What The GOP Can Learn From Jack Kemp’s Legacy?
This past weekend, Jack Kemp succumbed to cancer in Bethesda, MD. Before politics, Kemp was drafted into the NFL in 1957 at a time when integration was just taking root. As a player, he was often privy to the mistreatment of his fellow African American players. His early experience of observing the exclusion of his minority teammates shaped his future political platform. Kemp served in the House from 1971 – 1989 and was seen as a rising star in the GOP during the Reagan years. He eventually ran for president against Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush in 1988. As a politician, he urged his party to reach out to minority voters. In a 1997 appearance on Meet The Press he called race “the single most important issue facing America at the turn of the century and the millennium. He continued by adding, “I would like to see an America where black and white actually listen to each other. I want to see the Republican Party in this debate.” Although he ran unsuccessfully as the Vice Presiden