Jack Kemp, my political hero, has died.
We all know what Jack Kemp used to be … but too few understand what he had become, particularly to so many minority Republicans across our nation who identified with his inspiring message of economic empowerment and racial reconciliation.
To use one of Jack’s favorite words, a word I stole from him and used to describe friends and foes alike, Jack was indefatigable. Yes, he was a happy warrior but he was an articulate champion for the cause of entrepreneurial capitalism that literally reshaped the world we live in.
Because of Jack’s passion for incentive-based economics, Ronald Reagan won the presidency in 1980 and went on to defeat the Soviet Union without ever firing a shot. Kemp, as much as Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II, deserves credit for winning the Cold War. Few people understand this … fewer still will give him the credit he deserves for it.
Nobody could sell the value of lower taxes, freer markets, democratic capitalism, with a small “d” as he used to say, like Kemp. And it’s unlikely we will find someone who can do so any time soon. The loss to my party is immeasurable.
Kemp, in my view, was the first progressive conservative Republican of the 20th century. And he was a mentor to so many aspiring politicians who not only identified with his brand of progressive conservatism but emulated his style and manner while talking about it. I for one never would have entered politics had it not been for Kemp’s speech to the delegates at the 1992 Republican National Convention.
He was a mentor to so many leaders in the Republican Party, it is impossible to name them all. Among them: Jeb Bush, Eric Cantor, Cesar Conda, Chris Cox, Mitch Daniels, David Dreier, Steve Forbes, Newt Gingrich, J.D Hayworth, Bobby Jindal, Larry Kudlow, Trent Lott, Dan Lungren, Connie Mack, Susan Molinari, Bret Schundler, J.C. Watts, Vin Weber, Christine Whitman, and the list goes on and on …
I encourage you to click here to read The Heritage Foundation tribute to Kemp.
A self-described “bleeding-heart conservative,” Jack Kemp was certainly that and so much more. He was a great husband, a great father, a great athlete … he had a great mind and a kind soul. But mainly Jack was just a great American who did the best with the talents God gave him. I am beyond devastated by his passing.
I know you are in a perfect place today, Jack. Please say hello to Jude Wanniski, Robert Bartley and Bill Buckley for me. And Godspeed my friend.
— Joe Armendariz is a Carpinteria city councilman and executive director of the Santa Barbara Technology & Industry Association.