Why Jack Kemp Was Truly Special
by Mark Shields
In my line of work you hear a lot of politicians — many whose private conduct fails to match their public posturing — declaim about their unyielding commitment to "family values." Then you cover Jack Kemp.
Don't get me wrong. I am not here to canonize Jack Kemp. I am sure he, like all of us, was imperfect. But as one who has been convinced over a lifetime of campaigns that a politician's personal integrity counts for a lot more than his public ideology, I want to ...
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Posted by: James A, Sweeney
Comment: #1
Sat May 9, 2009 6:51 AM
Sir;...Your description of most republican leaders as Dispepsic puts me to mind of an Alabama newspaper's description of Civil War confederate leader Jefferson Davis...They wrote " Mr. Davis is himself troubled with blindness, is very dispepsic and splenitic, and as prejudiced and stubborn as a man can well be, and not be well.".... The republicans are unwell...The most natural confederates make the most loyal republicans... Surely, they wave the stars and stripes, but it is stars and bars in their minds...If the Blacks will not accept slave wages, then import others who will...Then deny their rights for as long as possible...Now that the world is being taken over by natural republicans who have been long rejected by natural confederates, what are they going to do except be desolved in their own stomach acids... It would take more than a train load of antacids to make that group human for ten seconds...I Know they are Americans, but they too are blinded, shortsighted, and narrow minded...If they used their political organization to defend their rights, then that would be natural enough...To use their rights to attack all rights, and to use their power to turn the whole organization of America against humanity makes them in their dispepsia so many enemies of humanity...When those people, those republicans can say the pledge of allegiance, and mean the part about liberty and justice for all, then they will be Americans in my book...It takes more than one human being to redeem a whole party... Even Lot and his daughters could not save soddom... If you are any good, leave those confederates behind...They are beyond reclamation... Thanks...Sweeney
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Posted by: Masako
Comment: #2
Sat May 9, 2009 9:43 AM
Thanks for the reminder to look beneath the hype for the actual human being. In a way, this is a variation on the theme you wrote about in your earlier column entitled "The military-non-military split over torture. One can wear the mantle of righteousness, Democratic, Republican, ecclesiastical, or whatever, but too rarely do we pause to find the sum of actions taken by the person whose true image can be viewed in only that way. I don't know a whole lot about Jack Kemp, but thanks to you I will make it a point to study his history. Your column has done a wonderful thing in his remembrance.
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