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David Keene

David Keene

keene123@washingtontimes.com

Editor at Large — David Keene, a trusted adviser to presidents, a longtime champion of personal liberty and one of conservatism’s most respected voices, is the former opinion editor of The Washington Times. An author, columnist and fixture on national television, Mr. Keene has championed conservative causes for more than five decades while offering advice to Republican presidents and countless candidates. He additionally served as chairman of the American Conservative Union and president of the National Rifle Association.
To read his obituary, please CLICK HERE

Columns by David Keene

Illustration on block grants to states for social services by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

KEENE: Thinking outside nanny-state box with Paul Ryan

Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin is perhaps the smartest conservative in Congress. Unusual for a politician, the former vice presidential nominee actually spends time thinking about problems and coming up with solutions.

July 28, 2014
Illustration on "Lone Soldiers" fighting for Israel by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

KEENE: The lone soldier

Earlier this week, an estimated 20,000 Israelis gathered in Haifa for the funeral of a 21-year-old from South Padre Island, Texas, who had come to Israel, joined the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and died in fierce fighting in Gaza.

July 22, 2014
** FILE ** Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, shown here in Helena, Mont., August, 2012, says he will not run for Montana's open U.S. Senate seat in 2014. (AP Photo/Matt Gouras, File)

KEENE: An opportunity that can’t be lost

After a landslide victory in 2008, Barack Obama and his political advisors vowed to not only fundamentally change America, but to lock down their victory by fundamentally changing the politics of the American West.

July 16, 2014
Illustration of Edward House's role in World War I by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

KEENE: The collapse of House’s cards

The world is still struggling to escape from the shadow of the Great War that began 100 years ago this year and produced the bloodiest century in recorded human history.

July 7, 2014
Illustration on the Obama administration's machinations to repress the speech of political opposition by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

KEENE: Free speech on the guillotine

Liberal progressives have in recent years all but abandoned the American belief in free speech and the First Amendment in favor of shutting down those with whom they disagree.

June 23, 2014
Illustration on the new influx of children from Central America by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

KEENE: President Blameless

President Obama is so busy these days blaming anyone and everyone for the consequences of his policies that it has to be cutting into his golf game.

June 16, 2014

PRIVACY: Liberty vs. security in post-9/11 world

While the materials Edward Snowden copied and disseminated during his stint as a National Security Agency contractor put the nation's security policies under an unprecedented microscope, many in and out of government had been worried about whether the post-9/11 security fetish was undermining basic constitutional liberties.

June 12, 2014
Illustration on Sec. Shinseki and problems with the VA by M. Ryder/Tribune Content Agency

KEENE: Getting to the root of the VA breakdown

To fire Eric K. Shinseki or not --- that is the question everyone in Washington is asking. Many, including major veterans' organizations and a lot of Republicans, think he should have been fired yesterday.

May 26, 2014
Illustration on Hillary Clinton's age by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

KEENE: Gauging Hillary’s fitness for the presidency

Outraged posturing over Karl Rove's recent inelegant injection of Hillary Clinton's age and health into the discussion of whether she is up to a national campaign for the presidency predictably dominated the weekend news shows. PBS' Gwen Ifill and Mark Shields, for example, disdainfully dismissed "Dr." Rove's comments, Mr. Shields calling them the political equivalent of "injecting heroin into the bloodstream."

May 19, 2014
Ukraine Europe Chess Game Illustration by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

KEENE: Ukraine: Repeating a perilous history

Though the now trite-sounding quote is often attributed to George Santayana, it was actually that old conservative Edmund Burke who first warned that "those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."

May 12, 2014
Illustration on GOP incumbents by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

KEENE: High stakes in the GOP primaries

As the spring primaries approach, Republican voters in dozens of states and congressional districts are going to be asked to choose between incumbent senators and congressmen and their challengers.

May 2, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: ‘All Fishermen Are Liars’

John Gierach is something of a legend among fly fisherman. His books are eagerly devoured by his fans because he tells a good story, knows his craft and seems to his readers to be living a life that they dream they could live.

April 23, 2014
Mental Illness Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

KEENE: A better way to help the dangerously mentally ill

Following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., more than a year ago, Republicans sought out and asked the only clinical psychologist in the House to look into the connection between the sorts of mass shootings that have plagued the country in recent years and the state of the nation's mental health care system.

April 21, 2014