Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

By Bruce Walker

1980 is yesterday for some of
us, a long time ago for others of us, and the misty realm of medieval history
for others of us.  But history and the list of decision that history
represents is our future.  In 1980, Congressman Jack Kemp was one of the
major front-runners to be Ronald Reagan’s running mate.   James
Roberts, President of Radio America and Executive Director of the American
Conservative Union from 1974 to 1977, has written a wonderful “insider” article
in the May 20 issue of Human Events which explains why Jack Kemp was not Ronald
Reagan’s running mate.  As luck would have it, I had just finished this
article on the impact of Jack Kemp as Ronald Reagan’s running mate in 1980.

How would history have changed
if Reagan and picked – insisted, really – that Jack Kemp be his running
mate?  Congressman Kemp at this time had just celebrated his 41^st
Birthday:  he was young, handsome, energetic, articulate, and
friendly.  Jack Kemp, like Ronald Reagan, had been a union
president.  Kemp, like Reagan, was a famous and popular success long
before entering politics, a quarterback who led his team to
championships.  His congressional district, a traditional Democrat
stronghold, re-elected him easily time after time.  In a way unlike any other
Republican except for Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp had a close and natural
connection with ordinary Americans.

But there was much more to Kemp
than that, just like there was much more to Reagan than the Left ever
imagined.  Both men were voracious readers, serious thinkers, students of
history, and masters of language.  It was a mark of their genius that so
many Americans viewed them as ordinary, average Americans. 

Would the ticket have won in
1980?  Both these strong, pleasant conservatives were bulletproof on personal
issues, clear in their message, articulate in its presentation, and natural
talents before the television camera.  As that election went, Carter only
carried five states.  Kemp was a much better debater and campaigner than
George H. Bush.  Yes, the Reagan Landslide, if anything, would have been
greater.

The Reagan Presidency would
also have been at least as successful under Vice President Kemp as under Vice
President Bush.  Could Kemp have won the White House in 1988?  George
H. Bush, a mediocre campaigner, won 40 of the 50 states and a huge electoral
landslide.  One of the ten stated Dukakis carried was New York, Jack
Kemp’s home state, but he carried it in a squeaker.  Not only would Kemp
have crushed Dukakis, but this very popular New York congressman probably would
have won by a huger landslide, carrying New York as well. 

A Kemp Presidency would have
been much different from a Bush Presidency.  Jack Kemp, already young and
handsome, would have chosen someone besides Dan Quayle as his running
mate.  Howard Baker would never have been mocked like Quayle was.  If
either Governor Deukmajian or Senator Wilson from California had been Kemp’s
running mater, Kemp would have not only won in 1988 but 1992 as well.

What would Kemp have
done?  He would have continued, for eight more years, the Reagan
Revolution.  There would have been no tax increases, which cost Bush the
support of Perot voters and many conservative Republicans, as well as economic
prosperity in the 1992 election season.  The Reagan Boom would have
continued for at least sixteen years.

Kemp would never have nominated
David Souter to the Supreme Court.  He would have nominated good men and
women until a true conservative was on the bench.  Jack Kemp, as president
from 1993 to 1997, would not have nominated Stephen Breyer or Ruth Bader
Ginsburg.  The Supreme Court today would have seven strong conservatives,
one wobbly moderate, and John Paul Stevens.  How different would American
social history have been with that sort of Supreme Court?

Kemp was more concerned with
economic and domestic policy than Bush, but he was a strong
anti-communist.  The Berlin Wall fell because of Reagan, not of
Bush.  The Soviet Empire collapsed because of Reagan, not of Bush. 
What Kemp might have done, and which Bush did not, is use the Tiananmen Square
popular revolt against the rulers of China and transform that into a genuine
and unstoppable freedom movement.  How different would the world be today,
if China was a pro-Western democracy like the Czech Republic?

The economy, the Supreme Court,
and our national security would all have been much better off in 1997 under
sixteen years of the Reagan Revolution than under four years of Bush and then
four years of Clinton.  Perhaps, though, the greatest victory would have
been for conservatism itself.  Jack Kemp would not have purged the
Executive Branch of true conservatives like Bush did.  He would have
elevated them, given them experience and exposure.  He would have groomed
them to lead the conservative movement after he left the White House.  In
this happy, friendly man, Americans would have seen much of what they loved in
Reagan.  If Kemp had been picked in 1980, the Reagan Revolution become in
1981 would probably have ended in total victory twelve years ago. 

 ________________________________________________________________________

Bruce Walker is the author of
two books:  Sinisterism: Secular Religion of the Lie, and his
recently published book, The Swastika against the Cross: The Nazi War on
Christianity.

http://outskirtspress.com/swastika_against_the_cross  

http://outskirtspress.com/Sinisterism

                   © 2009 Bruce Walker — All Rights Reserved