The following is a previously published column.
I first met Dan Keating in 2004 when he was instrumental in raising funds for the first Senate campaign for former Sen. Tom Coburn. We met but we didn’t speak a lot.
Not too much later, Dan asked me to join him for lunch. I didn’t know what to expect. I thought he might be a high-powered, type-A personality who might have some scheme in mind for the Tulsa Beacon.
It was quite the opposite.
Just like his twin brother former Gov. Frank Keating, Dan Keating, who passed away unexpectedly on November 24, genuinely liked what he saw in the Tulsa Beacon. Privately, Dan complained about the liberal bias of the Tulsa World and their unfair coverage of Frank when he was governor.
Dan had two requests. First, he wanted to know if I would let him write a weekly column in the Tulsa Beacon. Secondly, he wanted to help me raise capital to make the Beacon a daily paper.
It was easy to say yes to both requests.
Dan’s column was a breath of fresh air. In Oklahoma, so many Republican leaders are not on board with the party’s platform and they simply don’t follow common sense. Dan gladly wrote about bad ideas and good ideas in government.
And here is something that almost everyone says about Dan Keating. If he disagrees with you, he will still like you. Dan grew up in a family in which civility and good manners were expected. Dan didn’t hate his “enemies.” Part of this maturity in relationships was due to his Christian faith.
Dan was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. That was another experience that shaped his character. Dan truly enjoyed spending time with military men and visiting bases and attending reunions. Dan’s patriotism was unquestioned. He loved America and the people who defend it every day.
In 2006, Dan Keating ran for state treasurer. That job was perfect for him. Unfortunately, his opponent in the Republican primary launched a series of negative TV ads in the last two weeks and Dan was unable to undo the damage by these half-truths. Dan lost but he did not despair.
When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president, Dan Keating had the keen insight to jump onboard his campaign. In fact, Dan was the co-chairman of the Trump campaign in Oklahoma.
Dan’s decision flabbergasted the local Republican Establishment. While moderate Republicans wanted Jeb Bush and conservatives flocked to Sen. Ted Cruz, Dan had the foresight to know that Trump could win the GOP nomination and beat Hillary Clinton.
Dan was right.
Dan was a member of Southern Hills Country Club and he used to take me to lunch there from time to time. Some of the most powerful and influential people in Tulsa show up there for lunch and golf. Dan introduced me to them and some commented on how Dan’s column was funny, pithy and right on the mark. It seemed like everyone knew Dan personally.
Dan Keating was on the Oklahoma Board of Education, appointed by Gov. Mary Fallin. He had a keen interest in educating the next generation. Dan did a lot of work behind the scenes to help young students, including some significant work with McLain High School students. Dan didn’t do this for public credit – he did it because he wanted to help people.
Several years ago, I had lunch with Dr. Everett Piper, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Dr. Piper was toying with the idea of running for office. I told him he should meet with Dan. He did. Dr. Piper decided not to run but the meeting with Dan led to an introduction to Gov. Keating and eventually it resulted in millions of dollars being donated to the university.
Again, Dan sought no credit for connecting people to do good.
I mostly agreed with Dan on a wide variety of issues. I was for Cruz and he was for Trump. Later, I was for Trump. Dan had the gift of disagreeing without being disagreeable. As far as I could tell, he had no guile.
There was no greater promoter of the Tulsa Beacon than Dan Keating. He and Gov. Keating have been great encouragers. Dan, who was in banking for decades, loved to see entrepreneurs succeed. We didn’t get the funding to go daily but that wasn’t due to a lack of effort by Dan.
I will miss Dan. I will miss his advice. He was always glad to see people and his optimism was infectious. Dan Keating loved his family, his country and Tulsa, his adopted home.
Dan is in a better place. And we benefitted from his life of service to family, friends, God and country.
Funny quotes by Ronald Reagan…
– Thomas Jefferson once said, “We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.” And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.
– I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I’m in a cabinet meeting.
– Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.
– The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with an appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.
– A hippie is someone who looks like Tarzan, walks like Jane, and smells like Cheetah.
– (On Clint Eastwood running for mayor)
What makes him think a middle-aged actor, who’s played with a chimp, could have a future in politics?
– It’s true that hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?
– I have wondered at times what The Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through congress.
– A recession is when a neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose yours. And recovery starts when Jimmy Carter loses his.
– The most terrifying words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
– Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.
– There are advantages to being elected president. The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified as top secret.
– One way to make sure crime doesn’t pay would be to let the government run it.
– I’ve often said there’s nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.
– The taxpayer is someone who works for the federal government but doesn’t have to take a civil service examination.
– We were poor when I was young. But the difference then was the government didn’t come around telling you you were poor.