Jack Kemp

The NFL quarterback who became a Republican visionary

1935–2009

Jack Kemp, who has died of cancer at 73, liked to call himself a “bleeding-heart conservative.” As a congressman he opposed abortion, supported school prayer, and always trumpeted the curative power of tax cuts. But he also embraced immigration reform and, as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, battled urban blight and racial discrimination.

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Before entering the political arena, said The Buffalo News, Kemp was a “stellar” pro football quarterback. A graduate of Occidental College, he joined the Los Angeles Chargers “in the 1960 inaugural season of the upstart American Football League.” Two years later Kemp signed with the Buffalo Bills and led them to AFL championships in 1964 and 1965. Voted Most Valuable Player in 1965, he also set records for “most career passes attempted, most completions, and most yards gained passing in the history of the AFL.” Once, when his hand was crushed, Kemp insisted that the doctor set it in a passing position, with one finger permanently curved. Knowing, however, that his football days were limited, he took up politics. On long team trips he would devour Ayn Rand, The Wall Street Journal, and National Review, and engage in “passionate political debates with sportswriters while other Bills played cards.”

“His transition to politics was smooth,” said The New York Times. After campaigning for Nelson Rockefeller, Richard Nixon, and Barry Goldwater, Kemp won Buffalo’s open House seat in 1970. Though “many Washington veterans dismissed him as a ‘dumb jock,’” Kemp began championing supply-side economics, arguing that deep tax cuts could promote growth. In 1978, he and Sen. William Roth of Delaware proposed a 30 percent tax cut over three years. But it took the presidency of Ronald Reagan, whom Kemp had personally coached in “the intricacies of the policy,” to enshrine their vision as a Republican article of faith. When Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which reduced taxes by 23 percent, it was widely known as the Kemp-Roth tax cut.

From 1989 to 1993 Kemp distinguished himself as HUD secretary under George H.W. Bush, said The Washington Post. “As leader of the AFL players union, Kemp stood up for African-American teammates victimized by segregation on their travels”; he applied this zeal to HUD, where “he worked to root out discrimination by lenders and insurers.” He also backed tenant ownership of public housing, housing vouchers, and tax-free enterprise zones to combat “the economic desolation of the inner city.” Kemp worked well with local politicians of all races. But he began to openly voice frustration with his party, which he said believed mainly in “small government and big prisons.”

Blessed with a “Kennedy­esque hairstyle, boyish good looks, and unbounded enthusiasm,” Kemp inspired such future conservative leaders as Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott, said the Los Angeles Times. “But despite his looks and charisma, he did poorly on the national stage.” He sought the GOP presidential nomination in 1988, but “his economic concepts, which he sold on the stump with the zeal of a fundamentalist preacher, seemed wonkish and failed to convert voters.” In 1996 he ran for vice president alongside Bob Dole. It was not a natural fit, and the GOP ticket lost badly to Clinton-Gore.

Following that defeat, Kemp co-founded Empower America, an organization that promoted entrepreneurship and job creation. But he left electoral politics behind. Kemp championed the idea that the Republican Party should not be “an exclusive club,” said his former campaign advisor, Edwin Feulner, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation. “Freedom is for everybody: That’s what Jack Kemp really stood for.” He is survived by his wife and four children.