Jack Kemp, the former football star turned congressman who with an evangelist’s fervor moved the Republican Party to a commitment to tax cuts as the central focus of economic policy, died Saturday evening at his home in Bethesda, Md. He was 73.
Kemp is proof that you never know when history is going to be made. He started his political career as one of the most familiar "types" in American politics: the celebrity turned politician. But Kemp didn't just rest on his laurels. Whether he intended to or not, he helped launch a political revolution while clutching little more than Arthur Laffer's napkin. He helped change, not just the direction of the GOP and tax policy, but also America's self-image and economy.
Having helped lead the Reagan Revolution, Kemp turned his attention and gifts to creating a Republican alternative for alleviating poverty and inner-city dysfunction. Kemp was, of course, much less successful at this endeavor. Liberals didn't trust him, and conservatives saw no point in expending political capital for voters who would never vote for him. Looking back, this was a real lost opportunity, although the Clinton-Gingrich Welfare Reform Act made some headway towards adopting Kemp's initiatives.
Kemp, like Pat Moynihan, was one of those people who - for whatever reason - were on many folks' wishlists of "politicians who should be president, but never will." The closest Kemp came was his turn as Bob Dole's VP candidate in 1996. By then, the times were already passing Kemp by. The causes that Kemp had championed were not just the foundation of the GOP platform, they had been co-opted by the Dems whose statist visions Kemp had fought throughout his career.
The GOP has lost one of its great ones today. We can only hope that somewhere in DC (or elsewhere) a young Republican is sitting down for dinner next to a young economist, who can help sketch out a new vision for freedom and prosperity.
No comments:
Post a Comment