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
Time to Cut Fuel Subsidies in Emerging Markets
Newly elected and reelected leaders in Brazil, India, and Indonesia have a new impetus to jump-start reforms in their countries: falling global oil prices. Since July, the commodity has declined nearly 25 percent in value. While the reasons and benefits behind this cheap oil may be hazy, one policy implication is clear. It’s time to… -
opinion
Was It Right for AT&T to Slow Down Some Customers’ Internet Speed on Their Smartphones?
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in the federal court for the Northern District of California against AT&T, alleging the network giant hobbled millions of customers’ smartphones with dramatic reductions in speed (“data throttling”) despite promising them unlimited data. The commission asserts that AT&T deliberately deceived its customers into renewing contracts and… -
opinion
How a Conservative Congress Could Make a Huge Difference in Next Two Years
If Republicans should capture the Senate and retain their majority in the House of Representatives, can they move America toward greater freedom, opportunity and prosperity in the next two years? Or, as some cynics claim, will a conservative Congress and a liberal president simply produce more of the divided uber-partisan government that has characterized Washington… -
news
These Celebrities Encouraging Millennials to Vote Didn’t Vote in the Last Midterms
Several celebrities who promised to “Rock the Vote” aren’t voting. Rock the Vote, an organization that seeks to bring Millennials to the polls, recently released a star-studded public service announcement. The video, a parody of Lil Jon’s “Turn Down for What” is called “Turn Out for What.” In the video, celebrities promise to vote and… -
news
Maryland Republicans on Lookout for Voting Machines That ‘Flip’ Democrat
Kerry August can debunk any excuse an election judge may have for why her votes switched from Republican to Democrat right before her eyes: Her hands are tiny, her nails aren’t long and she definitely didn’t vote with an elbow. Still, while voting early last week in Montgomery County, Md., August watched as three… -
news
Attkisson on ‘The O’Reilly Factor’: How the Government Hacked My Computer
Former CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson, a senior independent contributor to The Daily Signal, spoke to Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly tonight about her new book, “Stonewalled.” Attkisson revealed details about how her computer was hacked and why she decided to leave CBS News after 20 years at the network. >>> Buy the Book: “Stonewalled:… -
opinion
Major Attack Highlights Pakistan’s Continued Vulnerability to Terrorism
In the largest terrorist attack in Pakistan in more than a year, a suicide bomber on Sunday detonated his explosives near the border with India following a joint India-Pakistan military ceremony, killing at least 57, including three Pakistani security personnel. The group claiming responsibility for the attack, a faction of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, said it… -
opinion
Giving Thanks for Opportunities Afforded by the Family
As Thanksgiving approaches, one iconic image comes to mind: Norman Rockwell’s painting of a family gathering for that holiday feast. The title of that work, created in the 1940s, has special significance—“Freedom from Want.” In those days, viewers readily understood the link between family and financial well-being. Just as important as the feast on the… -
opinion
The People You Vote Out of Office Tuesday Will Still Have Two Months in Power. What Will They Do?
In most of America, when someone gets fired for poor performance, they are not allowed to stay on the job another two months. But Washington isn't like the rest of America, and being a member of Congress isn't like most other jobs. On Tuesday, Americans will elect people to represent them in Washington. In the… -
news
This Army Veteran Shakes Off Democrat Comparing Her to Taylor Swift
Joni Ernst, the Republican candidate in the Iowa race for U.S. Senate, didn’t take well to comments from retiring Sen. Tom Harkin comparing her looks to those of pop singer Taylor Swift. “I was very offended that Senator Harkin would say that,” Ernst said this morning on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.” Harkin, at 74… -
news
New Jersey Has Therapists, Hawaii Has Tour Guides. Find Out the Unusually Popular Job in Your State.
What job is most heavily concentrated in your state? A new map from Business Insider uses the newly released May 2013 Occupational Employment Statistics to illustrate “the most over-represented job in each state.” Each of the jobs depicted has a higher per-capita rate in the individual state than in the rest of the nation. For… -
opinion
How a Fisherman Got Charged With Violating a Law Intended to Apply to Businesses Shredding Documents
John Yates may have dreamed that one day he would wind up on the cover of Florida Sport Fishing magazine. Instead, he wound up in Florida Federal District Court and now in the Supreme Court of the United States, where he is the latest poster child for overcriminalization. His story would make for a good… -
opinion
These Women Begged Brittany Maynard Not to Choose An Earlier Death. And They Will Die With Dignity, Too.
Brittany Maynard has died. Maynard, 29, died as she said she would in her video released last month: at the time of her choosing, an option she had because of her move to Oregon, a state with right-to-die laws. Maynard, who was suffering from terminal brain cancer, used her last month to advocate for “death… -
news
Congressional Democrats Assist Billionaire Hedge-Fund Manager in Wall Street Feud
Two years ago, billionaire hedge-fund manager William Ackman announced boldly — from a stage in a Manhattan conference center — that his Pershing Square Capital Management had taken a $1 billion short position on publicly traded Herbalife, the Los Angeles-based maker of nutrition products. He was, in other words, betting that Herbalife would fail. Hoping… -
news
National Constitution Center to Display Rare Founding Document
The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia previewed the new George H.W. Bush Gallery last week and displayed its hallmark exhibition, “Constituting Liberty: From the Declaration to the Bill of Rights.” The gallery features a first-edition copy of the Declaration of Independence and a copy of the U.S. Constitution from its first public printing. But its star attraction—thanks… -
news
Billionaire Steyer Spends $15M Pushing Low-Priority Climate Change Message in Florida
In an effort to oust Gov. Rick Scott, billionaire activist Tom Steyer has underwritten a nearly $15 million campaign focusing on climate change, an issue one poll says few Florida voters care about. Steyer’s advocacy group, NextGen Climate Action, set up shop in Miami this year, targeting Scott as oblivious to global warming disasters, a… -
news
Workers Shouldn’t Be Forced to Pay Union Dues
When the Teamsters Union came knocking, Michael Romanchock refused to pony up the dues the union demanded. After all, he had worked nine months at his jobsite—a Pepsi bottling plant in Ebensburg, Pa.—and didn’t even know it was unionized. Why pay for services you cannot notice? This May, union officials threatened to have him fired… -
news
The Government Should Stop Waging War on Those Against Same-Sex Marriage
It’s hard to imagine a more bedrock American right than being free to live according to your religious convictions. The very idea of being forced to violate your beliefs seems unthinkable. Unless you happen to believe that marriage refers exclusively to the union of a man and a woman. Because more and more often, the… -
news
Here We Go Again: Uncle Sam Is Back in the Subprime Lending Game
The headline in newspapers one recent weekend read like an April Fool’s joke, but it wasn’t April 1. The Obama administration announced it wants to provide a little more juice to the now-lackluster housing market by bending the home lending rules to make it easier for banks to make loans and marginal buyers to take… -
opinion
We Need Another Great Communicator Like Reagan
Fifty years ago to the day, a political star was born in America. His name was Ronald Reagan, and he seized the national imagination with a mesmerizing television address titled “A Time for Choosing.” The address was described by political analysts David Broder and Stephen Hess as “the most successful political debut since William Jennings…