January 8, 2009, - 1:32 pm

Pray For Jack Kemp

By Debbie Schlussel
Bad news about a man who was once seen as a top leader in the conservative movement and a promising Presidential candidate. Jack Kemp, who went from Buffalo Bills QB to Reagan intern in California to rising political star in Washington, has cancer. It is apparently very serious, and I hope he recovers.
When I was a teen, one of my heroes was then-Congressman Jack Kemp. At the time, he was a down-the-line conservative who was pro-America, pro-Israel, and pro-self-empowerment. He championed tax cuts and enterprise zones and got it right,whether it was domestic or foreign policy. He was an important and vocal person in the fight against oppression in the then-Soviet Union and a strong supporter of sanctions against the country. As a high school student, I was one of the many who were involved in Jack Kemp’s campaign for President in 1988, which essentially began back in 1984. I got to know Kemp and was instrumental in his Michigan campaign–at the time Michigan was the first in the nation to pick its Republican delegates. I became a Jack Kemp delegate to the 1988 Republican National Convention.

jackkempcards_0001.jpgjackkempcards_0002.jpg

Jack Kemp Cards–Rookie Card at Right (Schlussel Collection)

But after that, Jack Kemp started to go liberal. He opposed propositions in California and elsewhere that limited affirmative action and stopped benefits for illegal aliens. And he endorsed a number of other liberal ideas. That’s not to mention that as HUD Secretary under President George H.W. Bush, Kemp granted security contracts in federal housing projects to the Nation of Islam.
Still, I can’t forget the many important things Jack Kemp did that helped build the conservative cause and which were good for America. And regardless of his politics, he’s a good man for whose well-being and recovery from cancer I’ll be praying. I hope you’ll do the same.






5 Responses

Many of those who were appointed by and worked with Reagan or were “conservatives” during his time became liberals these days.
Any idea why?
I’ll tell you why.
Because they weren’t truly conservatives.
They were assholes disguising as conservatives for political expediency.
That’s it.
Speculate all you want, but they were assholes liberals, including Reagan himself who gave amnesty to illegal immigrants and created this mess we’re in.
Is this the “Rule of Law?”
What about George W. Bush?
Let’s not go there now. I think I’ll throw up.

Independent Conservative on January 8, 2009 at 2:00 pm

Hey, what’s that thing floating in the punch bowl?

Richard on January 8, 2009 at 3:27 pm

When Jack Kemp ran for Vice President with Bob Dole, he met publicly with Louis Farrakhan.
It was the wrong thing to do.
HOWEVER (You knew there had to be a “however”, didn’t you.) in the grand scheme of things, Jack Kemp’s record on issues important to Jews and Israel is commendable. What a different world we would live in if every American politician had a similar record.
Debbie: I’m glad you are looking at the whole record and not dismissing all the good things Jack Kemp did for Jews, Israel and the United States all because of a few flaws in his actions. Jack Kemp is a good and decent man and his heart was always in the right place. Even when he erred, he did it with good intent.
Thank you for alerting me to his illness. I pray that he has many good years ahead of him.
Regards,
There is NO Santa Claus (aka TINSC)

There is NO Santa Claus on January 8, 2009 at 9:09 pm

Pray for Jack Kemp indeed. Kemp was, as you said, one of those conservatives (like McCain – who was not a conservative by any stretch of the imagination) who became popular with the New York Times crowd as long as he was bashing Republicans.

Ripper on January 9, 2009 at 9:26 am

“But after that, Jack Kemp started to go liberal. He opposed propositions in California and elsewhere that limited affirmative action and stopped benefits for illegal aliens. And he endorsed a number of other liberal ideas.”
I was surprised that you still have regard for Kemp, DS. Like Reagan, like Bush, like ____________ (fill in the blank with just about any “conservative”), his actions, once in office never lived up to the rhetoric he espoused.
I will grant that his name is tied to the all time best move the federal government ever made–the Kemp-Roth tax revision under Reagan which brought sanity back to the tax code–taking the onerous graduated, up to 80%, system to a simple 0,15, 28% system–and of course govt tax revenues soared. He did something right, but after that, I only see another disappointment.

BB on January 10, 2009 at 11:04 am

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