Another word about Jack Kemp

It was 1977. I was at a Young Republicans meeting.

We were sitting around trying to put the Republican Party back together after Carter's victory and a Dem congressional majority.

Who gave us the lift?

It was Jack Kemp, the congressman from Buffalo.

It was the same guy that we grew up watching as the Buffalo Bills' QB in the old AFL.

Kemp wore #15 and was a very successful player in the AFL before the merger in 1970. (The AFL became the AFC after the merger!)

Back then, we used to love those Sunday afternoon battles between Jack Kemp's Bills and Joe Namath's Jets!

It was Kemp who picked us up and set the table for the Reagan landslide of 1980.

They say that Reagan was the coach and Kemp was the QB.

That's right! It really worked out that way.

A few months ago, I saw Kemp again on TV rallying everyone to McCain.

He looked great but naturally a little older.

He was the same Kemp that I remember before.

Last January, Kemp announced that he had cancer.

Last Sunday, Kemp died.

I had heard that Kemp was really sick. I had heard that his time was short.

Nevertheless, it was still really hard to hear about Kemp's death.

I love this from Larry Kudlow:

"Lower tax rates for everyone, he argued.

Make it pay after-tax to work, produce, invest, and take risks, and the country will get more of all of it.

Along with lower marginal tax rates to reignite economic growth, stabilize the free-falling dollar to curb inflation.

And add free trade to that mix, since tariffs are nothing more than taxes on the purchase and sale of international goods.

Foster policies that will unleash our God-given creativity and imagination, Jack Kemp argued.

And let individuals take it from there."

It's hard to think of a conservative movement without Jack Kemp. He was one of my favorite Republicans.

I loved his ideas: low taxes, free trade and let the free market take care of prosperity. I loved his ideas to fix our decaying cities: enterprise zones, school choice and strong families.

We need Kemp's ideas today more than ever!