Posted on 02/08/2004 12:44:36 PM PST by JohnnyZ
Former GOP senator and pro quarterback Jack Kemp threw his endorsement Saturday to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jack Ryan, then tossed souvenir footballs to fire up an enthusiastic group of Ryan backers gathered in Lincoln Park.
Kemp, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 1996, praised Ryan as a candidate who will shake up the GOP by reaching out to urban and minority voters often overlooked by other Republicans.
"We have a guy who's a super candidate. He can light a fire under the Republican Party,'' said Kemp, who also was to attend a Ryan fund-raiser Saturday.
Ryan, a former investment banker who later taught at Hales Franciscan High School on the South Side, is one of six Republicans seeking the party's nomination to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald.
Kemp, who wrote key tax reform legislation in the 1980s and later served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said he and Ryan agree on the use of free-market incentives and cuts in capital gains taxes to help spur economic development.
They also share the philosophy of seeking out voters in urban areas where Republican candidates have not fared well traditionally.
"A party has to represent the whole country,'' Kemp said, adding, "It's a disgrace the Republican Party gets only 8 percent of the black vote.''
Calling Ryan's decision to trade banking for teaching at Hales "a fabulous idea," Kemp said Ryan can appeal to voters across ethnic and political lines.
"I can't think of a better way of serving the country than having Jack Ryan in the Senate,'' Kemp said.
Ryan called Kemp "a giant'' in the Republican Party and said his endorsement will help him in the crowded GOP field.
Ryan said he intends to continue working aggressively to woo Chicago voters who might not have voted Republican before.
"We're competing for those votes the Democrats think they own,'' Ryan said. "We think our ideas are better ideas. It's hard, but we're trying.''
Supporters at the 43rd Ward Republican headquarters chanted, "Jack, Jack, Jack,'' as Ryan and Kemp arrived.
Kemp later tossed several small footballs emblazoned with Ryan stickers to some of those in the room.
He's been endorsing supply-siders around the country. I think he's endorsed Vernon Robinson again this year. I have no idea how his endorsees have done in primaries.
Not unless Gore became a supply side zealot. Kemp, on fiscal and economic issues is to the right of the white house and most GOPer's in general. Its his social moderation that drives me nuts.
Oh, and that's the Republicans' fault, Jack? Yeah, right.
Can't he change his last name? This will be about the third different Republican "Ryan" in a row for statewide office. The memory of the worst governor in Illinois history--George Ryan, a Republican--is still strong.
BTW, how is this Ryan on the pro-life issue, compared to the other candidates?
I don't think it'll be a big deal.
Republicans must bear a great deal of the blame. How many Republicans reach out to gun owners, to veterans, to suburban soccer moms? And how many reach out to urban areas, to black Americans? Almost all do the former, but only some do the latter.
I'm glad we have Republicans like Jack Ryan, Bobby Jindal, Jim Talent, Rick Santorum, Thad Cochran, and the Bush brothers, who don't write off the black vote, but I wish there were more.
Kemp's endorsement will help Ryan get the illegal immigrant vote.
And it almost always makes absolutely no difference because blacks overwhelmingly and consistently vote for Democrats. Forget "reaching out" - is that the same as dialoging? - with hyphenated Americans. I want candidates who don't feel a need to break the electorate into assorted special interest groups.
Some issues are more important to certain groups. I don't understand your hostility to the notion of talking about guns to a gun rights group and education to a PTA group. Many candidates only bring their message to predominantly white groups and predominantly white areas. They should bring their message to predominantly black areas and groups as well, and emphasize those parts of the message that are most germane to that audience.
And it almost always makes absolutely no difference because blacks overwhelmingly and consistently vote for Democrats.
This is the attitude that hurts Republicans. You are part of the problem. If most Republicans ignore blacks, it's gonna be damn hard for a Republican who doesn't ignore them to make people believe he's sincere. That attitude is poison and must be eradicated.
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