1992 Republican National Convention
|
1992 presidential election |
|
 
Nominees
Bush and Quayle |
|
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | August 17–20, 1992 |
| City | Houston, Texas |
| Venue | Astrodome |
| Keynote speaker | Phil Gramm |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | George Bush of Texas |
| Vice Presidential nominee | Dan Quayle of Indiana |
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 nominated President George H. W. Bush, and Vice President Dan Quayle for reelection. It was the fourth consecutive appearance by Bush as a candidate on a major party ticket. Only Bush and Franklin D. Roosevelt have been nominated on four consecutive presidential tickets. Richard M. Nixon and Roosevelt were nominated five times, but not consecutively.
The convention is notable in that it featured the last major address of Ronald W. 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."
As the economy was in a recession and domestic affairs in general had dramatically decayed, the GOP lagged 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." Regarding Buchanan's speech, liberal humorist Molly Ivins quipped that it "probably sounded better in the original German." Writing twenty years after the convention, the New York Times wrote, "Supporters of Mr. Bush pointed to the tone of the convention as one of the reasons he lost re-election that November to Bill Clinton.", as it centered more on Reagan-era values and Bush's international credentials at a time that the main issue was the domestic crisis. The fact that the now-infamous "No new taxes" pledge had haunted the President for the last three years, the economy was barely mentioned.
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