What do you think?
Rate this book
Jack Kemp: The Bleeding-Heart Conservative Who Changed America
"THE PURPOSE OF POLITICS IS NOT TO DEFEAT YOUR OPPONENT AS MUCH AS IT IS TO PROVIDE SUPERIOR LEADERSHIP AND BETTER IDEAS THAN THE OPPOSITION." —JACK KEMP
The late 1970s were miserable for America. It was the post–Vietnam, post–Watergate era, a time of high unemployment, ruinous inflation, gasoline lines, Communist advances, and bottomed-out U.S. morale. In the 1980s, it all turned around: "stagflation" ended and nearly two decades of prosperity ensued. The Soviet Union retreated, then collapsed. America again believed in itself. And around the world, democratic capitalism was deemed "the end of history."
Ronald Reagan’s policies sparked the American renaissance, but the Gipper’s leadership is only part of the story. The economic theory that underpinned America’s success was pioneered by a star professional quarterback turned self-taught intellectual and "bleeding-heart conservative": Jack Kemp.
Kemp’s role in a pivotal period in American history is at last illuminated in this first-ever biography, which also has lessons for the politics of today. Kemp was the congressional champion of supply-side economics—the idea that lowering taxes would foster growth. Even today, almost no one advocates a return to a top income tax rate of 70 percent.
Kemp didn’t just challenge the Democratic establishment. He also encouraged his fellow Republicans to be growth (not austerity) minded, open their tent to minorities and blue-collar workers, battle poverty and discrimination, and once again become "the party of Lincoln."
Kemp approached politics the same way he played quarterback for the Buffalo Bills: with a refusal to accept defeat. Yet he also was incapable of personal attack, arguing always on the level of ideas. He regarded opponents as adversaries, not enemies, and often cooperated with them to get things done. Despite many ups and downs, including failed presidential and vice-presidential bids, he represented a positive, idealistic, compassionate Republicanism.
Drawing on never-published papers and more than one hundred Kemp Oral History Project interviews, noted journalists Morton Kondracke and Fred Barnes trace Kemp’s life, from his childhood through his pro football career to his influential years as a congressman and cabinet secretary.
As the American Dream seems to be waning and polarized politics stifles Washington, Kemp is a model for what politics ought to be. The Republican party and the nation are in desperate need of another Kemp.
From the Hardcover edition.
The late 1970s were miserable for America. It was the post–Vietnam, post–Watergate era, a time of high unemployment, ruinous inflation, gasoline lines, Communist advances, and bottomed-out U.S. morale. In the 1980s, it all turned around: "stagflation" ended and nearly two decades of prosperity ensued. The Soviet Union retreated, then collapsed. America again believed in itself. And around the world, democratic capitalism was deemed "the end of history."
Ronald Reagan’s policies sparked the American renaissance, but the Gipper’s leadership is only part of the story. The economic theory that underpinned America’s success was pioneered by a star professional quarterback turned self-taught intellectual and "bleeding-heart conservative": Jack Kemp.
Kemp’s role in a pivotal period in American history is at last illuminated in this first-ever biography, which also has lessons for the politics of today. Kemp was the congressional champion of supply-side economics—the idea that lowering taxes would foster growth. Even today, almost no one advocates a return to a top income tax rate of 70 percent.
Kemp didn’t just challenge the Democratic establishment. He also encouraged his fellow Republicans to be growth (not austerity) minded, open their tent to minorities and blue-collar workers, battle poverty and discrimination, and once again become "the party of Lincoln."
Kemp approached politics the same way he played quarterback for the Buffalo Bills: with a refusal to accept defeat. Yet he also was incapable of personal attack, arguing always on the level of ideas. He regarded opponents as adversaries, not enemies, and often cooperated with them to get things done. Despite many ups and downs, including failed presidential and vice-presidential bids, he represented a positive, idealistic, compassionate Republicanism.
Drawing on never-published papers and more than one hundred Kemp Oral History Project interviews, noted journalists Morton Kondracke and Fred Barnes trace Kemp’s life, from his childhood through his pro football career to his influential years as a congressman and cabinet secretary.
As the American Dream seems to be waning and polarized politics stifles Washington, Kemp is a model for what politics ought to be. The Republican party and the nation are in desperate need of another Kemp.
From the Hardcover edition.
Audio CD
First published July 14, 2015
13 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Read
January 5, 2016Jack Kemp—pro quarterback, GOP congressman from New York, and one-time vice-presidential nominee—throws into sharp relief the nature of conservatism’s evolution, or rather its de-evolution. It’s no coincidence that a growing number of politicians are examining Kemp—more precisely, his unorthodox record—at a moment when the Republican Party finds itself roaring forward on the local and state levels but slipping up on the national stage.
That’s the jumping off point for this first biography of Kemp, by veteran journalists Morton Kondracke and Fred Barnes. Jack Kemp is excellently written and expertly researched, an invaluable addition to the historiography of the Reagan years.
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...
That’s the jumping off point for this first biography of Kemp, by veteran journalists Morton Kondracke and Fred Barnes. Jack Kemp is excellently written and expertly researched, an invaluable addition to the historiography of the Reagan years.
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...
January 31, 2017
I recently finished Jack Kemp: The Bleeding -Heart Conservative Who Changed America. The story of a young man full of big ideas and strong determination to change America for the better, it is almost a modern-day Mr. Smith Goes to Washington — and sadly it pretty much ends the same way.
I will start off by sharing that I’m not a big fan of political biographies because biographers have a compulsion to put their subject matter in context — to identify who the successor to their mantle is and project a great deal of thinking to help make their writing more relevant to the modern reader. I think that these efforts often detract from the actual story — it’s almost as if the writer is so busy trying to show you where you’re going that you don’t spend enough time learning about how you got there.
For my part, this was a fascinating, if largely one-sided, look at a period of political history that wasn’t really covered during my studies. Whether it was too close to home or the finer aspects of Kemp’s story don’t jibe with the larger stories that are told about this period, you just don’t learn much about the development of the supply-side movement and, if for no other reason, this book is worth your time.
The other frustration I have with political biographies is that they are usually written so that everyone can “claim” something from the story, no matter how much those lessons contradict one another. I expect readers will come away with this story with vastly different conclusions about Kemp’s political history. Leaders who embrace chaos will look at how much he was able to accomplish while administrators who favor order will shake their head and lament how much more he could have achieved if he could have accepted more order in how he carried on his business. Conservatives will see a fiscal leader and proof that compassionate conservatism is compatible with sound fiscal policy while liberals will see a “good guy” with the right ideas who just couldn’t find purchase for them inside the conservative movement.
Outside of learning a great deal about the development of the supply side economics movement in the United States, the authors did a good job of showing the man behind the policies and sharing what motivations drove him forward and shaped his views. Read against the backdrop of the current political climate, it’s hard to see how Kemp’s efforts could be seen as a success — balanced budgets are the watchword of Republican fiscal policy and free trade as a concept is about the hardest sell in American politics today.
Kemp would encourage those who believe in these ideas to keep on fighting. The force of his personality would probably be enough to keep people moving forward. The world of social media and the 24 hour news cycle is a difficult crucible for the politics of ideas. Those who find a way to master that challenge and move their ideas forward in spite of the challenges our modern media presents will be the Jack Kemps of the next generation.
I will start off by sharing that I’m not a big fan of political biographies because biographers have a compulsion to put their subject matter in context — to identify who the successor to their mantle is and project a great deal of thinking to help make their writing more relevant to the modern reader. I think that these efforts often detract from the actual story — it’s almost as if the writer is so busy trying to show you where you’re going that you don’t spend enough time learning about how you got there.
For my part, this was a fascinating, if largely one-sided, look at a period of political history that wasn’t really covered during my studies. Whether it was too close to home or the finer aspects of Kemp’s story don’t jibe with the larger stories that are told about this period, you just don’t learn much about the development of the supply-side movement and, if for no other reason, this book is worth your time.
The other frustration I have with political biographies is that they are usually written so that everyone can “claim” something from the story, no matter how much those lessons contradict one another. I expect readers will come away with this story with vastly different conclusions about Kemp’s political history. Leaders who embrace chaos will look at how much he was able to accomplish while administrators who favor order will shake their head and lament how much more he could have achieved if he could have accepted more order in how he carried on his business. Conservatives will see a fiscal leader and proof that compassionate conservatism is compatible with sound fiscal policy while liberals will see a “good guy” with the right ideas who just couldn’t find purchase for them inside the conservative movement.
Outside of learning a great deal about the development of the supply side economics movement in the United States, the authors did a good job of showing the man behind the policies and sharing what motivations drove him forward and shaped his views. Read against the backdrop of the current political climate, it’s hard to see how Kemp’s efforts could be seen as a success — balanced budgets are the watchword of Republican fiscal policy and free trade as a concept is about the hardest sell in American politics today.
Kemp would encourage those who believe in these ideas to keep on fighting. The force of his personality would probably be enough to keep people moving forward. The world of social media and the 24 hour news cycle is a difficult crucible for the politics of ideas. Those who find a way to master that challenge and move their ideas forward in spite of the challenges our modern media presents will be the Jack Kemps of the next generation.
September 17, 2021
I picked this up because I'm going to a lunch featuring one of the authors as a speaker.
My primary fear was that this book would be fawning, which it is not. Kemp was a great leader in many ways, but a deeply flawed human being in others. The book covers that fairly, making it an interesting read. There's lots of inside baseball, mostly with regard to 1980's politics, and I liked that. There's plenty of material that is only available now because 30 years have gone by.
Probably the most startling thing this book reminds us is that in the '80s the Republicans were arguing about attacking a $25B annual deficit (~$40B in today's dollars). Today we're running a $100B MONTHLY deficit.
My primary fear was that this book would be fawning, which it is not. Kemp was a great leader in many ways, but a deeply flawed human being in others. The book covers that fairly, making it an interesting read. There's lots of inside baseball, mostly with regard to 1980's politics, and I liked that. There's plenty of material that is only available now because 30 years have gone by.
Probably the most startling thing this book reminds us is that in the '80s the Republicans were arguing about attacking a $25B annual deficit (~$40B in today's dollars). Today we're running a $100B MONTHLY deficit.
April 1, 2016
More an exaltation of supply side economics than it is a biography. And a dreadfully unpersuasive one at that. Kemp comes off as a likable good guy, but, come on, supply side theory has proved to be pure baloney time and time again. This book is not going to persuade doubters--in fact, it hardly tries, instead preaching to the already converted choir.
The prose itself is OK, I guess, hence the two-star rating.
The prose itself is OK, I guess, hence the two-star rating.
July 22, 2018
Being from the Buffalo area, Jack Kemp has always been a personal favorite. This is an excellent biography of non-president who was able to significantly influence the direction of government. We could use more elected officials like him today.
November 30, 2020
Didn't realize until I read the book the personal flaws Kemp had -- including an inability to compromise and a desire to be as long-winded as possible in his speeches. His attempts to come up with free-enterprise solutions for the urban poor were admirable though they never really took root.
July 21, 2025
Jack Kemp was one of the leading architects of Asmerica's economic renewal in the late 70s and early 80s. The original bleeding heart conservative, his ideas helped transform America from the depths of despair to the heights of optimism. This important book tells his inspiring story.
June 24, 2019
Absolute fabulous!
May 22, 2021
This book could have been half the length and I would have gotten the information.
November 1, 2022
Some interesting sections, but the book really bogged down in its seemingly endless discussion of tax policy.
April 17, 2024
The authors give an objective view of Jack Kemp. Interesting and easy to read. Recommend for people who like history and politics.
March 4, 2017
I stumbled onto this book, as the author was presenting on a panel with another author I was actually there to see. But I'm very interested in Jack Kemp's politics, and as a Buffalo Bills fan, it was a must read.
My biggest disappointment was the vast amount of supply-side economics discussions. I think one could make the point that this was a key issue for Kemp, THE key issue for Kemp, with half the pages dedicated to the issue.
And in contrast, the "bleeding heart" side of Kemp was certainly illustrated, but could have used double the pages examining how that side of him translated into his politics (especially as it was the subtitle of the book). I did appreciate that the authors gave us, while certainly a sympathetic view of Kemp, not a "rose colored glasses" view - Kemp's vexes and temper were examined, which is important to round out a political character.
I really liked the times where there were short examinations of Kemp's admiration for Lincoln, and even more interestingly, discussions of how Kemp applied his interpretation of Lincolnism onto the modern Republican values and what they should be.
Most of all, I appreciated the very short discussions of how Kemp was unable to go negative in politics - for better or worse in many cases. This was sprinkled throughout the book, and could have been much more of an organizing theme. My favorite quote from the book is from another often overlooked Buffalo-area politician John LaFalce (who I worked for): "Jack embodied everything that was positive about politics, not negative, and he would hate the negativism that has existed in politics these past many years." Its a thought worth reflecting on, especially as many of the politicians listed in the last few pages as embracing Kemp's legacy are the same characters that embraced negative campaigning in the last Presidential election. Perhaps more should be made about his belief that politics could be accomplished by having great ideas, rather than attacking others.
Overall though, I enjoyed this book, or at least the parts of it that were not sweeping discussions of (and often admirational defenses of) supply-side economics.
My biggest disappointment was the vast amount of supply-side economics discussions. I think one could make the point that this was a key issue for Kemp, THE key issue for Kemp, with half the pages dedicated to the issue.
And in contrast, the "bleeding heart" side of Kemp was certainly illustrated, but could have used double the pages examining how that side of him translated into his politics (especially as it was the subtitle of the book). I did appreciate that the authors gave us, while certainly a sympathetic view of Kemp, not a "rose colored glasses" view - Kemp's vexes and temper were examined, which is important to round out a political character.
I really liked the times where there were short examinations of Kemp's admiration for Lincoln, and even more interestingly, discussions of how Kemp applied his interpretation of Lincolnism onto the modern Republican values and what they should be.
Most of all, I appreciated the very short discussions of how Kemp was unable to go negative in politics - for better or worse in many cases. This was sprinkled throughout the book, and could have been much more of an organizing theme. My favorite quote from the book is from another often overlooked Buffalo-area politician John LaFalce (who I worked for): "Jack embodied everything that was positive about politics, not negative, and he would hate the negativism that has existed in politics these past many years." Its a thought worth reflecting on, especially as many of the politicians listed in the last few pages as embracing Kemp's legacy are the same characters that embraced negative campaigning in the last Presidential election. Perhaps more should be made about his belief that politics could be accomplished by having great ideas, rather than attacking others.
Overall though, I enjoyed this book, or at least the parts of it that were not sweeping discussions of (and often admirational defenses of) supply-side economics.
January 31, 2017
Kondracke and Barnes argue that Jack Kemp was one of the most consequential politicians of the twentieth century, if not in American history. Their biography of Kemp is sympathetic, though they do offer some fair criticism of their subject. By the book's conclusion, the reader comes away with a solid sense of who Jack Kemp was and why he was important.
I didn't enjoy the book. My opinion has little to do with Kemp the man, and everything to do with what felt like endless chapters about supply-side economics and tax policy. Several of the early sections were so dull that I finally had to put the book down for a few weeks to read something more interesting. For me, the pace didn't begin to pick up until Kemp had become the Secretary for Housing and Urban Development in the first Bush administration, more than halfway through.
The best parts of the book were in the second half, when the authors described Kemp's outreach to minority communities and his lack of vitriol toward opponents, especially in the 1996 election. You learn that he was the type of Republican you don't see much anymore, if you ever did. One wonders what the GOP would look like today had he been George H.W. Bush's running mate or even elected President himself. Then again, in order for any of that to happen, Kemp would have had to avoid some of his fatal flaws; for example, his inability to stay out of the affairs of other cabinet offices during the first Bush administration and his lack of preparation for the Vice-Presidential debates in 1996.
I'd probably have given the book three stars if not for those early, boring chapters. Conservative tax-policy wonks will probably love this biography, but it wasn't for me.
I didn't enjoy the book. My opinion has little to do with Kemp the man, and everything to do with what felt like endless chapters about supply-side economics and tax policy. Several of the early sections were so dull that I finally had to put the book down for a few weeks to read something more interesting. For me, the pace didn't begin to pick up until Kemp had become the Secretary for Housing and Urban Development in the first Bush administration, more than halfway through.
The best parts of the book were in the second half, when the authors described Kemp's outreach to minority communities and his lack of vitriol toward opponents, especially in the 1996 election. You learn that he was the type of Republican you don't see much anymore, if you ever did. One wonders what the GOP would look like today had he been George H.W. Bush's running mate or even elected President himself. Then again, in order for any of that to happen, Kemp would have had to avoid some of his fatal flaws; for example, his inability to stay out of the affairs of other cabinet offices during the first Bush administration and his lack of preparation for the Vice-Presidential debates in 1996.
I'd probably have given the book three stars if not for those early, boring chapters. Conservative tax-policy wonks will probably love this biography, but it wasn't for me.
November 21, 2016
Jack Kemp ranks very high on my list of Republican heroes. I enjoyed this account of his life and how he derived his style of leadership, beginning with his family life and football career. His fervent devotion to the Lincolnian ideals of opportunity for all and upward mobility remain constant themes through this biography. Definitely recommended for all.
This was also my first audiobook I listened to through the Overdrive App, which I do recommend as well.
This was also my first audiobook I listened to through the Overdrive App, which I do recommend as well.
October 14, 2015
The first biography written about Congressman Jack Kemp. Doesn't go into much detail about his football career but really gives him credit for two of the biggest domestic accomplishments of the Reagan Presidency.
March 27, 2017
As a graduate from Occidental College with conservative views, I was very excited to learn more about Kemp. I did enjoy reading about Jack Kemp but thought this book focused too much on specific political bills and lobbying, rather than the ideas and values. My favorite section is in the last chapter when the author tied in Kemp's influence on modern day politicians.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews