CONTRIBUTOR
REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES / NATIONAL IMPACT
David Bahnsen
Member For
1 year 50 weeks
BIOGRAPHY
David L. Bahnsen, CFP®, works as a Senior Vice President in the private client group of one of the premier Wall Street firms in the country, where he provides financial planning and investment management services to individuals and families. He and his wife of eight years (Joleen) reside in Newport Beach, CA with their four-year old son, Mitchell, and two-year old daughter, Sadie. He is an active board member of the Lincoln Club of Orange County, where he serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Issues Committee. He is a contributing writer to, and investing partner in, Red County.com. He serves on the Blackstone Faculty of the Alliance Defense Fund, and is a Cooperating Board member of the Center for Cultural Leadership, where he is the Senior Fellow of Economics and Finance.
David is a disciple of Milton Friedman, a lover of Ronald Reagan, and a "National Review kind of conservative". His writings strive to reflect an ideology of freedom principles integrated with transcendent truths. His hero is his late father, Dr. Greg Bahnsen, but he is pretty fond of John Calvin, Abraham Kuyper, F.A. Hayek, Winston Churchill, C.S. Lewis, William Buckley, Margaret Thatcher, George Gilder, Steve Forbes, and Larry Kudlow as well. When he is not being so serious, he also admires Tiger Woods and Pete Carroll.
Hobbies include travel, fine dining, golfing, and sports. His true passions in life include anything pertaining to USC football, the financial markets, politics, his vacation condo in the desert, his gorgeous and brilliant children, and his lovely wife, Joleen.
COMMENTARIES
Obama and the Treasury
By David Bahnsen | 11/22/08
In the first encouraging thing I have seen from Barack Obama since he was elected President, Timothy Geithner, President of the Federal Reserve of New York, was appointed Treasury Secretary today. Though I am sure a fair amount of the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy is being committed here, the market rallied 500 points after the news (wiping out all of yesterday's loss and a small amount of the loss from Wednesday). I actually... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »National | FEATURE | Obama Watch |
Dolores and the raffle
By David Bahnsen | 11/03/08
The apparent announcement by the Dolores Otting campaign that they will cancel her fundraising raffle and refund all contributions made in consideration for raffle tickets is an acknowledgement that the raffle was illegal. Specifically, from what I understand the raffle violated the following seven laws; 1. Violation of Penal Code Section 320. The raffle itself was illegal. Political campaigns... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) |
The Most Important Weekend I Can Remember
By David Bahnsen | 10/31/08
The kids are now in bed after a delightful evening of trick-or-treating with neighbors. Family. Community. The things that not only make our country great, but actually make our lives worth living. Our cups runneth over. Over the next 72 hours the estimated 14% of likely voters who have supposedly not decided yet who they are voting for to the highest elected office in the free world have an extraordinary task in... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) | FEATURE |
The Most Important Weekend I Can Remember
By David Bahnsen | 10/31/08
The kids are now in bed after a delightful evening of trick-or-treating with neighbors. Family. Community. The things that not only make our country great, but actually make our lives worth living. Our cups runneth over. Over the next 72 hours the estimated 14% of likely voters who have supposedly not decided yet who they are voting for to the highest elected office in the free world have an extraordinary task in... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »National |
Sarah Palin and the New GOP
By David Bahnsen | 09/06/08
One of the most remarkable things about the extraordinary buzz that the selection of Sarah Palin has generated within Republican circles is this: The vast majority of the work is being done by enemies of the Right. Sure, Sen. McCain had to have the courage to make the gutsy call. And obviously, Gov. Palin deserves all the kudos in the world for being the leader and reformer and ideologue that she is. But no matter how good this... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »National | Making of the President 2008 | FEATURE | 2nd Amendment |
Sarah Palin and the new GOP
By David Bahnsen | 09/06/08
One of the most remarkable things about the extraordinary buzz that the selection of Sarah Palin has generated within Republican circles is this: The vast majority of the work is being done by enemies of the Right. Sure, Sen. McCain had to have the courage to make the gutsy call. And obviously, Gov. Palin deserves all the kudos in the world for being the leader and reformer and ideologue that she is. But no matter how good... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »National |
NB Council Candidate Dolores Otting Shoots Herself in the Foot ... Again
By David Bahnsen | 08/14/08
Part of running for local office is finding an issue that resonates with the public.The proliferation of group homes for recovering drug and alcohol addicts is one of those issues in Newport Beach. 4-time city council candidate Dolores Otting thought she'd found the magic issue when she sent out an e-mail to hundreds of residents asking for their vote because she had uncovered an arrest at an undetected group home. The problem for Dolores is... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »Orange County (CA) | 2008 Elections | Newport Beach |
Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War by Patrick Buchannan
By David Bahnsen | 07/06/08
If I were to title this review article, it would be: Churchill, Buchannan, and a Pleading for a Purge, for this review is surely not about Hitler, and not about World War II. Unlike the author of the book I am reviewing, I feel no temptation to wonder if perhaps Hitler was trustworthy or not. I do not believe England was unwise and stubborn to resist Hitler's offer to leave them alone if they would just let him take over Europe. There is no... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »Red County Book Club | Book Review | FEATURE |
McCain, Economics, and the Republican Party
By David Bahnsen | 06/18/08
I have to confess - I am pretty pessimistic at the moment. Most of the pessimism comes from my gut feeling that us Republicans are going to get our asses handed to us this November, yet I think it is worse than that. I actually think we deserve it. Unlike many dear friends of mine, I am not pulling the idiotic card that says, "well, maybe an Obama victory will wake up the GOP and teach them to be better Republicans." Bad... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »National | Making of the President 2008 | FEATURE | John McCain |
"The Return of History and the End of Dreams" by Robert Kagan
By David Bahnsen | 06/07/08
I would read a lot more books if they were all 105 pages. Kagan's masterpiece, Dangerous Nation, was nearly 400 pages, and was not quite the four-hour read that this little gem was. But then again, if all books, of any length, were as good as Robert Kagan's latest piece, I would read a lot more books then too. This masterful alumnus of the Ronald Reagan state department, who serves as the Senior Associate of... read more »
0 Comments | Related Topics »Red County Book Club | Book Review | FEATURE |
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