” that have rocked university campuses since Oct. 7 are indicative: One cannot help but…Josh Hammer -
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Political ‘October Surprises’ Happening Earlier as ‘September Shocks’
An October surprise is usually defined as the well-known (and more often left-wing) tactic of manufacturing or unloading a news story right before voting to surprise a rival without allowing them time sufficiently to respond or recover. Think of the last-minute bombshell disclosure, five days before the 2000 election, that candidate George W. Bush had…Victor Davis Hanson -
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When Reporters Are Just Explainers, Not Investigators
The Left used to pressure reporters trying to be objective by insulting them as “stenographers to power.” You can’t just repeat what the powerful say, they argued. You have to expose them. Well, some of them. We remember all the lectures during the Trump presidency that all their anti-Trump aggression was just “holding him accountable.”…Tim Graham -
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Harris’ Push to End Filibuster Would Let the Left Run Roughshod Over Constitution
Though Democrats are endlessly prattling on about “norms” and “democracy,” it is often unclear what aspects of the constitutional order they actually support. This week, for example, Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated her support for suspending the legislative filibuster so that Democrats, should they eke out a slim Senate majority, can overturn thousands of state…David Harsanyi