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
HTF: Lame Duck Would Deprive Congress of Real Debate
The U.S. Senate must be suffering from lame duck amnesia. In last night’s debate on a Highway Trust Fund (HTF) patch, it approved an amendment that sets the patch to expire in December 2014—the lame-duck session of Congress and significantly sooner than the May 31, 2015, date approved by the House. Lame ducks are hurried,… -
opinion
Cuban Dissident to Congressional Black Caucus: Stop Helping the Dictatorship
Cuban dissident Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera personifies courage. The petite Afro-Cuban dissident has suffered beatings, imprisonment and sexual harassment at the hands of Raul Castro’s goons in Cuba. And yet she was in Washington Wednesdaycalling for world support for the Cuban people, knowing full well that, as she said, “I will pay for this once… -
opinion
Our Daughter Was Born With Cystic Fibrosis. We Can’t Imagine Life Without Her.
A medical exam room is where most parents are presented with “their options” regarding life. It’s where they are overwhelmed with the unpleasant diagnoses that their unborn child has a life threatening genetic disorder. And, it’s where they are first presented with the challenges and trials that will mark their child’s entire time on earth…. -
news
‘The Right Way’: Adoption Bill’s Sponsor Says Children Do Best With a Mom and Dad
Legislation being introduced today to protect faith-based adoption and foster care agencies from being forced to place children in the homes of same-sex couples should be supported by Americans interested in “raising children the right way,” the bill’s sponsor told The Daily Signal. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., called the measure “common sense legislation” that protects… -
opinion
Is the EPA Really Interested in Your Criticism?
Americans will get to have their say on the Environmental Protection Agency and its proposed regulation to fight climate change this week. The agency will hold public hearings in four cities to fulfill its promise to get stakeholder input and let everyday Americans comment on the proposed rule. But whether the agency takes the input… -
opinion
Ex-Im Bank: Unilateral Disarmament a Poor Excuse
One argument keeps coming up in favor of reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) is that letting the bank expire would amount to unilateral disarmament. This argument doesn’t really mesh with reality. Proponents of this line of thinking claim that the United States must subsidize exports to stay competitive since other industrialized countries do the same…. -
opinion
The Medicare Funding Problem Threatening Medicare’s Future
Medicare’s true cost is the biggest problem in Washington and the one most ignored. The long-awaited 2014 Medicare Trustees report is out, and the “spinning “ is well underway. But the media is not yet reporting another big finding – this one by the Medicare Actuary and revealed on the same day: Taxpayers face a… -
news
Michigan Union Tricks Teachers Into Prolonging Membership
Rob Wiersema teaches high school economics, and he knows the merits of a simple cost-benefit analysis. Leaving the Michigan Education Association, he surmised, made economic sense. He had found another professional association that offered better benefits at a lower cost. But his simple economics become complicated. The union didn’t want him to go. In December… -
opinion
My Exchange with Two New York Times Writers on Marriage Equality and Civility
Can people respect each other and treat one another civilly even while disagreeing about marriage? No, according to New York Times domestic correspondent Josh Barro. As The Daily Signal reported, on viewpoints that Barro considers “anti-LGBT”, he thinks that “we need to stamp them out, ruthlessly.” The problem is that much of what Barro considers… -
opinion
EPA Climate Regulations Will Affect You—but Not the Climate
Senators John Barrasso (R–WY), James Inhofe (R–OK), David Vitter (R–LA), and Roger Wicker (R–MS) rightly criticized the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed regulations for new power plants at a congressional hearing last week. The regulations for new plants, announced in June, set thresholds for CO2 output that would effectively eliminate new coal power plant construction…. -
opinion
New Census Report: Unwed Births Remain at Historical High
The most recent Census Bureau report on fertility in the United States, published this month, shows an increase in both unwed first births and children born into poverty. Over 40 percent of all children are born outside marriage today, a historical high. In 1994, only 30 percent of first births were to unmarried women. By… -
news
Photo Bomb: Santorum Begs to Differ With ‘Modern Family’ Star
Rick Santorum says he doesn’t recall the tense interaction with actor Eric Stonestreet that the “Modern Family” star describes as occurring at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner. In an interview last week with “HuffPost Live,” Stonestreet said he was surprised when Santorum asked to take a picture with him at a pre-party. On the ABC… -
opinion
Capitalism: Good for Michael Moore and Good for You, Too
Filmmaker Michael Moore has been entangled in a messy divorce for some time, and some of the findings revealed as a result of the divorce proceedings have shed light on the fact that Moore is not a “99 percenter.” That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, though. He’s been among the “1 percent”… -
opinion
Consensus Grows on Need to Address ICANN Accountability and Transparency
Consensus is growing that accountability is the key to success for ICANN—the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Earlier this week, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a non-partisan think tank that focuses on technological innovation, joined Heritage in calling for enhanced transparency and accountability before the United States relinquishes its role in managing… -
news
Exclusive Interview: Rick Perry Says Deploying Troops to Border Sends a ‘Powerful Message’
Texas Gov. Rick Perry compares the role of National Guard troops at his state’s border to the deterring effect that cop cars stationed along neighborhood roads have on crime. Perry, in an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal, said even though the 1,000 military troops he activated to help manage the border crisis in his… -
news
Progressive Leader Outlines Plan to ‘Take Down’ Free-Market State Policy Groups
The recent Netroots Nation gathering, billed as a “giant family reunion for the left,” included a directive from one leader of a progressive state policy network to “take down” conservative state policy organizations nationwide. Arshad Hasan, who moderated a breakout session called “Stink Tanks in Your State: Inside the State Policy Network,” called on attendees… -
news
Guatemala Wants $2 Billion for Border Crisis. Why One Activist Says U.S. Should Ignore It.
Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina says $2 billion in federal aid and other U.S. investment in Central America could help end the flood of immigrants across the U.S. southern border. But it’s a fool’s game, says the leader of a charity serving immigrants from Honduras. “I think giving money to these governments is a serious mistake,”… -
news
Federal Health Program Under Fire: ‘Karl Marx Couldn’t Have Come Up With This’
A federal program designed to make Americans “healthy people” is getting broader. Healthy People 2000—launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address obesity—initially was supposed to address the differences in health outcomes between wealthy and non-wealthy. By 2010, the mission was expanded to eliminate, not just reduce, health disparities. Healthy People… -
news
Report: Planned Parenthood Boosting Profit by Overbilling Customers
For the third year in a row, an annual report by Alliance Defending Freedom discovered widespread waste, abuse and potential fraud by Planned Parenthood on the taxpayer’s dime. Steven H. Aden, senior counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom, called the latest findings “disturbing.” The report comes as the organization faces backlash following undercover videos that revealed… -
opinion
Medicare Trustees Report: More Bad News for Seniors and Taxpayers
The annual Medicare Trustees report was released today, detailing the dire financial status of the Medicare program. In large part, it reiterates what has been known for decades, the Medicare program faces an unsustainable financial future, which imposes a major burden on taxpayers and jeopardizes access to care for seniors. A few of the report’s…