RIP Jack Kemp

Jack Kemp played many roles after leaving professional football—congressman, presidential candidate, foot soldier of the Reagan revolution, vice presidential candidate, conservative activist, and Distinguished Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Naturally, it was in this capacity that I knew him best.

Jack’s voice was always optimistic and inclusive, one that reached out to all elements of America. At CEI, he defended free trade and an open world economy, and argued against burdensome regulation that could hinder entrepreneurship.

He believed—as we do at CEI—that the American people were not predisposed to favor the growth of Leviathan. He worked throughout his career to promote free market ideas to progressives, minorities, and traditional liberals. Jack was a conservative who believed that a more just and egalitarian society could best be achieved by free market policies. Firm in this belief, Jack was a happy warrior, always eager to speak to all and sundry with respect and grace. He will be missed.