R.I.P. Jack Kemp the Happy Warrior

Former Pro Football Player and Congressman Jack Kemp died yesterday at age 73.

Kemp first ran for Congress from Buffalo NY in 1970 after 13 seasons as quarterback of the Buffalo Bills.  He often said that pro football helped him develop the thick skin a politician needs for survival, because even the worst political criticism doesn’t match the the experience of 100,000 people booing at you in unison.

Jack Kemp was the primary author of the Reagan tax cuts.  He introduced his tax cut bill, known as Kemp-Roth,  a year before President Reagan was elected.  After the election he became the conduit for the Reagan Revolution in the House of Representatives. 

Kemp never tired of giving speeches in favor of free market principles, limited government and modest taxation.  He was indeed the happy warrior, always emphasizing his positive message, while gently criticizing political adversaries.  This style made Kemp a more effective spokesman for the timeless principles of Liberty than the more negative, caustic personalities on the right.

He often repeated and always practiced a guiding principle that all of us who wish to reverse the rapidly accelerating encroachment of government in our lives should keep in mind:

The best way to oppose a bad idea is to replace it with a good idea.

We will Miss Jack Kemp.