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
City OKs $100,000 in Taxpayer Money to Lure ‘The Bachelor’
SANTA FE, N.M.—“The Bachelor” is one of television’s highest-rated shows. But for taxpayers such as Jill Meyer, the decision by the Santa Fe City Council to commit between $50,000 and $100,000 to try to lure the show to the state capital is worthy of two thumbs “way down.” “This is so stupid,” Meyer said. “We have so… -
opinion
Ignore the Rhetoric: The Ex-Im Bank Is Risky and Inefficient
The most successful lobbyists in the nation’s capital are masters of masquerading propaganda as fact. Repeat even outright falsehoods with a modicum of conviction, and they start to sound like truth. So be forewarned: claims about the manifold small-business benefits of the Export-Import Bank of the United States are simply fictitious. Until recently, few Americans… -
news
Federal Agents Storm Couple’s Property, Seize $60,000 Car for Violating Emissions Standards
Homeland Security agents raided a North Carolina couple’s property and seized their $60,000 Land Rover Defender, claiming it violated EPA emissions standards. Jennifer Brinkley said the agents didn’t give her a chance to defend her rights to keep the car before hauling it away. She and her husband have 35 days to appeal the alleged… -
news
Sudanese Mom, Once Sentenced to Die for Her Faith, Can Call America Home
The Sudanese mother who was sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith safety arrived Thursday night in the United States. Her husband, U.S. citizen Daniel Wani, cried tears of joy, according to a report in the New Hampshire Union Leader. “Thank you so much,” Wani, a resident of Manchester, N.H., told reporters. “I… -
opinion
Letterman Mocks: ‘Congress Is Now Getting Ready To Take a Month Off. From … What?’
“They need to recharge their batteries for another year of gridlock.” >>> How Gridlock Is Stopping Congress From Making a Better Federal Budget -
news
‘Whatever It Takes’: U.S. Action Encourages Opposition to Venezuelan Regime
At dawn last Friday, a group of hooded men — hidden, but unmistakably officers from Venezuela’s Military Intelligence — burst into the cell of political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez. They repeatedly punched him, then tied him up and took his belongings. For almost five months, Lopez, an opposition leader jailed after the Venezuelan government accused him… -
news
Heritage Action Offers Bipartisan ‘Opportunity’ Agenda as Recess Reading
As lawmakers prepared to head home from Washington for the long August recess, one ambitious organization sent them packing with a blueprint for delivering conservative policy reforms that emphasizes opportunity for all Americans. Heritage Action for America, the lobbying affiliate of The Heritage Foundation, today delivered “Conservative Policy Agenda: Opportunity for All, but Favoritism to None”… -
opinion
Do Large Banks Enjoy a Subsidy? GAO Wavers
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a new report that examines whether “too big to fail” banks enjoy a cost advantage over smaller banks due to implied government protection. The GAO report hedges its findings carefully. It says that large banks may still have a cost advantage over smaller banks due to the perception… -
opinion
The Government Should Stop Discriminating Against Religious Adoption Agencies
Kelly Rosati, whose four children joined her family through foster care adoption, knows first-hand the pain and difficulties caused by a broken child welfare system. “These are kids who wake up every day not knowing if they are going to be moved that day, who have no permanence in their lives,” Rosati said. “Many of… -
opinion
How Our Broken Accreditation System Increases College Costs
One of the most disheartening trends in America today is the steep and relentless increase in the cost of higher education. As almost everything else in our economy has gotten better and more affordable, tuition at public four-year colleges has nearly quadrupled since 1982. The hardest hit by these skyrocketing costs are middle-income families who… -
opinion
Syria: Both Sides Using Child Soldiers
A recent United Nations report shows that both pro-government forces and rebels in Syria have been actively recruiting children to fight in the civil war. Children routinely participate as common soldiers, snipers, and spies both for and against the regime. According to reports, Syrian children began actively fighting in the war in November 2012. Since… -
news
Milton Friedman’s 7 Most Notable Quotes
Harry Truman once complained he wanted to find a one-handed economist because he was tired of asking a direct question of those on his economic team, only to have them say, “On the one hand … but on the other hand.” If there was one hand that noted economist Milton Friedman favored, it was the “invisible hand”… -
opinion
ISIS: The Legitimate Threat from Iraq
Recently, Attorney General Eric Holder described the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as “more frightening than anything I think I’ve seen as attorney general.” He has good reason to be afraid. Over 7,000 foreigners from over 70 nations—including the U.S.—have answered ISIS’s call to arms and received training in… -
news
Bachmann at the Border: ‘Bills Don’t Stop the Problem’
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., traveled to the Texas border with Mexico last weekend to get a close-up look of the border crisis. In an exclusive on-camera interview with The Daily Signal, Bachmann describes what she saw, supported by video and photos that she shot with her iPhone. Among images Bachmann caught on video during her… -
opinion
Genevieve Wood: It’s Not ‘Inhumane’ to ‘Want to Secure the Border’
“One of the reasons we have these political shenanigans that we do is that people are almost told that you’re somehow anti-immigrant, that you’re inhumane if you want to secure the border. And that’s just not true.” Watch Genevieve Wood’s full interview: -
opinion
How Should Washington Address the Border Crisis?
Join us at 9:30 a.m. ET for a discussion with representatives from Heritage Action and The Daily Signal on today’s border crisis vote in the House of Representatives and where the debate goes from here. -
opinion
New York Times Reporter: ‘Some People Are Deserving of Incivility’
As I recounted Monday at The Daily Signal, The New York Times reporter Josh Barro thinks some people are “unworthy of respect.” Yesterday Barro doubled-down and tweeted back at me that “some people are deserving of incivility.” He argued that I am such a person because of my views about marriage policy. You can see… -
opinion
Marriage Won’t End Poverty. But It Will Help (A Lot).
Marriage isn’t the answer to poverty. That’s the argument made last week in The New Republic by Carter Price, who asserts conservatives are too preoccupied with marriage in anti-poverty efforts. Price takes particular issue with a Harvard study by Raj Chetty and colleagues that suggests children, regardless of whether they come from a single- or… -
news
Legislation Introduced to Curb Civil Forfeiture’s ‘Perverse’ Incentives
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., says his proposed Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act will address mounting concern about what some call the encouragement of corruption in law enforcement. Walberg’s legislation, introduced Monday, would raise the standard of proof necessary for the government to seize property and reinstate due process so the government is required to prove… -
news
Megyn Kelly ‘Sets Record Straight’ on Comparing Cop Killer to MLK
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Labor activists continue to press a school district in Oakland, Calif., to teach that a notorious cop killer, Mumia Abu-Jamal, is a civil rights hero worthy of honor alongside Martin Luther King Jr. On Tuesday night, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly allowed that case to be made by Johanna…