I have noticed as I age my political slant is becoming more conservative.  I was a young Democrat when I stuffed envelopes for the McGovern campaign at the age of 12.  

I was a slightly older Democrat when I was in college and had to take both macro- and micro-economics to get my business degree.  It was the early 80’s and my econ professors did not like the term Reaganomics but we did spend a considerable time discussing Jack Kemp’s book, An American Renaissance: A Strategy for the 1980’s.

Others sitting in the lecture hall at WVU had little clue who Jack Kemp was.  Being from upstate NY, I was “in the know,” even if he was a Republican.  He had played football for the Buffalo Bills long before I paid attention to professional football.  He, then, parlayed that fame into a congressional seat representing the blue-collar Buffalo area for many terms.  I wanted to know more than our discussion in class.

I took Kemp’s book from the library.  I started looking for articles about him in the newspapers.  You all have to remember that the only computer class I took in college was in Basic and involved punch cards and a card reader so there was no going to the library and looking up his life and political point of view on the internet.

A year later I was graduating with a business degree and still paying some mild attention to Jack Kemp.  It was 1984 and he was still in Congress.  I had heard him speak on television but had still never heard Kemp in person.  He was still representing Buffalo but would not be for much longer.  

In 1988, Kemp opted to run for the GOP nomination for president.  I was thinking of changing parties – a move that would endear me to my father for life but one that didn’t take place.  Kemp was the one person I thought would be best for the job.  I, once again, voted for a third party candidate as neither of the two main party nominees were right in my mind.

I can look back and credit Jack Kemp for my even looking at a Republican candidate.  His, as many called it, bleeding-heart conservatism hit on more of my views, especially as I had children, than any GOP or Democratic candidate had before or has since.

My thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Kemp’s family in this time of grief.