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
Want to Pay in Cryptocurrency? In Louisiana, Now You Can
In a move toward modern financial practices, Louisiana residents can now pay for state services using cryptocurrency. “Louisiana has always, I think, lagged behind other states when it comes to doing things that are in modern commerce,” Louisiana state Treasurer John Fleming says, adding that he hopes to change that. Cryptocurrency is “going to have… -
opinion
Building Better Ships, Including Ford-Class Aircraft Carriers, in Virginia
Larger aircraft carriers of the Gerald R. Ford class are one of the Navy’s top acquisition projects because their role is central to America’s naval operations. These 1,092-foot-long, 134-foot-wide, 100,000-ton vessels are designed to reach speeds upward of 30 mph and are critical to mounting the nation’s fight against adversaries—especially in the Indo-Pacific—and maintaining freedom… -
opinion
Fact Check: Is Climate Change Making Hurricanes Worse?
With flood waters still high in parts of the southeast from Hurricane Helene, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance took to the debate stage on Tuesday for the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 campaign season. Early on in the debate, moderator Norah O’Donnell said, “Scientists say climate change makes these… -
opinion
People Hate Those Who Fight Evil Far More Than Those Who Are Evil
I realized something very important about the human condition when I was in high school. I realized that people tend to hate those who fight evil far more than they hate those engaged in doing evil. What made me come to this conclusion was the way in which many people reacted to communism and to… -
opinion
Teacher Wins $575K Settlement After Being Fired for Not Using Student’s Preferred Pronouns
Peter Vlaming, a longtime high school French teacher in Virginia, was fired in 2018 for refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns. On Monday, after years of litigation and a win for Vlaming at the Virginia Supreme Court, the school board finally capitulated and agreed to settle the case for $575,000. But the West Point… -
news
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,… -
news
‘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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
news
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,”… -
opinion
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… -
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…. -
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… -
opinion
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… -
opinion
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… -
opinion
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… -
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… -
news
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… -
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,…