“Former congressman and Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp died Saturday at age 73 after a battle with cancer, his family announced,” according to CNN.
Kemp went from being a football player to serving nine terms in Congress and then serving as Bob Dole’s Vice Presidential candidate in 1996. He also mounted an unsuccessful presidential bid in 1988, but he lost to George H. Bush in the GOP primary.
“Unlike many of the other conservatives of his era, Kemp actively courted African-American support. In 1992, he told CNN’s “Larry King Live” that the GOP “could be a Lincoln party in terms of attracting black and brown and men and women of color and low-income status and immigrant status who want a shot at the American dream for their children.”
Too bad most of the GOP didn’t listen to Mr. Kemp. He will be missed. But at least he won’t have to see his beloved party go the way of the Whigs.
Art, isn’t it funny, the Democrats have all these “good intentions” but fail to measure the results of those “intentions”, and the Republican party used to be the party that compared results to intentions as a way to gauge things, but not any more.
These days results have no meaning to either party. There’s no difference between the two, things are done on a whim and very few people remember the f-ups of the past, the results: no one in government is held accountable anymore, it’s a free for all.
Someday in the not so distant future, we will be paying in a big way (high tax’s, unstable economy, high unemployment rates, eminent domain so government can “fix things”) for those f-ups. Oh wait a minute, those days are here.
I almost forgot:
RIP Jack Kemp
“Everybody meet at the QB!” Jack Kemp…was an
interesting character. He was HUD Secretary during the George H.W. Administration. He took a few good ideas for Public Housing which including having the poor qualify and buy their apartments in the “projects”. It was never fully funded but
he got some talking points going. Kemp was no doubt the biggest defending of “trickly down economics”….and a real mouthpiece for those policies long after Art Lafer and others had modified their positions. Jack Kemp was truly a stalwart Republican…..we were sad to see that because of his illnesses he was unable to go on the various talk shows…in the last few years!
“Throw for 500 yards without an interception Kemp!”
rw
Jack Kemp’s appeal was limited to middle aged (now retired) East Coasters.
He speculated twenty years ago that change needed to come, he began vocally advocating for the change within his own party after his pummelling as a VP canidate.
As usual, the closed minded GOP hacks did’nt listen, the preached to the choir, got a couple of wins with GW (That turned out great eh!)but never really came around.
He’s dead, so is the GOP. But, just like Jesus, the GOP will come again, but Jack will rot in a casket, forgotten and ignored.