Jack Kemp

Early life

Youth

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kemp was the third of four sons of Frances Elizabeth (née Pope) and Paul Robert Kemp Sr. Paul turned his motorcycle messenger service into a trucking company that grew from one to 14 trucks. Frances was a social worker and Spanish teacher. Kemp grew up in the heavily Jewish Wilshire district of West Los Angeles, but his tight-knit middle-class family attended the Church of Christ, Scientist. In his youth, sports consumed Kemp, who once chose the forward pass as the subject of a school essay on important inventions, although his mother attempted to broaden his horizons with piano lessons and trips to the Hollywood Bowl.

Kemp attended Melrose Avenue's Fairfax High School, which was, at the time, known for its high concentration of both Jewish students and children of celebrities. Over 95% of Kemp's classmates were Jewish, and he later became a supporter of Jewish causes. His classmates included musician Herb Alpert, baseball pitcher Larry Sherry, and academic Judith A. Reisman. During his years in high school, Kemp worked with his brothers at his father's trucking company in downtown Los Angeles. In his spare time, he was a rigorous reader, preferring history and philosophy books.

College

After graduating from high school in 1953, he attended Occidental College, a founding member of the NCAA Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Kemp selected Occidental because its football team used professional formations and plays, which he hoped would help him to become a professional quarterback. At 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) and 175 pounds (79 kg), he considered himself too small to play for the USC Trojans or UCLA Bruins, the major Southern California college football programs.

At Occidental, Kemp was a record-setting javelin hurler and played several positions on the football team: quarterback, defensive back, place kicker, and punter. Although he was near-sighted, Kemp was tenacious on the field. During his years as starting quarterback, the 1955 and 1956 Occidental teams posted 6–2 and 3–6 records. Kemp was named a Little All-America player one year in which he threw for over 1,100 yards. That year, he led the nation's small colleges in passing. He and close friend Jim Mora, who later became an NFL head coach, were members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Another teammate in college was Ron Botchan. Kemp declined to become involved in student government. After graduating from Occidental with a degree in physical education, he pursued postgraduate studies in economics at Long Beach State University and California Western University in San Diego, and served in the military from 1958 to 1962.

Marriage, family, and faith

Kemp graduated from Occidental in 1957 and married Joanne Main, his college sweetheart, after she graduated from Occidental in 1958. Main had grown up in Fillmore, California, and attended Fillmore High School in Ventura County. Kemp's Biblical Literature professor, Keith Beebe, presided over the wedding. The Kemps had two sons. Both were professional football quarterbacks: Jeff Kemp (born in 1959) played in the NFL from 1981 to 1991, and Jimmy Kemp (born in 1971) played in the CFL from 1994 to 2002. Significantly for a man with his demanding schedule, Jack never missed one of their games as children or in college. They also had two daughters: Jennifer Kemp Andrews (born in 1961) and Judith Kemp (born in 1963).

Joanne Kemp once suffered a miscarriage, which Kemp later said made him re-evaluate the sanctity of human life and affirmed his opposition to abortion.

Following his wedding, Kemp converted to his wife's Presbyterian faith. He identified as a born-again Christian.

Kemp was a 33rd degree Freemason in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.

Football career

After being selected by the Detroit Lions in the 17th round of the 1957 NFL draft, Kemp was cut from the team before the 1957 NFL season began. He spent 1957 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and 1958 on the taxi squads of the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants. The Giants hosted the NFL championship game, known as the "Greatest Game Ever Played" and the first overtime NFL playoff game, but, as a third-string quarterback member of the taxi squad, Kemp did not take the field.

In 1958, Kemp joined the United States Army Reserve and he served a year on active duty as a private to complete his initial training. He was a member of the San Diego–based 977th Transportation Company from 1958 to 1962. When his unit was activated for the Berlin Crisis of 1961, Kemp received a medical exemption for his chronically separated left shoulder. The injury led to his discharge from the Reserve in July 1962.

In 1959, Kemp played one game for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, which made him ineligible for the NFL, in 1959. According to his older brother Tom, his parents drove him from California to Calgary, Alberta, only to see him cut. By this time, Kemp had been cut from five professional teams (Lions, Steelers, Giants, 49ers, and Stampeders) and his family encouraged him to get on with his life. On February 9 and 11, 1960, the newly formed AFL agreed to "no tampering" policies with the NFL and CFL respectively, protecting each league's players. Players like Kemp, with modest NFL experience, were often signed by the AFL at the time. Kemp signed as a free agent with the AFL's Los Angeles Chargers.

Sid Gillman era (1960–1962)

In 1960, Kemp led the Chargers to a Western Division Championship with a 10–4 record. He finished second in the league to Frank Tripucka in passing attempts, completions, and yards (making him and Tripucka the league's first 3,000-yard passers), led the AFL in yards per completion and times sacked, and finished one rushing touchdown short of the league lead. Under Kemp, the Chargers' offense averaged 46 points over its last four games and scored more than 41 points in five of its last nine games. In the AFL championship game, he led the team to field goals on its first two possessions, but after the Houston Oilers posted a touchdown in the second quarter for a 7–6 lead, the Chargers never recovered.

In 1961, San Diego Union editor Jack Murphy convinced Barron Hilton to move the Chargers from Los Angeles to San Diego. Kemp led the relocated team to a 12–2 record and a repeat Western Division Championship. He again finished second in passing yards (this time to George Blanda). The Chargers earned an AFL championship game rematch against the Oilers. However, this time the Chargers were unable to score until a fourth-quarter field goal in a 10–3 loss.

In 1962, Kemp broke his middle finger when he struck a helmet against the New York Titans in the second game of the season and was unable to play. He persuaded his doctors to set his broken finger around a football, so that his grip would not be affected once the finger healed. Chargers coach Sid Gillman put Kemp on waivers to try to "hide" him. Buffalo Bills coach Lou Saban noticed that Kemp was available and claimed him for a $100 waiver fee on September 25, 1962, in what sportswriter Randy Schultz has called one of the biggest bargains in professional football history. The Dallas Texans and Denver Broncos also attempted to claim Kemp, but he was awarded to Buffalo by AFL commissioner Joe Foss.

Lou Saban era (1962–1965)

According to Billy Shaw, Kemp's acquisition solved the Bills' quarterback problem, but Kemp was not excited about coming to Buffalo. According to Van Miller, "Jack's a skier, and he wanted to go to Denver and play for the Broncos. He hated the thought of coming to Buffalo." In Buffalo, he would become known for his love of reading a broad range of books including those by Henry Thoreau, which led to chidings from Saban.

Injuries, including the broken finger, kept Kemp from playing for most of 1962. That season, Kemp received a military draft notice for service in the Vietnam War but was granted a draft waiver because of a knee problem. The injuries healed, and Kemp debuted for Buffalo on November 18, 1962, by directing the only touchdown drive in a 10–6 win over the Oakland Raiders. His start on December 8 versus New York (which he won 20–3), combined with his start against New York for San Diego (which he won 40–14) months earlier, made Kemp the first quarterback to ever start against the same team twice while playing for two different teams. As of 2025, six other quarterbacks have joined Kemp in this distinction, but only Kemp was successful in winning both starts. He played only four games for Buffalo in 1962, but made the AFL All-Star team. The Bills won three of their last four games to finish 7–6–1.

On December 14, 1962, the Bills outbid the Green Bay Packers for Notre Dame quarterback Daryle Lamonica. In 1963, a four-season starting quarterback battle began that continued until Lamonica left for the Raiders. Lamonica felt he "learned a lot from Jack about quarterbacking. And I truly believe that we were a great one-two punch at the position for the Bills." In 1963, Kemp led the Bills from a slow start to a tie for the AFL Eastern Division lead with a 7–6–1 record. Kemp again placed second in passing attempts, completions, and yards, and he also finished second to teammate Cookie Gilchrist in rushing touchdowns. The Bills played the Boston Patriots in an Eastern Division playoff game to determine the division title on December 28, in 10 °F (−12 °C) weather. Buffalo replaced Kemp with Lamonica after falling behind 16–0, but still lost 26–8.

Kemp was said to be the "clubhouse lawyer" for the Bills because of his role in mediating conflicts. In 1964, he managed personalities such as Gilchrist, who walked off the field when plays were not being called for him, and Saban, whom he kept from cutting Gilchrist the following week. He also managed the politics of his quarterback battle with Lamonica, who engineered four winning touchdown drives in the Bills' first seven games. Kemp was the first and only professional football player to pass for three touchdowns in the first quarter of a season-opening game, against the Kansas City Chiefs in 1964, until the record was tied but not broken, 47 years later in 2011 by Aaron Rodgers. The 1964 team won its first nine games and went 12–2 for the regular season, winning the Eastern Division with a final game victory over the Patriots at Fenway Park. Kemp led the league in yards per attempt and finished one rushing touchdown short of the league lead, which was shared by Gilchrist and Sid Blanks. In the AFL championship game, he scored the final touchdown with just over nine minutes left in a 20–7 victory. Not long after, Kemp played a key role in an off the field decision. Kemp was part of the All-Star Game played three weeks after the Championship Game alongside teammates such as Cookie Gilchrist and Ernie Warlick, with the game scheduled to be played in New Orleans, Louisiana. However, Gilchrist led a movement of African American players wanting to boycott the game due to experiencing discrimination by cab drivers and others during their time in New Orleans; Kemp saw this firsthand when Gilchrist, and Warlick were not allowed to share a cab with him. Kemp attended a boycott meeting and alongside Ron Mix convinced the white players to go with the idea of a boycott. One day after the players left the city, AFL Commissioner Joe Foss moved the game to Houston, Texas.

Joe Collier and John Rauch eras (1966–1969)

Following the championship game, Saban resigned to coach the University of Maryland and defensive coordinator Joe Collier was promoted to head coach for the 1966 season. Kemp led the Bills to their third consecutive division title with a 9–4–1 record. However, in the AFL championship game, which was played for the right to represent the AFL in Super Bowl I, the Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 31–7. Kemp was named an AFL All-Star for the sixth consecutive year. The 1967 Bills endured a 4–10 1967 AFL season, in which Kemp was not named to the All-Star game for the first time in his AFL career.

On August 23, 1968, the Bills suffered a blowout preseason loss to the Houston Oilers. On August 26, Collier put the Bills through a 40-play scrimmage. During the scrimmage, Ron McDole fell on Kemp's right knee and injured it, forcing Kemp to sit out the entire 1968 season. The Bills went 1–12–1 without Kemp.

Despite Kemp's return from injury and the arrival of running back O. J. Simpson, the Bills only compiled a 4–10 record during the 1969 season under new coach John Rauch. Kemp was named an AFL All-Star in 1969 for the seventh time in the league's 10 years. He advocated recognition of the league, and in its last year, 1969, lobbied Pete Rozelle to have AFL teams wear an AFL patch to honor it. In 1969, the Erie County Republican Party approached him about running for the United States Congress. After the January 17, 1970, AFL All-Star game, Kemp returned home and talked to his wife before deciding to enter politics. Kemp said, "I had a four-year no-cut contract with the Bills at the time. ... I figured that if I lost I could always come back and play. But the fans had their say and I was elected to Congress."

Sports career summary

Kemp led Buffalo to the AFL playoffs four straight years (1963–1966), three consecutive Eastern Division titles (1964–1966) and two straight AFL Championships (1964–1965). He led the league in career passes attempted, completions, and yards gained passing. He played in five of the AFL's 10 Championship Games, and holds the same career records (passing attempts, completions, and yardage) for championships. He is second in many other championship game categories, including career and single-game passer rating. He ranks sixth in rushing touchdowns by an NFL or AFL quarterback with 40; at the time of his retirement, he was second only to Otto Graham at 44. A Sporting News All-League selection at quarterback in 1960 and 1965, and the AFL MVP in 1965. He was the only AFL quarterback to be listed as a starter all 10 years of the league's existence and one of only 20 players to serve all 10 of those years. His number 15 was retired by the Bills in 1984. In 2012, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Kemp to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2012.

However, despite his success and important AFL records, he is most prominently listed in the NFL record book for less flattering accomplishments, including his place as a former record holder for most quarterback sacks in a game. Despite Kemp's many records, Joe Namath and Len Dawson were selected as the quarterbacks for the All-time AFL team. Kemp is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Bills' Wall of Fame.

Kemp co-founded the AFL Players Association with Tom Addison of the Boston Patriots, and was elected its president five times. His founding of and involvement in the players' union contributed to his frequent siding with the Democrats on labor issues later in his career.

The NCAA's highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Award, was presented to Kemp in 1992, and he was named one of the association's 100 most influential student-athletes in 2006.

Career statistics

Political career

Kemp's political career began long before his 1970 campaign. In 1960 and 1961, Kemp was an editorial assistant to San Diego Union editor and future Richard Nixon aide Herb Klein. Subsequently, Kemp became a volunteer in both Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign and Ronald Reagan's successful 1966 California gubernatorial campaign. In the 1967 football off-season, Kemp worked on Reagan's staff in Sacramento. In 1969, he was special assistant to the Republican National Committee chairman.

Kemp was a voracious reader, and his political beliefs were founded in early readings of Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative, Ayn Rand's novels, and Friedrich von Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty. He also brought from his football career a belief in racial equality which came from playing football with black teammates. As Kemp said, "I wasn't there with Rosa Parks or Dr. King or John Lewis. But I am here now, and I am going to yell from the rooftops about what we need to do." Kemp's football colleagues confirmed this influence: John Mackey explained that "the huddle is colorblind."

House of Representatives (1971–1989)

As a self-described "bleeding-heart conservative", Kemp represented a part of the suburban Buffalo region known as the Southtowns (that traditionally voted Democratic) in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1989. He was described as having the charisma of the earlier John F. Kennedy. David Rosenbaum described Kemp as an independent politician who often legislated outside his committees' jurisdictions and often spoke in favor of ideals and principles rather than his party's political platforms. As a supply-sider, he was not a proponent of balanced budgeting and trivialized it while speaking of growth as an economic goal.

The Erie County, New York Republicans had drafted Kemp after incumbent congressman Richard D. McCarthy decided to run for the United States Senate. During his inaugural campaign, his district was in economic malaise, and The New York Times described him as a John F. Kennedy throwback who campaigned on family values, patriotism, sports, and defense. Upon his election to the Congress in a class of sixty-two freshmen, he was one of six newcomers—along with Ronald Dellums, Bella Abzug, Louise Day Hicks, Robert Drinan, and Pete du Pont—discussed in Time. The article described him as a football fan like United States President Richard Nixon and as the recipient of advice from White House adviser Robert Finch and former Kemp boss Herb Klein, Nixon's director of communications. The Nixon aides encouraged Kemp to endorse the Cambodian invasion and to oppose criticism of Nixon's war policies in order to firm up Kemp's support from military hawks.

Kemp championed several Chicago school and supply-side economics issues, including economic growth, free markets, free trade, tax simplification and lower tax rates on both employment and investment income. He was a long-time proponent of the flat tax. He also defended the use of anti-Communist contra forces in Central America, supported the gold standard, spoke for civil rights legislation, opposed abortion, and was the first lawmaker to popularize enterprise zones, which he supported to foster entrepreneurship and job creation and expand homeownership among public housing tenants. During his career, he sometimes sounded like a liberal Democrat; he supported affirmative action and rights for illegal immigrants. The New York Times described Kemp as the most proactive combatant in the war on poverty since Robert F. Kennedy. He differed from Rockefeller Republicans and earlier combatants such as Lyndon Johnson by supporting incentive-based systems instead of traditional social programs. For his commitment to inner city concerns from within the Republican party, David Gergen heralded him as a "courageous voice in the wilderness." Although he was liberal on many social issues and supported civil liberties for homosexuals, he opposed certain gay rights such as the right to teach in schools. Kemp at times felt his role was that of "freewheeling, entrepreneurial, wildcatting backbencher."

Presidential bid (1988)

In 1988, if Kemp had won his campaign for the United States presidency, it would have made him the first person to move from the United States House of Representatives to the White House since James Garfield. When he formed his exploratory committee, he signed Ed Rollins, Reagan's 1984 re-election political director, as an advisor. From the outset, Kemp had failed to position himself as the primary alternative to Vice President Bush. Except for a select few cognoscenti, the general public did not recognize Kemp's leadership ability, although he was a successful man of ideas. In fact, most of the Republican electorate found themselves unfamiliar with Kemp early in his campaign. Political pundits recognized him, however, as a visionary idea man. In addition, he was quickly perceived as a verbose speaker who sometimes lost contact with his audience. Although Kemp tried to appeal to conservatives, his libertarian philosophies of tolerance and individual rights and his commitment to supporting minorities, women, blue-collar workers and organized labor clashed with conservative voters' social and religious values. To Democrats, Kemp's free-market philosophies were a form of laissez-faire anarchy. However, as much as Kemp wanted to minimize government's role, he acknowledged that moves toward a more laissez-faire system should be well-thought out.

After the May 1987 Gary Hart–Donna Rice scandal, a questionnaire by The New York Times requested things such as psychiatric records and access to FBI files from all 14 presidential candidates. Candidates from each party expressed opinions on both sides of the personal privacy issue, and Kemp rejected the Times inquiry as "beneath the dignity of a presidential candidate". His campaign was on an early positive course with many key early endorsements in New Hampshire, but Bush held the support of much of the Republican establishment in New York. Although he had an eclectic mix of supporters, Kemp's campaign began borrowing against anticipated Federal matching funds because it had quickly spent itself into the red, which may have been due to the use of expensive direct mail fundraising techniques. To offset his socially moderate stances, Kemp clarified his opposition to abortion, his support of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) and his support for a stronger military than that favored by Secretary of State George Shultz. To position himself as Reagan's successor, Kemp called for Shultz's resignation based on claims that Shultz had neglected freedom fighters in Afghanistan and Nicaragua and had waffled on the SDI. In an attempt to highlight his stands on key Reagan Era foreign policy initiatives, Kemp traveled in September 1987 to Costa Rica, Honduras and El Salvador to lobby the presidents of those nations against the Arias Peace Plan—a peace accord US conservatives felt too conciliatory to Central American communists. He was accompanied on the trip by 50-plus US conservative leaders.

Cabinet (1989–1993)

As a so-called "bleeding-heart conservative", Kemp was a logical choice for Bush as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, whose job would be to foster public sector and private sector methods to meet the demands of public housing. However, the scandals of Reagan's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Samuel Pierce and the neglect of the president were obstacles from the start, and Kemp was unsuccessful at either of his major initiatives: enacting enterprise zones and promoting public housing tenant ownership. The goal of these two plans was to change public housing into tenant-owned residences and to lure industry and business into inner cities with federal incentives. Although Kemp did not affect much policy as HUD's director, he cleaned up HUD's reputation, and developed a plan to salvage the Federal Housing Administration. He halted or revamped certain programs and developed an antidrug offensive, which enabled him to collaborate with Director of the National Drug Control Policy Bill Bennett. He supported "Operation Clean Sweep" and similar movements to prohibit firearm possession in public housing.

Although Kemp coaxed Bush to support a $4 billion housing program that encouraged public housing tenants to buy their own apartments, the Democratic Congress allocated only $361 million to the plan. In addition to opposition in Congress, Kemp fought White House Budget Director Richard Darman, who opposed Kemp's pet project HOPE (Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere). The project involved selling public housing to its tenants. Darman also opposed Kemp's proposed welfare adjustment of government offsets. HOPE was first proposed to White House chief of staff John Sununu in June 1989 to create enterprise zones, increase subsidies for low-income renters, expand social services for the homeless and elderly, and enact tax changes to help first-time home buyers. Sununu opposed it at first as did most of the Cabinet, but in August 1990 Sununu, at the urging of United States Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, encouraged President Bush to endorse Kemp's Economic Empowerment Task Force. However, the Persian Gulf War and the budget negotiations overshadowed Kemp's new project. Darman battled Kemp and his allies such as Gingrich, James Pinkerton, and Vin Weber. The budget left him with $256 million for his plan, which Kemp increased during some appropriations battles. Soon after Clayton Yeutter was appointed chief White House domestic policy advisor, Kemp's Economic Empowerment Task Force was abolished.

President Bush avoided federal antipoverty issues, and instead used Kemp to speak on the administration's low priority conservative activist agenda. Bush's contribution to the urban agenda had been volunteerism through his "Points of Light" theme, and Kemp received stronger support for his ideas from presidential candidate Bill Clinton. By the time of the Los Angeles riots of 1992, Bush was a bit late in supporting enterprise zones, tenant ownership and welfare reform: Mort Zuckerman compared Bush's vision on racial issues to that of a man riding backwards in a railroad car. Nonetheless, the riots made Kemp a focal point of the administration, even though at first, Kemp had been overlooked. However, Charles E. Schumer had probably summarized the prospects of Kemp's success in advance best when he said in 1989, "Good ideas with money can do a whole lot. Good ideas without money aren't probably going to do a whole lot," and the issue here was the decision not to fund Kemp's ideas. Although Kemp was unable to procure money for his visions, he was among the administration's leading users of first class corporate jets. He cited lingering effects from a knee injury as the reason he had to fly first class at government expense as the Housing Secretary.

Post-HUD years (1993–1996)

Kemp gave public speeches for $35,000 apiece between his time as Housing Secretary and his vice presidential nomination. By 1994, Kemp had embarked on 241 fund-raising dinners to raise $35 million for a 1996 presidential bid and to pay off his 1988 campaign debts. After stepping down from his $189,000 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development job, Kemp personally earned $6.9 million in the next three years, primarily for speaking on behalf of local Republican candidates. During the Super Bowl XXVIII festivities, Kemp hosted a notable fundraiser series.

Kemp was considered the star of the 1992 Republican National Convention. In 1992 and 1993, Kemp was considered the favorite or co-favorite for the 1996 presidential nomination. At the time of the 1994 mid-term elections, Kemp was widely anticipated to announce his candidacy for 1996, and his supporters wanted a formal announcement by the end of the year. In January 1995, Kemp's stated reason for not entering the 1996 Republican Party presidential primaries was that his personal beliefs were out of balance with the contemporary Republican political landscape: Kemp opposed term limits, he always preferred tax cuts to anything resembling a balanced budget amendment and, unlike most Republicans, favored federal incentives to combat urban poverty. In 1995, Gloria Borger noted Kemp was not in step with the 1994 Contract with America. Kemp also noted a distaste for the fundraising necessary for a presidential campaign. Gergen stated that by 1996 the selection process had become so expensive, mean and personally invasive that it discouraged several top Republicans from running.

Senate Majority Leader Dole and Gingrich appointed Kemp to head a tax reform commission, (the Kemp Commission), in response to voter concern that the tax code had become too complicated. Kemp championed many issues including the flat tax, which he formally proposed after he was appointed. The proposal included some politically popular income tax deductions, such as mortgage interest, but it remained fairly general. Among the 1996 Republican Party candidates, both Steve Forbes and Phil Gramm proposed the flat tax.

During the campaign, Kemp's endorsement was highly coveted. Forbes had tried to get Kemp to run in the 1996 campaign, but Kemp declined and in fact endorsed Forbes just as Dole was closing in on the nomination, and just after Dole gained the endorsements of former contenders Lamar Alexander and Richard Lugar. Some feel the primary reason for the endorsement was to keep the flat tax idea and other supply-side views alive. Many thought Kemp had destroyed his own political future with the endorsement, and Kemp profusely apologized to Dole's campaign offices. After it became clear Dole would be the nominee, Kemp attempted to form a bipartisan seminar with Felix Rohatyn to produce a fiscal plan that could be endorsed by both parties.

Vice presidential nomination (1996)

Kemp had a reputation as the highest-profile progressive Republican. When Dole declined an invitation to speak to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, he suggested Kemp as a substitute even before Kemp had become the vice presidential nominee. On August 5, 1996, Dole announced a 15% across-the-board tax cut in response to both the Forbes campaign and Kemp's tax reform commission. Several of Dole's other campaign ideas came from Kemp and Bill Bennett's Empower America, which had Jeane Kirkpatrick, Weber, Forbes and Alexander as principals. For example, Dole borrowed Kirkpatrick's tough foreign policy, Bennett's "right conduct" and even Alexander's school choice interest.

Bennett declined the offer to be Dole's running mate but suggested Kemp, a man described as Dole's antagonist. On August 16, 1996, the Republican Party chose Kemp as its vice presidential nominee, running alongside former Senator Dole. Kemp was seen as a means to attract conservative and libertarian-minded voters like those of tough nomination-challengers Forbes and Pat Buchanan. Kemp was chosen over Connie Mack, John McCain, and Carroll Campbell, and it is assumed that this was partly because Kemp had several former staffers in influential positions as Dole's senior advisors. Dole had had a long history of representing the budget-balancing faction of the Party, while Kemp had had a long history of representing the tax-cutting advocates, and Kemp's tax-cutting fiscal track record was seen as the perfect fit for the ticket. When Kemp became Dole's running mate in 1996, they appeared on the cover of the August 19, 1996, issue of Time magazine, but the pair barely edged out a story on the reported discovery of extraterrestrial life on Mars; Time inset the latter on the cover and wrote about how difficult the decision was.

The two politicians had a storied history stemming from alternative perspectives and objectives. Dole was a longstanding conservative deficit hawk who had even voted against John F. Kennedy's tax cuts, while Kemp was an outspoken supply-sider. In the early 1980s, according to David Stockman, Kemp persuaded Reagan to make a 30% across-the-board tax cut a central 1980 presidential campaign feature. Once Reagan was elected, Dole was the Senate Finance Committee chairman who Kemp claims resisted the plan every step of the way. Dole concedes he expressed reservations about the 1981 plan. The big confrontation came after the tax plan was approved and after Dole subsequently proposed tax increases that he referred to as reforms. Kemp was vocal in his opposition to the reforms and even penned an op-ed piece in The New York Times, which enraged Dole. Reagan supported the reforms at Dole's request, causing Kemp to summon allies to meetings to stop the act, which eventually passed in 1982. At the 1984 Republican National Convention, Kemp, along with allies such as Gingrich and Lott, added a plank to the party platform that put President Reagan on record as ruling out tax increases. Gingrich called this action "Dole proofing" the platform, and the plank passed over Dole's opposition. Then, in 1985, Dole proposed an austere budget that barely passed in the Senate with appendectomy patient Pete Wilson casting the tying vote and Vice President Bush casting the deciding vote. In meetings with the president that excluded Dole, Kemp reworked the budget to exclude crucial Social Security cutbacks. This is said to have been Dole's most crushing political defeat and to have contributed to the Republican loss of control of the Senate. During the 1988 presidential election, the two antagonized each other. After Bush won and Kemp left Congress for the Cabinet, the two did not really cross paths again until 1996, when Kemp endorsed Dole's opponent Forbes on the eve of the New York Primary in March.

Late career

In 1993, Kemp, Bennett, Kirkpatrick and financial backer Theodore Forstmann co-founded the free market advocacy group Empower America, which later merged with Citizens for a Sound Economy to form Freedom Works. Empower America represented the populist wing of the party: while avoiding divisive issues such as abortion and gay rights, it promoted free markets and growth over balancing the budget and cutting the deficit. He resigned as co-chairman of Freedom Works in March 2005 after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) questioned his ties to Samir Vincent, a Northern Virginia oil trader implicated in the U.N. Oil-for-food scandal who pleaded guilty to four criminal charges, including illegally acting as an unregistered lobbyist of the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. Testimony about Kemp became prominent in the trial. FBI informant Richard Fino tied Kemp to James Cosentino just weeks before the 1996 election.

By 1996, Kemp had been named a director of six corporate boards. He was a director for Hawk Corporation, IDT Corporation, CNL Hotels and Resorts, InPhonic, Cyrix Corporation and American Bankers Insurance Group. Kemp briefly served on the board of Oracle Corporation, whose CEO was his friend Larry Ellison, in 1996, but resigned when he ran for vice president; he was named to the board of Six Flags, Inc. in December 2005. Kemp opted not to stand for re-election to IDT's board in 2006. He also served on the Habitat for Humanity board of directors, and served on the board of Atlanta-based software maker EzGov Inc. Kemp also served on the board of directors of Election.com, which was the private company that ran the world's first election on the internet (won by Al Gore), the 2000 Arizona Democratic Primary. Kemp was also a business partner with Edra and Tim Blixseth promoting membership in the elite private ski and golf Yellowstone Club. Kemp also partnered with the Blixseths in a failed anti-terrorism software venture called Blxware which was investigated for "conning" the federal government out of $20 million in contracts for software which fraudulently claimed to detect secret messages from Al-Qaeda in television broadcast signals. Kemp was the founder and chairman of Kemp Partners, a strategic consulting firm that helps clients achieve both business and public policy goals.

In addition to corporate boards of directors, Kemp served on several advisory boards such as the UCLA School of Public Policy Advisory Board, and the Toyota Diversity Advisory Board as well as the Howard University Board of Trustees, on which he served since 1993. On March 25, 2003, Kemp was selected as chairman of the board of Directors of USA Football, a national advocacy group for amateur football created by the National Football League (NFL) and the NFL Players Association. The organization supports Pop Warner, American Youth Football, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, National Recreation and Park Association, Police Athletic League, YMCA, and the Amateur Athletic Union. He was also vice president of NFL Charities.

Illness and death

On January 7, 2009, Kemp's office issued a statement announcing that he had cancer; the type of cancer and the anticipated treatment were not announced. His diagnosis and prognosis were never publicly disclosed. He continued to serve as chairman of his Washington-based Kemp Partners consulting firm and continued his involvement in charitable and political work until his death.

On May 2, 2009, Kemp died from cancer at his home in Bethesda, Maryland, at the age of 73. President Barack Obama praised Kemp's work on race, adding that Kemp understood that divisions involving race and class stood in the way of the country's common goals, and former President George W. Bush said that Kemp "will be remembered for his significant contributions to the Reagan Revolution and his steadfast dedication to conservative principles during his long and distinguished career in public service." It was later revealed that Kemp probably had melanoma.

Legacy

Kemp's legacy includes the Kemp–Roth Tax Cut of the 1980s, also known as the first of two "Reagan tax cuts." These served as the foundation of supply-side economics, known as Reaganomics. Many Republicans have endorsed this Laffer Curve view that tax cuts can spur economic growth and reduce deficits. Although George H. W. Bush called this philosophy voodoo economics, George W. Bush and his Treasury Secretary, John W. Snow, were believers. Kemp is also remembered alongside George Wallace and William Jennings Bryan for influencing history by changing the direction of presidential elections despite their defeats.

In the early 21st century, Kemp continued to be considered along with Reagan as the politician most responsible for the implementation of supply-side tax cuts and along with Steve Forbes as the political figure most responsible for their continued place in the marketplace of political ideas. He has been described as a beacon of economic conservatism and a hero for his urban agenda. Today, he continues to be described as a hero to fiscal conservatives who believe that free markets and low taxes work better than government bureaucracies. Kemp was considered the leader of the progressive conservatives who are socially conservative, but avoid protectionist fiscal and trade policy.

In addition to Roth, he has had numerous political allies. At times, he collaborated with Gingrich and Lott on deregulation and tax cuts, collaborated with McCain and Phil Gramm on tax cuts and spending restraints, legislated with and campaigned for Joseph Lieberman, and fought poverty with James Pinkerton. Pete du Pont was a progressive conservative ally. After retiring from Congress and serving in the Cabinet, Kemp remained close to Gingrich, Lott, Weber, and Mack. Kemp was a member of the federal committee to promote Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday. As a progressive voter, he had civil rights leaders such as Benjamin Hooks, Andrew Young and Coretta Scott King and conservative black intellectuals like Glenn C. Loury and Robert L. Woodson as supporters and friends. He boasted of having Democratic friends such as William H. Gray III, Charles B. Rangel and Robert Garcia. Ken Blackwell was a Deputy Secretary under Kemp. During the Reagan presidency, when Kemp was able to effect tax cutting, a leading United States Senate tax-cutting proponent was Democrat Bill Bradley, a former basketball star. Several American football players have followed Kemp to Congress, including Steve Largent, J. C. Watts, and Heath Shuler.

Congressman Paul Ryan cites Kemp as a mentor, and mentioned him in his acceptance speech as the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2012.

Books

In addition to authoring significant legislation as a congressman, Kemp wrote or co-authored several books:

An American Idea: Ending Limits to Growth, (Washington, DC: American Studies Center, 1984, no ISBN)

Tax policy and the economy : a debate between Michael Harrington and Representative Jack Kemp, April 25, 1979., (New York, N.Y. : Institute for Democratic Socialism, 1979, no ISBN)

An American Renaissance: Strategy for the 1980s, (ISBN 0-06-012283-8, Harper & Row, 1979)

The IRS v. The People, (ISBN 0-891-95077-X, Heritage Books, 2005) Authored by Ken Blackwell and edited by Kemp

Trusting the People : The Dole-Kemp Plan to Free the Economy and Create a Better America, (ISBN 0-694-51804-2 audiobook, ASIN B000OEV5RE HarperCollins, 1996) coauthored with Bob Dole, narrated by Christine Todd Whitman

Together We Can Meet the Challenge : Winning the Fight Against Drugs, (ISBN 9780788102721, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1994)

Pro Sports: Should the Government Intervene?, (ISBN 9780844720975, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1977)

U.S. By the Numbers: What's Left, Right & Wrong with America, (ISBN 9781892123145, Capital Books, Incorporated, 2000) with Raymond J. Keating, and Thomas N. Edmonds

Our Communities, Our Homes: Pathways to Housing and Homeownership in America's Cities and States, (ISBN 9780976148111, Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2007) with Henry G. Cisneros, Kent W. Colton, and Nicolas P. Retsinas

Kemp also wrote the foreword to several books:

Papers

Jack Kemp papers, 1924–2009 (bulk 1963–1996); Archived November 22, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. 118,500 items. Held by the Library of Congress.