Jack French Kemp Jr. first rose to national prominence as a standout quarterback for the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills during the 1960s, a career he followed by successfully entering politics as a Republican congressman representing the Buffalo area. He is well known for his advocacy of limited taxation and militarist U.S. foreign policies, including waging a broad “war on terror.” On the website of the Committee on the Present Danger, a Cold War-era anticommunist group revived by a number of leading neoconservative figures after 9/11, Kemp is quoted as saying, “Radical Islamists have declared war on freedom, democracy, and modernity. Their weapons are acts of terrorism. We must ask all people who cherish freedom to join us in fighting this war. It must be won and as MacArthur said, ‘There is no substitute for victory.’”1
Kemp, who served nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives starting in 1971, was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under George H.W. Bush, who had handily beat him (and many others) for the 1988 GOP presidential nomination. Kemp left government after Bush’s loss in the 1992 election, affiliating himself with a number of rightist think tanks and institutions.2
As a candidate for the GOP nomination in 1988, Kemp’s platform included starkly conservative stances on economic issues. It also included planks that would have legitimized U.S. support for “freedom fighters” such as the Nicaraguan Contras and favored the deployment of the “Star Wars” strategic missile defense system. Concerning Star Wars, Kemp said, “as important as it was to put a man on the moon at the end of the ’60s, it is more important now to defend our country and our allies in Europe and Israel.”3
In 1996, Kemp was Sen. Bob Dole’s (R-KS) choice as vice presidential running mate in their failed bid for the White House. Kemp coauthored the 1981 Kemp-Roth tax-cut legislation (the “Reagan tax cuts”), and his role as an economic advisor to 2008 Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is seen as evidence that McCain could pursue tax policies in line with Kemp’s recommendations if elected.4 In May 2008, Kemp wrote a column defending McCain’s tax platform, writing, “McCain's support for the lower marginal tax rates on capital gains and dividends is on the right side of history, as well as the right side of the electorate—no pun intended.”5 (Kemp’s 2008 support for McCain is in contrast to his opposition in 2000, when he told Frank Schaeffer, “McCain is a war maker, and I'm a peacemaker, so is George Bush. McCain would be too dangerous as president.”)6
When it came to the Iraq War, Kemp was reluctant to see the United States use military force, writing in early 2003 that “it would be a tragedy if a few War Hawks pushed us into an unnecessary invasion and occupation of an Arab country.”7 However, after the invasion, Kemp was largely supportive of Bush administration efforts in Iraq and the “war on terror,” generally limiting his criticisms to the economic realm. In 2006, he explained that, “My most serious problem is that there is no economic component to the war on terror. … I think we should be building on President Bush’s idea of a trade zone in the Islamic world, but there has to be aid and some type of hope that life can be better for women, their children, families and, as the general [Peter Pace] pointed out, some economic component that will lead to jobs and an opportunity to better one’s life, one’s condition in life.”8
Kemp remains well-connected through numerous board and think tank positions as well as through his Washington, D.C. lobbying and consulting firm, Kemp Partners, which counts among its major clients Rafael Armament Development Authority, an Israeli arms maker whose product lines include missile defense systems and unmanned aircraft.9 Kemp serves on the Board of Advisors for the militarist U.S. advocacy group Jewish Institute of National Security Affairs, which promotes strategic cooperation between the United States and Israel on a variety of antiterror and defense issues,10 and is a former fellow of both the Heritage Foundation and Hoover Institute.11 Kemp is chairman emeritus on the board of Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a neoconservative think tank founded by Clifford May shortly after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.12 He has also been chairman of the Domestic Policy Committee of the International Democratic Union, “a worldwide organization of political leaders of the ‘center-right,’ dedicated to advancing the cause of democracy, freedom and free market economics.”13
In 2005, he became co-chair (with John Edwards) of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Task Force on Russian-American Relations, which focused mainly on exploring security and energy issues between the two superpowers.14 Task force members came from across the political spectrum and included Lorne Craner of the International Republican Institute, Dov Zakheim of contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, and Michael McFaul of the Hoover Institute. In 2006, the task force concluded that “U.S.-Russian relations are clearly headed in the wrong direction.” “Contention is crowding out consensus,” the report reads. “The very idea of a 'strategic partnership' no longer seems realistic.”15 Commenting on the report, Kemp told the Inter Press Service, “On a whole host of issues—Iran, energy, HIV/AIDS, and preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction—it's vital to have Russia on our side.”16
Kemp cofounded the pro-free market Empower America in 1993 with fellow conservatives William Bennett and Jeanne Kirkpatrick. The group later merged with Citizens for a Sound Economy and was subsequently renamed FreedomWorks. The group’s reputation, and Kemp’s, was tarnished in 2007 when FBI agents investigating fraud in the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq interviewed Kemp about his ties to lobbyist and oil businessman Samir Vincent. Vincent, who pled guilty to violating U.S. sanctions on Iraq, was listed in a FreedomWorks press release as a member of a committee Kemp had formed to develop a “21st century Marshall Plan” for economic development in the Middle East.17 Kemp is no longer listed as a FreedomWorks board member.
After leaving office, Kemp made a reputation for himself—as well as a fortune—by leveraging his Washington connections into lucrative board seats and joining entrepreneurs with venture capitalists. “I introduce companies to people who have access to capital,” he told the New York Times in 1999. “I'm involved in start-ups, in speed-ups. While I don't consider myself an expert, I can open doors and make introductions.”18 As the Times reported, “Financiers say Mr. Kemp's advice is invaluable. ‘Only recently has Silicon Valley realized government exercises a big role,’ said Joseph G. Fogg 3rd, a venture capitalist and Empower America board member.” That board, the Times reported, was “filled with top names in private equity.”19 Boards that Kemp sits on include Oracle, Hawk Corporation, Free Market Global, and G2 Satellite Solutions.20
Born in Los Angeles, Kemp made large donations to Pepperdine University, a Christian school where his late brother served on the Board of Regents, to found the Jack F. Kemp Institute for Political Economy. As the institute’s nascent website describes it, “The Pepperdine School of Public Policy's unique commitment to American democracy, free markets, and Judeo-Christian values makes it a fitting home for an important part of the Kemp legacy.”21
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Affiliations22
Committee on the Present Danger: Member
Jewish Institute of National Security Affairs (JINSA): Board of Advisors
Foundation for Defense of Democracies: Board Chairman Emeritus
Council on Foreign Relations: Co-Chair, Council Task Force on Russian-American Relations
Townhall.com: Contributing Columnist
International Democratic Union: Former Committee Chair
Empower America: Cofounder (1993)
Heritage Foundation: Former Distinguished Fellow, Lecturer
Hoover Institute: Former Visiting Fellow
Private Sector23
Kemp Partners: Founder, Chairman
Free Market Global: Board of Directors
G2 Satellite Solutions: Advisory board Member
SmartCOP: Board Member
Oracle: Board Member
Epoch Innovations: Board Member
Hawk Corporation: Board Member
IDT Telecom: Board Member
ING Americas: Board member
Thayer Capital: Advisory Board Member
Thomas Weisel Partners: Advisory Board Member
Government Service
Department of Housing and Urban Development: Secretary (1989-1993)
House of Representatives: Republican Congressman for New York (1971-1988)
Education
Occidental College
Date of Birth
July 13, 1935
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