1992 Republican National Convention
| 1992 Presidential Election | |
|---|---|
  Nominees Bush and Quayle |
|
| Convention | |
| Date(s) | August 17 – August 20 |
| City | Houston, Texas |
| Venue | Astrodome |
| Keynote Speaker | Phil Gramm |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential Nominee | George H. W. Bush of Texas |
| Vice Presidential Nominee | Dan Quayle of Indiana |
| ‹ 1988 · 1996 › | |
The 1992 National Convention of the Republican Party (GOP) of the United States was held in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, from August 17 to August 20, 1992. The convention re-nominated President George H. W. Bush of Texas, and Vice President Dan Quayle of Indiana. It was the fourth consecutive appearance by Bush as a candidate on a major party ticket. Only Bush and Franklin Roosevelt have been nominated on four consecutive presidential tickets. Richard Nixon and Roosevelt were nominated five times, but not consecutively.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The convention is notable in that it featured the last major address of former President Ronald Reagan's long political career. In his speech, Reagan told Americans that
"Whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty's lamp guiding your steps and opportunity's arm steadying your way. My fondest hope for each one of you—and especially for the young people here—is that you will love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism. May each of you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and the hand to execute works that will make the world a little better for your having been here."
Lagging in the polls by double digits to the Clinton-Gore team after a successful Democratic Convention, and with Ross Perot temporarily out of the race, the Republican Party worked hard to rally its base of social conservatives. Pat Buchanan's opening night "Culture War" speech argued that a great battle of values was taking place in the United States. Republican National Committee chairman Rich Bond (referring to Democrats) claimed that "we are America, they are not America". Marilyn Quayle dismissed Bill Clinton's claim to a new generation of leadership by saying, "Not everyone demonstrated, dropped out, took drugs, joined in the sexual revolution or dodged the draft."[1]
AIDS activist Mary Fisher, who has HIV, addressed the convention, making an eloquent plea for her cause.[2] (She also addressed the 1996 RNC).[3]
During his acceptance speech, President Bush thanked former President Richard Nixon for his advice and contributions to the administration's foreign policy. This would be Nixon's last RNC, as he died in 1994.[citation needed]
The restaurateur Ninfa Laurenzo delivered the Pledge of Allegiance at the opening session on August 17, 1992.[4]
The stadium banned outside food from the convention, but set up a food court in the nearby Astroarena. The food court operations included Atchafalaya River Cafe, Bambolino's, Frenchy's, Luther's Bar-B-Q, Ninfa's, PeaColes, and Tommy's Burgers. Some restaurant owners had connections with the Houston Host Committee, the group in charge of the vendor market of the Astroarena, and Republican Party officials. The hot dogs and soft drinks sold by the Astrodome's official caterer, Harry M. Stevens, were not present during the convention. Vendors at the convention paid Stevens a fee so they could sell food at the convention, as specified in Stevens' cotract with the Astrodome.[5]
[edit] Liberal perceptions
Liberal political opponents of the Republicans characterized the convention as "the Hate-fest in Houston", epitomized by Pat Buchanan's opening night "culture war" speech. They considered the speech to be racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and generally intolerant. Liberal humorist Molly Ivins quipped that the speech "probably sounded better in the original German."[6] Some speculated that the speech alienated liberal and moderate Republican voters causing them to move over to the Bill Clinton camp while Ross Perot was temporarily out of the race. Polling by ABC News and the Los Angeles Times, however, showed an increase in support for Bush in the days following Buchanan's speech.[citation needed] The Clinton campaign criticized Marilyn Quayle's statements and used them to portray Republicans as out of touch and too far to the right.
The residents of Sunnyside, a Black neighborhood in proximity to the Houston Astrodome, expressed apathy towards the convention; residents believed that it did not address issues pertinent to Sunnyside residents. Despite the neighborhood's proximity to the Astrodome, traffic from the convention did not lead to increase of patronage of area businesses.[7]
[edit] Aftermath
The convention energized the Republican base, giving the Bush-Quayle ticket a bounce in the polls.[8] As the bounce faded, the race returned to a lopsided double-digit Clinton-Gore lead.[9] The race narrowed considerably, however, when Ross Perot rebooted his insurgent campaign.[10]
Because the Astrodome was their home stadium, the Houston Astros were forced to play 26 consecutive road games from July 27 through August 23. The major parties have avoided hosting their conventions at baseball stadiums since then.
[edit] The official tally
[edit] President
- George H.W. Bush 2163
- Patrick J. Buchanan 18
- former ambassador Alan Keyes 1
[edit] Vice President
Vice President Dan Quayle was renominated by voice vote.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The New York Times, Week in Review, The War Within: What They're Really Fighting About
- ^ Kelly, Michael (August 20, 1992). "AIDS speech brings hush to crowd". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEFDF153DF933A1575BC0A964958260. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ Reed, Susan (February 5, 1996). "At Peace with the Past". People 45 (5). http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20102717,00.html. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ Decker, Cathleen. "'92 REPUBLICAN CONVENTION : GOP Faithful Ponder if Party Will Unite Behind Bush : Election: Some see the convention as the jump-off point for a strong campaign. Others wonder if it's too little, too late." Los Angeles Times. August 17, 1992. 2. Retrieved on February 4, 2012.
- ^ Staff. "Convention '92/Convention briefs." Houston Chronicle. Sunday August 9, 1992. A25. Retrieved on February 6, 2012.
- ^ New York Times, Feb 1, 2007 Molly Ivins, Columnist, Dies at 62
- ^ Roth, Bennett. "Convention '92/Sunnyside feels little warmth from GOP." Houston Chronicle. Thursday August 20, 1992. B10. Retrieved on October 23, 2011.
- ^ The 1992 Campaign; Bush's Gains From Convention Nearly Evaporate in Latest Poll – New York Times
- ^ The 1992 Campaign; The Race in Different Polls – New York Times
- ^ The 1992 Campaign: Poll; Poll Finds Hostility to Perot And No Basic Shift in Race – New York Times
[edit] External links
- Ronald Reagan's Address to the 1992 Republican National Convention (video) (text)
- Patrick Buchanan's Address to the 1992 RNC, the "Culture War" speech. Text, audio and video.
- Mary Fisher's A Whisper of AIDS Speech to the 1992 Republican National Convention Text, audio and video.
| Preceded by 1988 New Orleans, Louisiana |
Republican National Conventions | Succeeded by 1996 San Diego |
