The definitive biography of Jack Kemp, and why his legacy matters to today’s GOP.
As today’s Republicans struggle to broaden their base and promote reform, some are reviving the legacy of Jack Kemp, one of the most important Republicans of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
Kemp approached politics the same way he played quarterback for the Bills: with a refusal to accept defeat. Yet he was also willing to compromise to get things done, and his commitment to the working class and minorities attracted voters who usually rejected the GOP. He was instrumental in helping Ronald Reagan create an era of sustained and widespread prosperity.
Drawing on never-published papers and the Kemp oral history project, noted journalists Morton Kondracke and Fred Barnes trace Kemp’s whole life, from his childhood through his pro football career to his unusually influential years as congressman and cabinet secretary. Despite many ups and downs, including failed presidential and vice presidential bids, Kemp proved that a “bleeding-heart conservative” could redefine what was possible in American politics.
Morton Kondracke never intended to wed Millicent Martinez, but the fiery daughter of a radical labor organizer eventually captured his heart. They married, raised two daughters, and loved and fought passionately for twenty years. Then, in 1987, Milly noticed a glitch in her handwriting, a small tremor that would lead to the shattering diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Saving Milly is Kondracke's powerfully moving chronicle of his vital and volatile marriage, one that has endured and deepened in the face of tragedy; it also follows his own transformation from careerist to caregiver and activist, a man who will "fight all the way, without pause or rest, to 'save' his beloved Milly." - (Linda Bowles, The Washington Times)
