KEENE: A cloud over the Export-Import Bank
Wall Street was not happy when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his primary earlier this month. Published June 30, 2014
David Keene
Columns by David Keene
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. Published June 23, 2014
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. Published 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. Published June 12, 2014
KEENE: Eric Cantor’s rising star flames out
Washington's spinmeisters are out in full force "explaining" House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's primary loss. Published June 11, 2014
KEENE: David Brooks’ editorial inconsistency
To editors of The New York Times and producers at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), David Brooks is the perfect conservative. Published June 9, 2014
KEENE: When free speech is no longer protected
It was 1946, and America was on the road to recovery. Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo had been vanquished. Published June 2, 2014
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. Published May 26, 2014
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." Published May 19, 2014
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." Published May 12, 2014
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. Published 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. Published April 23, 2014
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. Published April 21, 2014
KEENE: Familiar refrains from Britain’s ‘Tea Party’
Americans have the Tea Party, which isn't a party at all, but British establishmentarians are worried about a similar movement that is an actual party. Published April 17, 2014
KEENE: The Balkans, Ukraine and the law of unintended consequences
The answer George Will gave several years ago when asked what he thinks of "neoconservatives" has stuck with many ever since. Published April 15, 2014
KEENE: Villainizing the Koch brothers
Back in the late '70s, Alan Baron, a liberal, labor union-loving McGovernite; Ken Bode, then of the New Republic; and I hosted a biweekly poker game that regularly included three Republicans, three Democrats and one journalist. Published April 7, 2014
KEENE: Schumer media shield law is license to censor
When President Obama and New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer join forces to ostensibly protect freedom of speech and the press, it's time for believers in the First Amendment to take to the battlements. Published March 31, 2014
KEENE: Obama needs foreign policy from Jimmy Carter
Most Americans still believe the nation is in recession, massive numbers say the United States is on what pollsters call "the wrong track," and President Obama's signature health care program is in what in polite company might be referred to as "disarray," but compared to his foreign policy, he's doing a smashingly good job here at home. Published March 24, 2014
KEENE: Explaining David Jolly’s win in Florida special election
Now that the smoke has cleared, it's time to look at the lessons to be learned from the Republican victory in last week's 13th Congressional District special election in Florida. Published March 17, 2014
KEENE: At CPAC, rebuilding that shining city upon a hill
The 41st annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, closed on Saturday evening after having dominated the political news for three days. Published March 10, 2014
