Jack Kemp RIP

In '96 Jack Kemp was the reason why I voted for Bob Dole for president. Reminds me why I voted for John McCain (I voted for Sarah Palin!) I supported his supply-side economics and tax cuts. He was a supporter of Ronald Reagan and a great Conservative. And I admired the former NFL Buffalo Bills Quarterback. RIP and tell Ronnie I said 'Hi.'

From Patrick Ruffini at "The Next Right," here:

What made Kemp different is that he had an original idea of what conservatism could be. The post-Reagan period leading up to the Contract with America was a period of intellectual ferment for the movement. Kemp led the way in advancing a conservative idea that could appeal to non-traditional Republicans, with enterprise zones and school choice lifting more of the poor into the middle class. It was compassionate conservatism -- but actually conservative.

The Republican Party in the '90s then faced many of the demographic problems it does now. Perhaps in contrast to today, there was an actual good-faith attempt made to solve those problems, led by Kemp. Building a GOP that could appeal to urban areas may not have been the most logical next step politically, but it created an ambitiousness in the realm of ideas that we lack today. In the '90s, we were electing Republican mayors in big cities like Rudy Giuliani, Steve Goldsmith, and Bret Schundler who created a model for how conservatives could govern deep in Democratic terrain.