Replies

David A. Keene (born May 20, 1945) is the current chairman of the American Conservative Union, a position which he has held since 1984. Additionally, he is the managing associate at the Carmen Group Lobbying, a lobbying firm based in Washington, D.C. In December 2007, Keene endorsed Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

Keene wrote a column in support of Specter when he was running against Toomey.

Keene claims that Specter is worth supporting for his personal qualities: “I’ve known and worked with Specter for more than a decade. . . . He is honest and decent, and, unlike many of his colleagues, his word is always good.

“Arlen Specter is what we used to call a standup guy. He isn’t always with us, but when he is you can take his word to the bank. He’s willing to climb out of his foxhole and take on the opposition. . . . It may not count with many conservatives, but it counts with me.”

Keene is “a managing associate with the Carmen Group, a D.C.-based governmental affairs firm.” In other words, a lobbyist. A brief review of the lobbying-disclosure reports reveals that Keene is frequently listed as doing lobbying work that concerns the Senate Appropriations Committee: for example, lobbying on the appropriations bill that funds the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services.

******

David Keene To John Ziegler: “I’m Not Gonna Hit You, But I’d Like To”

John Ziegler, voracious defender of Sarah Palin against all media criticism, has turned his sights from the liberal news to conservative politicos.

In his movie “Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted,” Ziegler went after the mainstream media for perceived liberal bias and slights against the Alaska governor. This weekend at the Western Conservative Political Action Conference (WCPAC), Ziegler went after a target closer to home: David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union. In the end, the documentarian gets cursed at and kicked out of the conference.

Ziegler was after Keene for criticizing Palin, but he also attacked the conservative leader for supporting Sen. Arlen Specter (pre-party switch).

Keene initially agreed to a sit-down interview, but he tried to leave when the questions turned aggressive. After offering a few rebuttals he quickly gave up and resorted to name-calling. “I’m not gonna hit you, but I’d like to, because you deserve it,” Keene said at one point. Before finally freeing himself of Ziegler, he added, “You’re an asshole. You got that on the air? Asshole.”