Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
-
opinion
America, the Hedge Fund
From its beginnings, America has thrived on a tradition of separation between government and private industry. But having just emerged from the Biden era, with its heavy-handed regulation of energy, automotives, and appliances, the U.S. is now entering a new period in which the government is becoming a strategic shareholder. The idea, ostensibly, is to… -
opinion
Fairfax Schools’ Pricey Legal Advice Disguised as ‘Independent Investigation’
Earlier this year, 13 girls attending Fairfax High School told school administrators that Israel Flores Ortiz, a 19-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador attending the school as a junior, groped their genitals in the hallway as they were transitioning between classes. In April, Ortiz was sentenced to 360 days in jail for multiple counts of… -
opinion
The Political Minefield Beneath SpaceX’s IPO
Elon Musk may be one of the greatest entrepreneurs in modern American history, but when SpaceX finally launches its long-anticipated IPO, investors would be wise to look beyond the hype and the typical financial and risk analysis to assess the potentially significant political risk attached to the company. Retail investors will undoubtedly rush toward a… -
opinion
Virginia State GOP Set to Vote on Radical Democrat Amendments
The State Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia is meeting Saturday morning in Fredericksburg to consider whether to oppose or remain neutral on three highly controversial proposed Democrat amendments to the Virginia Constitution. The amendments cover abortion, same-sex marriage and gender identity, and voting rights for those convicted of felonies. The abortion amendment… -
opinion
Congress Must Use Reconciliation to End the Fed’s Interest on Reserve Payments
The cost of living has risen to unsustainable levels for millions of working Americans. Delivering immediate relief by lowering these costs and restoring affordability is essential. The first step is using budget reconciliation in the coming weeks to enact targeted spending reforms and structural changes that put money back in the pockets of families. Few… -
opinion
Graham Platner, the Modern Democratic Party’s Fresh Aryan Face
It would have been bad enough if Graham Platner had sported a swastika tattoo for 18 years, perhaps due to twisted respect for the tank-combat tactics of Nazi general Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps or maybe irrational exuberance for the propaganda of Nazi cineaste Leni Riefenstahl. Either rationale should sink any Senate bid. However, the Totenkopf tattoo on… -
opinion
For One Night on the Baseball Diamond, Washington Gets It Right
Since 1909, through two world wars, the Great Depression, and every period of political turmoil our country has faced in modern times, Congress has played baseball. That is not an accident. There is something about the game that has always outlasted the moment, that pulls people back to the field no matter what else is… -
opinion
Parents Must Remain Vigilant Against the Ideological Colonization of Libraries
America’s culture war is still being fought, and New York is the latest flare-up. The state’s lawmakers recently introduced legislation that replaces the terms “father” and “mother” from state child custody laws, using gender-neutral language like “gestating parent” instead. The lesson for American parents? Remain vigilant. This isn’t a left-versus-right issue; it is the commonsense crowd—a strong… -
opinion
How Reconciliation Can Help Reduce SNAP Fraud and Waste
Waste, fraud, and abuse in the welfare system have been on full display for the last several months, giving Congress a clear opportunity for reform. As lawmakers consider another budget reconciliation, they should prioritize improving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, one of the federal government’s largest welfare programs. First, Congress could eliminate a major loophole… -
opinion
Senators Push to Increase Use of SAVE Program to Identify Noncitizens on Voter Rolls
Last week, two senators, Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget, introduced the Election Security Partnership Act. If passed, it would provide federal grants to encourage states to submit their voter registration lists through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program at the United States Citizenship… -
opinion
The Christian Pro Sports Revival You Can’t Ignore
This is an adapted excerpt from Steve Eubanks’ new book “Godball: How Athletes are Saving Christianity,” out June 9 from Center Street, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc., and used with permission. The 2020s have seen the birth of a movement, a Christian revival bordering on a revolution. Pastors and Christian leaders see it,… -
opinion
Budget Reconciliation Can Advance an American Opportunity Agenda
Congress must use budget reconciliation to begin adopting an American Opportunity Agenda by the fourth of July. Americans cannot wait for action by their elected officials to address affordability, accountability, and opportunity for the American people. Enactment of a follow-up to the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” (Public Law 119-21, OBBB) on its one-year anniversary would… -
opinion
Jonathan Mayhew and the Biblical Source of the American Revolution
John Adams once said the American Revolution began not on a battlefield but “in the minds and hearts of the people.” Among those who lit the fuse was the influential Boston preacher, Rev. Jonathan Mayhew. His 1750 sermon on the limits of obedience to government became, in Adams’ view, one of the founding texts of… -
opinion
California: The Land of Regulation
California’s punishing cost of living isn’t inevitable—it’s policy-driven. Burdensome regulations have sent housing and energy prices soaring, crushing incomes and deepening poverty. Smarter deregulation could bring back the Golden State’s long-lost affordability and historic role as a “land of opportunity.” In 2024, California had a poverty rate of 17.7%, meaning about 7 million people were… -
opinion
Bureaucrats in the Way of Business
Is your business “needed”? Bizarrely, in many states, if you want to start a business, you first must convince bureaucrats that your business is “needed.” Four years ago, Louisiana blocked social worker Ursula Newell-Davis from helping kids with special needs. Bureaucrats said she hadn’t proved her business was needed. “Why does the state of Louisiana… -
opinion
How Do Federal Government Employees Get Away With Not Paying Their Taxes?
We have known for some time that our federal employees have cushy lives compared to the people for whom they work (us). What is particularly infuriating is that so many of them either don’t pay their taxes or are seriously delinquent on what they owe their employer—the federal government. Recently, the Treasury Inspector General for… -
opinion
Stop the Scam: Minneapolis Students Need Education Choice
One classical school in Minneapolis offers a lesson on how to create opportunities in tough areas. Policymakers and special interest groups should pay attention. In May, at a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Bob Onder, R-Mo., described a reality that has been obvious to parents in… -
opinion
No Great Expectations for New Jersey’s Businesses
It was the based of times, it was the woke of times, it was the age of candor, it was the age of cant, it was the epoch of sense, it was the epoch of pretense. And it was the season when firms started moving from high-tax, high-cost blue states to freedom-loving red states. ExxonMobil’s… -
opinion
Protecting Religion: The Battlefield of the Future
On June 6, 1876, as the United States approached its centennial anniversary, President Ulysses S. Grant addressedthe youth of America. “My advice … no matter their denomination,” is to hold fast to faith, to not merely know one’s religious precepts, but to live them. By Grant’s counsel, in this would be the flourishing of the… -
opinion
African Parliamentarians Gather to Defend Family and National Sovereignty
The fourth African Regional Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty is convening in Accra, Ghana, this week. There, parliamentarians and civil society leaders from across Africa will seek to respond to the many contemporary challenges affecting African families, cultural identity, and national sovereignty. Topping the agenda at the conference will be a discussion of…