Jack Kemp Through the Eyes of Roeser

Roeser on Kemp:

...Kemp was not unlike Karl Marx. Marx and Kemp believed strongly that man was a creature of economics and politics. But where Marx believed in the overthrow of capitalism and the inculcation of communism, Kemp believed in the sanctification of capitalism and investment leading to the overthrow of communism and the subordination of government to the free market. But both were…at their boiling points… abject materialists. At that time, Jack was quite uncomfortable mentioning or thinking of a higher purpose than a prosperous economy. I know this because we talked often. This is quite different than the course followed by his loyal wife Joann who was a leader in Christian activity and a pro-life activist.

...Beyond his undeniable great grasp of the economy which was self-taught, I always felt he was trying to impress audiences that he was more than a Phy Ed major from Occidental. One other disadvantage as a candidate: trying to get him to call contributors was like pulling teeth. He seldom did it and when he did, he didn’t do it well.

In the end:

He is one of the very few great men of the U. S. House, one who could well have become president had he better control over his free-form impulses-but who was an historic legislator on economy notwithstanding that his enemies in the GOP saw to it that he never served on Ways and Means.

RIP, Jack.