Shortly after 6:00 in the evening Saturday, May 2, Jack Kemp passed away from cancer. I have met him on several occasions, heard him speak many times at various political events, fundrasisers or as a pundit on television and have always appreciated his approach to race, politics and life.
When I ran for the state house in 1994, I was fortunate to attend the Lincoln Day Dinner in St. Paul where Jack Kemp was the keynote speaker. I met him afterward and had a picture taken with him, which I used in my campaign literature. To be associated with Mr. Kemp was, in my view, a good thing. He believed in people and would not let others dictate to whom, what or where he could take his message. He refused to be put in a box, labeled and put aside as just another conservative.
I have often told my friends that the Republican Party can not be seen as the "white-male party" if it is to prosper. This is not to say the Party must change its focus. Indeed, the fact that we lost focus on what it means to be the party of limited government is among the reasons Republicans lost power in 2006 and 2008. But limited government means more than lower taxes and lower spending. It also means granting government the ability to right injustices and create an environment where everyone can share in the opportunity to succeed - or fail - based on their merit rather than the color of their skin or their postal code.
Jack Kemp understood this and it made Republicans uncomfortable. He pushed the party to offer a contrasting vision for inner cities rather than the continued welfare-state policies of the Democratic Party in the 80's and 90's. He was one of the few conservatives who could talk about racial issues without being divisive, incendiary or condescending.
I hope my party's leaders take a moment to appreciate and understand just what Jack Kemp had been trying to communicate for the past 30 years. I know I did on that night in St. Paul and it has guided me over the past 15 years. Rest in peace, Jack, you played well.
