Jack French Kemp
1935-2009
1935-2009
A lot will be written in the coming days about Jack Kemp, the 1996 GOP Vice Presidential nominee and patron saint of supply side economics - but for me, Congressman Kemp represents something totally different.The first political event I ever attended was a Kemp rally during the 1996 campaign. So, Jack, if you have internet access in heaven, please know that tonight I am rembering you not as conservative blogger mourning an economic guru - but as a wide-eyed 10 year-old desperate to get your autograph on a campaign sign (you didn't sign it, by the way, but I kept it on my bedroom wall for the next four years anyway).
Thanks for the memories.
I console myself by thinking how much fun Reagan and Kemp are having together, up in heaven----again cogent and healthy.
ReplyDeleteKemp was about the only Republican of his era that was serious about opening the GOP to minorities. Enterprise zones were a genuinely workable conservative concept that greatly expanded opportunities for minority small business owners. Moreover, they are arguably a necessary antecedent to the microcredit banks that have meant so much to women and minority small businesses. Today, enterprise zones are broadly accepted across the political spectrum, enjoying support from the left and right. We have Jack Kemp to thank for that.
ReplyDeleteI met his son (former Hawks QB) Jeff in '89, he does good work with his Stronger Familes group out of Bellevue, his dad would be proud.
ReplyDeleteJohn Nichols of the The Nation remembers Kemp's indefatigable efforts to make conservatism more friendly to minority groups:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thenation.com/doc/20090518/nichols2?rel=hp_currently