R.I.P., Jack Kemp…
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on May 3, 2009
By Vicki McClure Davidson * Frugal Café Blog Zone
Bob Dole and Jack Kemp on cover of Time magazine in August 1996
“Winning is like shaving – you do it every day or you wind up looking like a bum.”
Kemp was an effusive character. And a strong supporter of tax cuts, supply-side economics, and individual freedoms. He was a prominent, passionate voice in Congress for the rights of minorities. The man was a dynamo, full of optimistic energy and heartfelt convictions.
At age 73, Jack Kemp passed away on Saturday from cancer. From pro football quarterback to Congressman in Washington, D.C., Kemp had a full life.
From Yahoo News: Jack Kemp, football star and politician, dies
Kemp, a former quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, represented western New York for nine terms in Congress, leaving the House for an unsuccessful presidential bid in 1988.
Eight years later, after serving a term as President George H.W. Bush’s housing secretary, he made it onto the national ticket as Bob Dole’s running-mate.
With that loss, the Republican bowed out of political office, but not out of politics. In speaking engagements and a syndicated column, he continued to advocate for the tax reform and supply-side policies — the idea that the more taxes are cut the more the economy will grow — that he pioneered.
Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation, a Kemp family friend and his former campaign deputy chief of staff, said Kemp’s legacy will be his compassion.
“The idea that all conservatives really should regroup around and identify with is that this is not an exclusive club,” Feulner said. “Freedom is for everybody. That’s what Jack Kemp really stood for.”
Praise rolled in from fellow politicians.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Kemp “one of the nation’s most distinguished public servants. Jack was a powerful voice in American politics for more than four decades.”
Former President George W. Bush expressed his sorrow after hearing of Kemp’s death.
“Laura and I are saddened by the death of Jack Kemp,” he said. “Jack will be remembered for his significant contributions to the Reagan revolution and his steadfast dedication to conservative principles during his long and distinguished career in public service. Jack’s wife Joanne and the rest of the Kemp family are in our thoughts and prayers.”
Kemp’s rapid and wordy style made the enthusiastic speaker with the neatly side-parted white hair a favorite on the lecture circuit, and a millionaire.
A few paragraphs about Kemp’s life from Politico:
Jack Kemp, former QB and Congressman, dies
By Jonathan Martin & Harry SiegelJack Kemp, the nine-term Congressman from Western New York, Housing Secretary under George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole’s 1996 running mate, has passed away, his family announced Saturday night.
A professional quarterback for 13 years in the NFL, CFL and AFL, Kemp was diagnosed with cancer in January, after seeing a doctor last year about pain in his hip. “It’s not good,” said one friend of his at the time. “But he’s telling people that he’s going to deal with it and fight. It’s just Jack Kemp being Jack Kemp.”
He played a pivotal role in the ascent of the Republican Party, moving the party to embrace supply side economics and making tax cuts a central element of the party platform.
[...]
In a statement issued Saturday evening, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell remembered Kemp as “One of the nation’s most distinguished public servants, Jack was a powerful voice in American politics for more than four decades.
“He championed free market principles that improved the lives of millions of Americans and helped unleash an entrepreneurial spirit that all of us still benefit from today. Jack was a leading voice for a strong national defense, civil rights, and any other policy that empowered people. Whether as a quarterback, a congressman, or a cabinet secretary, his life was defined by vision and by a firm commitment to the service of others.”
Aside from pushing the GOP to embrace tax cuts, Kemp also urged his party to reach out to minority voters. He credited his liberal views on race in part to his time on the gridiron, recalling in an article entitled “The Inspiration of the Football Huddle”:
“We didn’t tolerate bigotry on the field, either. Any difference in race, creed and class immediately dissolved in the common aim of a team win. Divisiveness only weakens a team. It has no place in a huddle, on or off the field.”
The garrulous Kemp was a hit on the GOP dinner circuit, his passion for politics infectious if occasionally grating on his political rivals.
Here’s another quotation from Jack Kemp that touches me deeply:
There are no limits to our future if we don’t put limits on our people. — Jack Kemp
Rest in peace, Jack, and may God bless you.
Additional Jack Kemp posts and articles:
Gateway Pundit: Former GOP VP Candidate Jack Kemp Dies
The American Spectator: The Importance of Jack Kemp
Heartland Pinstripes: Jack Kemp, Bills QB and Congressman, Dead at 73
NewsBusters: AP’s Kemp Obit Follows Recent Pattern: Find Something (Anything) Negative, Mention Wealth of the Deceased
Michelle Malkin: Jack Kemp, 1935-2009
Christopher Estep’s America: Jack Kemp, Republican Moderate, Dead at 73
Hot Air: Breaking: Jack Kemp, RIP
Blue Collar Republican: Jack Kemp – Dead At 73
A Small Corner of Sanity – An Online Oasis for Conservative Thought: Jack Kemp: R.I.P.
The Anchoress: Jack Kemp & Transitions…
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