Jack Kemp

One of the lights of liberty has gone out.

Jack Kemp’s contributions to the cause of limited government are overshadowed by the accomplishments of President Ronald Regan. We must realize that President Regan was “able to see far for he stood on the shoulders of giants”. Jack Kemp was one of those giants.

Jack Kemp’s obituary in the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-jack-kemp3-2009may03,0,2173172.story

I think that this paragraph from the above obituary describes Jack Kemp’s place in history:

• 
  The congressman was the leading architect of the Kemp-Roth tax bill, first proposed in 1978 with Sen. William Roth of Delaware, that proposed a 30% cut in federal taxes over three years. Kemp's 1979 book, "American Renaissance: A Strategy for the 1980s," contained what became known as Reaganomics during Ronald Reagan's presidency and helped redefine the GOP's economic identity.
• 
  "Jack more than any other person made Reagan aware of the potential appeal of supply-side economics, but Reagan probably would have come to that conclusion on his own because that's where the Republicans were headed," said Reagan's biographer Lou Cannon.

Jack Kemp was considered an extremist and an eccentric for his belief in reduced taxation. This was during the Carter Administration when government expansion was rampant. After Regan was elected Kemp’ views were considered mainstream.

We have lost many of the leaders, spokesmen and scholars who believed in limited government and personal freedom. To fill their place are their colleagues, readers and students. At one time there were only a few voices shining a light into the darkness, now there are millions of advocates who will carry on their legacy.