Five Ways Rand Paul Is Like Conservative Hero Jack Kemp

Senator Rand Paul is a unique and rising star in the Republican Party. His establishment opponents would like to portray him as odd and out of the mainstream. And yet, many of Paul's ideas were also shared with conservative Congressman Jack Kemp, who in 1996 was the GOP nominee for Vice-President.

Below are five areas in which they are similar:

Tax enterprise zones

Rand Paul has championed the idea of tax enterprise zones as an alternative to bailing out failed cities like Detroit. In his own proposal, Paul quoted Kemp, who popularized the concept:

“By giving people access to capital and allowing them to take ownership of assets, entrepreneurship will be encouraged and the cycle of poverty can begin to be broken. All persons should have the opportunity to go as high as their merit and determination can carry them…” 

The flat tax

Even before he announced his run for the presidency, Rand Paul had come out in favor of a flat tax. Jack Kemp was also a fan of the flat tax. In fact, the Kemp Commission concluded that the current income tax should be replaced by the flat tax.

The Iraq War

While other GOP candidates were struggling to answer whether invading Iraq was a good idea in hindsight, Rand Paul beliefs it was a mistake from the beginning. So did Kemp, who wrote an op-ed opposing the war in 2003.

The Federal Reserve

Like his father, Congressman Ron Paul, Rand Paul believes that the Federal Reserve is out of control. Accordingly, Paul has pushed strongly for auditing the secretive institution. He has also supported a new gold commission. Kemp himself supported a gold standard. He once said:

“America needs a dollar that is once again an honest dollar, as good as gold.” 

Minority outreach

Rand Paul has taken it upon himself to grow the Republican party. He has reached out to groups that normally wouldn't consider checking the GOP box. Kemp was similarly a lone wolf in his efforts to reach out to minority communities.