The Library of Congress established the John W. Kluge Center to bring together the world’s best thinkers to distill wisdom from the Library’s rich resources and to stimulate interaction with policymakers in Washington, D.C. In that spirit, the Jack Kemp Chair in Political Economy at the Kluge Center provides for a senior scholar to spend up to a year in residence to engage in original research on the themes, historical developments and future public policy implications of what Jack Kemp called “the American Idea.”

Dr. James Billington, Librarian of Congress, appointed Mort Kondracke to serve as the first Kemp Scholar for the academic year beginning September 1, 2011 and renewed for a second term the following year.  While in residence at the Library, Mr. Kondracke conducted research into Jack Kemp’s tenure in Congress and the influence of Kemp’s ideas and efforts on the Republican Party and the administration of President Reagan.  [See a video of his presentation as the Kemp Scholar at the Library of Congress here.]  Together with co-author Fred Barnes, Kondracke wrote and published Jack Kemp: The Bleeding Heart Conservative who Changed America (2015).

“The greatest world market is the market for ideas. From the Laffer Curve to money that’s as good as gold, [Jack Kemp] sees a planet hungry for a vision that can bring prosperity and freedom to every nation on earth.  In places like the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Chile, we see how economic freedom yields more than increasing prosperity; it also nourishes a powerful popular force for greater political freedom and democracy.”

– President Ronald Reagan