American political consultant
David Arthur Keene
(born May 20, 1945) is an American political consultant, former presidential advisor, and newspaper editor, formerly the Opinion Editor of
The Washington Times
. He was chair of the
American Conservative Union
from 1984 to 2011. Keene was the president of the
National Rifle Association of America
for the traditional two one-year terms from 2011 to 2013.
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Raised in
Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
,
[1]
< Keene made a name for himself as chapter leader and eventually national chairman of
Young Americans for Freedom
(YAF) while at the
University of Wisconsin
in the 1960s. He supported American efforts to oppose communism and took a strong stance against radicalism on both sides of the debate, particularly the violent efforts to suppress discourse, which he found inconsistent with the basis of educational institutions as bastions of rational thinking and discussion.
[2]
Political career
[
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]
After graduating from college, he ran for the Wisconsin State Senate in 1969 at age 24 in a special election to replace
Frank E. Panzer
, who had died in office in August that year. Keene ran as a conservative and had
Richard Nixon
's endorsement, but was defeated by Democrat
Dale McKenna
in a race to fill the traditionally Republican
13th district
senate seat.
[3]
This was the only time that Keene ran for public office.
Keene later worked as a political assistant to Vice President
Spiro Agnew
during the
Nixon administration
, and then in the 1970s as executive assistant to Senator
James L. Buckley
.
[4]
Keene went on to become the southern regional coordinator for
Ronald Reagan
's 1976 bid for the Republican presidential nomination and national political director for
George H. W. Bush
's 1980 presidential campaign. He advised Senator
Robert Dole
's 1988 and 1996 presidential campaigns. In 2007 he endorsed
Mitt Romney
for president
[5]
and was an advisor to his second run for president.
A campaign consultant or advisor to countless local and state campaigns,
Politico
's Andy Barr commented that at the peak of his power he had been "counted as one of the few men with both the ear of Republican presidents and an ability to influence the grassroots."
[6]
From 2006 to 2007, Keene represented the Nigerian and Algerian governments while working for
Carmen Group
, a DC lobbying firm.
[7]
[8]
Civil liberties
[
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]
Keene is best known for his efforts on behalf of
gun rights
. He was appointed by the Bush White House to serve as public delegate to the UN Small Arms and Light Weapons Conference.
In 2007, Keene co-founded the
American Freedom Agenda
(AFA), which describes itself as "a coalition established to restore checks and balances and civil liberties protections under assault by the executive branch."
[9]
(In 2007, Keene resigned from the AFA.) He also co-chairs the
Constitution Project
's Liberty and Security Committee, and has said that "the right to appeal one's detention to an independent judge is a cornerstone of responsible, conservative governance."
[10]
He has been critical of the Patriot Act,
[11]
and he has worked with the American Civil Liberties Union to limit the effects of the act.
[12]
Keene was Chairman of the
American Conservative Union
(1984?2011). Instigated by problems his son David Michael Keene was having in filing complaints while serving a 10-year sentence for firearms offenses during a 2002 road rage incident, Keene also had an unlikely collaboration with the
American Civil Liberties Union
in a campaign to reform the
Prison Litigation Reform Act
.
[13]
Keene is a founding member of
Right on Crime
, a conservative criminal justice reform group.
He co-chairs the Constitution Project's "Liberty & Security" initiative with David Cole of the ACLU that has since 9/11 critiqued government security and surveillance measures in terms of their impact on individual privacy and constitutional rights.
Media appearances
[
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]
On March 25, 2017, Keene was a guest on Against the Current (ATC), a "content series devoted to in-depth topical conversations between [radio host]
Dan Proft
and distinguished guests that are masters in their field of study."
[14]
[15]
ATC's parent organization Upstream Ideas wrote that Keene and Proft discussed "the fundamental problem of how to roll back the size and scope of government."
[15]
They also talked about lessons that could be learned from the NRA as a successful political movement. Keene also offered his thoughts on media.
[15]
In June 2021, Keene was tricked into giving a high school graduation speech defending gun rights in front of 3,044 empty chairs ? one for each student who might have graduated in 2021 had they not been a victim of gun violence.
[16]
The stunt was organized by gun-safety group Change the Ref, which was founded by the parents of a student killed in the
Parkland, Florida, massacre
. The group released a video
[17]
of the stunt that went viral and ends by asking viewers to sign a petition pushing for universal background checks.
Awards
[
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]
In 2004, Keene received the
Congress on Racial Equality
's prestigious Martin Luther King Award in New York; in March 2012 was recognized by the bi-partisan
Constitution Project
in Washington as a "Champion of the Constitution"; in early 2016 received the Conservative Political Action Conference's Lifetime Achievement Award; and in September 2016 received the Second Amendment Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award. His first book is Shall Not Be Infringed: The New Assaults on Your Second Amendment
[18]
with Thomas L. Mason, published by Skyhorse Publishing in October 2016.
Personal life
[
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]
In 2004 Keene married Donna Wiesner Keene, Senior Fellow at the Independent Women's Forum and an appointee in the Reagan, Bush and Bush Administrations. He has five children, Tracey, Kerry, David Michael, Taylor, and Lisa.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Craig Gilbert (February 16, 2013).
"NRA chief David Keene, a gentleman who sticks to his guns"
.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
. Gannett.
Archived
from the original on March 8, 2018
. Retrieved
2018-10-01
.
- ^
ANDREW J. SHEEAN.
"IN THE EYE OF THE STORM: CONSERVATIVE STRUGGLES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, 1956-1968"
(PDF)
.
Uwarchive.files.wordpress.com
. Retrieved
2016-03-05
.
- ^
Kenneth P. Roesslein,
State Democrats Add to Their Election Arsenal
,
The Milwaukee Sentinel
, January 8, 1970
- ^
Keene, David (1997).
"Campaign Finance: Life as a Political Consultant"
.
Journal of Law and Policy
.
1
(6): 57
. Retrieved
11 May
2016
.
- ^
"American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene Endorses Mitt Romney"
.
Fox News
. 2007-11-29
. Retrieved
2016-03-05
.
- ^
Andy Barr (13 February 2011).
"The complex legacy of David Keene"
.
Politico
.
Archived
from the original on 16 February 2011.
- ^
https://www.fara.gov/docs/5727-Short-Form-20080229-32.pdf
[
bare URL PDF
]
- ^
https://www.fara.gov/docs/5727-Exhibit-AB-20060117-1.pdf
[
bare URL PDF
]
- ^
"Inside Politics:Liberal applause"
The Washington Times
, 21 March 2007
- ^
"Conservative Leaders Call for Habeas Restoration As Supreme Court Hears Landmark Cases"
. The Constitution Project. December 5, 2007. Archived from
the original
on April 26, 2012
. Retrieved
December 25,
2011
.
- ^
"Oversee the PATRIOT Act | The American Spectator"
.
Spectator.org
. Archived from
the original
on 2013-07-28
. Retrieved
2016-03-05
.
- ^
"Does the USA PATRIOT Act Diminish Civil Liberties? - ACLU Pros & Cons - ProCon.org"
.
Aclu.procon.org
. 2008-07-16
. Retrieved
2016-03-05
.
- ^
David Crary,
Law curbing inmates' lawsuits questioned
,
USA Today
, February 13, 2008
- ^
"Against The Current"
.
Upstream Ideas
. Retrieved
2017-04-14
.
- ^
a
b
c
"ATC W/ David Keene Of ACU, NRA: The Leviathan Always Grows"
.
Upstream Ideas
. 2017-03-25
. Retrieved
2017-04-14
.
- ^
Niemietz, Brian (24 June 2021).
"Ex-NRA leader duped into delivering graduation speech to empty chairs representing dead students"
.
nydailynews.com
. Retrieved
2021-07-14
.
- ^
Lost Class 1/3
, 23 June 2021,
archived
from the original on 2021-12-13
, retrieved
2021-07-14
- ^
11990-9781510719958-shall-not-be-infringed
External links
[
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]
National Rifle Association of America
|
Preceded by
Ron Schmeits
|
President of the NRA
2011?2013
|
Succeeded by
|
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Presidents
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CEOs and Executive Vice Presidents
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See also
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