View source for 1992 Republican National Convention

{{short description|Political convention of the Republican Party}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox National Political Convention
| logo = 1992 RNC logo.jpg
| logo_size = 140px
| image           = RP1992.png
| image_size      = 125
| image2          = RV1988.png
| image_size2     = 125
| caption         = Nominees<br />Bush and Quayle
| year            = 1992
| party           = Republican
| date            = August 17–20, 1992
| venue           = [[Reliant Astrodome|Astrodome]]
| keynote_speaker = [[Phil Gramm]]
| city            = [[Houston]], [[Texas]]
| presidential_nominee            = [[George H. W. Bush]]
| presidential_nominee_state      = [[Texas]]
| vice_presidential_nominee       = [[Dan Quayle]]
| vice_presidential_nominee_state = [[Indiana]]
| previous_year   = 1988
| next_year       = 1996
|ballots=1|presidenttotals=[[George H.W. Bush|Bush]] ([[Texas|TX]]): 2,166 (99.13%)<br>[[Pat Buchanan|Buchanan]] ([[Virginia|VA]]): 18 (0.82%)<br>[[Alan Keyes|Keyes]] ([[Maryland|MD]]): 1 (0.05%)|totaldelegates=2,185|votesneeded=1,093|vicepresidenttotals=[[Dan Quayle|Quayle]] ([[Indiana|IN]]): 100% ([[Acclamation]])}}
{{George H. W. Bush series}}
[[File:Reliant Astrodome in January 2014 b.jpg|thumb|The [[Astrodome]] was the site of the 1992 Republican National Convention]]
[[File:Bush family at RNC podium 1992.jpg|thumb|Bush with his family at the convention]]
The '''1992 Republican National Convention''' was held in the [[Astrodome]] in [[Houston]], Texas, from August 17 to August 20, 1992. The [[Republican National Convention|convention]] nominated [[President of the United States|President]] [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Dan Quayle]] for reelection. It was Bush's fourth consecutive appearance as a candidate on a major party ticket; only Bush and [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] have been nominated on four consecutive presidential tickets. [[Richard Nixon]] and Roosevelt were nominated five times, but not consecutively.

==Site selection==
The two finalist cities that Houston had defeated to land the convention were [[New Orleans]] and [[San Diego]].<ref name="houstonlands"/> While Houston was the adopted hometown of the incumbent Republican president George H. W. Bush, when the location was announced, the party insisted that Bush had not used his influence to land the city the convention, and had only instructed the party to choose "the best site" for the convention.<ref name="houstonlands">{{cite web |title=HOUSTON LANDS '92 GOP CONVENTION |url=https://www.deseret.com/1991/1/9/18899987/houston-lands-92-gop-convention |website=Deseret News |access-date=22 June 2022 |language=en |date=9 January 1991}}</ref> Unsuccessful finalist city New Orleans had been the location of the previous Republican National Convention in 1988.<ref>{{cite web |title=Houston, not N.O., gets GOP convention |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/470194010 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Daily Review (Morgan City, Louisiana) |agency=The Associated Press |access-date=22 June 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=9 Jan 1991}}</ref>

===Bids===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Bid cities
|-
! City !!  Previous major party conventions hosted by city
|-
| [[Houston]], Texas || Democratic: [[1928 Democratic National Convention|1928]]
|-
| [[New Orleans]], Louisiana  || Republican: [[1988 Republican National Convention|1988]]
|-
| [[San Diego]], California  || {{N/A}}
|}

==Venue logistics==
The [[Astrodome]] had been renovated recently before its selection as the convention's location.<ref name="houstonlands"/> For the convention, the stadium was arranged to seat 36,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |title='92 REPUBLICAN CONVENTION : GOP Takes the Field |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-17-mn-5149-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=30 May 2021 |date=1992-08-17}}</ref>

To accommodate the convention and its set-up, the [[1992 Houston Astros season|Houston Astros]], the [[Major League Baseball]] team which played at the Astrodome, played 26 consecutive away games over 28 days, the longest Major League Baseball "road trip" since the [[1944 Philadelphia Phillies season|Philadelphia Phillies played]] 27 away games in 28 days in 1944.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Atkins |first1=Hunter |title=28 days later: Astros' 1992 odyssey quite memorable in many ways |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texas-sports-nation/article/28-days-later-Astros-1992-odyssey-quite-11746567.php |website=HoustonChronicle.com |publisher=Houston Chronicle |access-date=7 June 2020 |date=10 August 2017}}</ref> Additionally, the [[National Football League]]'s [[1992 Houston Oilers season|Houston Oilers]] would also be forced to play all their preseason games on the road.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.profootballarchives.com/1992nflhou.html|title=1992 Houston Oilers - The Pro Football Archives|website=www.profootballarchives.com|access-date=April 3, 2018}}</ref> The [[Major League Baseball Players Association]] had filed an unsuccessful grievance in October 1991 in an attempt to block the planned 26-game road trip by the Astros. The Major League Baseball Players Association took issue with the Houston Sports Association (owners of the Astrodome) renting the stadium to the Republican National Convention organizers from July 27 through August 23, 1992, without first seeking permission from the [[National League (baseball)|National League]], and their grievance sought to shorten the length of the road trip, arguing that the 26-game road trip went against the National League's constitution.<ref>{{cite web |title=Astros' schedule draws grievance |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/219070353 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana) |agency=The Associated Press |access-date=22 June 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=October 2, 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Scheduling Problem |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/112472235 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Tennessean |access-date=22 June 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=2 Oct 1991}}</ref>

==Overview==
The convention is notable in that it featured the last major address of the long political career of former President [[Ronald Reagan]], Bush's predecessor. In his speech, Reagan told Americans that:
{{blockquote|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.}}
[[File:Republican National Convention President Reagans A (1).ogv|thumb|right|thumbtime=22|Ronald Reagan addresses the delegates (excerpt)]]
As the economy was in [[Early 1990s recession in the United States|a recession]] and domestic affairs in general had dramatically decayed, the GOP lagged in the polls by double digits behind the [[Bill Clinton]]&ndash;[[Al Gore]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] ticket after a successful [[1992 Democratic National Convention|Democratic Convention]], and with [[Ross Perot]] temporarily out of the race, the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] worked hard to rally its base of [[social conservative]]s. [[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 [[Richard Bond (political executive)|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."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/29/weekinreview/the-nation-the-war-within-what-they-re-really-fighting-about.html|title=The Nation -- The War Within; What They're Really Fighting About|first=Todd S.|last=Purdum|work=The New York Times |date=August 29, 2004|access-date=April 3, 2018|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> Regarding Buchanan's speech, liberal humorist [[Molly Ivins]] quipped that it "probably sounded better in the [[Kulturkampf|original German]]."<ref>''New York Times'', Feb 1, 2007 [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/washington/01ivins.html Molly Ivins, Columnist, Dies at 62]</ref> 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,"<ref>Negournay, Adam (August 29, 2012) [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/us/politics/from-the-fringe-in-1992-patrick-j-buchanans-words-now-seem-mainstream.html?_r=1&hp "From the Fringe in 1992, Buchanan's Words Now Seem Mainstream."] New York Times. (Retrieved 8-29-12.)</ref> as it centered more on Reagan-era values and Bush's international credentials at a time that the main issue was the domestic crisis. Despite the fact that the now-infamous "No new taxes" pledge had haunted the President for the last three years, the economy was barely mentioned.

AIDS activist [[Mary Fisher (activist)|Mary Fisher]], who has HIV, addressed the convention, making an eloquent plea for her cause.<ref>{{cite news | title = AIDS speech brings hush to crowd | first = Michael | last = Kelly | date = August 20, 1992 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date =October 10, 2011 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEFDF153DF933A1575BC0A964958260}}</ref> (She also addressed the [[1996 Republican National Convention|1996 RNC]]).<ref>{{cite journal | date = February 5, 1996 | volume = 45 | issue = 5 | journal = People | url = http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20102717,00.html | title = At Peace with the Past | first = Susan | last = Reed | access-date =October 10, 2011}}</ref>

During his acceptance speech, President Bush thanked former President [[Richard Nixon]] (during whose tenure Bush had served as a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]], [[United States Ambassador to the United Nations|Ambassador to the United Nations]] and [[Republican National Committee|Chairman of the Republican National Committee]]) for his advice and contributions to the administration's foreign policy. This would be the last RNC to take place during Nixon's lifetime, as he would die [[Death of Richard Nixon|less than two years later]].

Restaurateur [[Ninfa Laurenzo]] delivered the [[Pledge of Allegiance]] at the opening session on August 17, 1992.<ref name="Decker2">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. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-17-mn-5159-story.html 2]. Retrieved on February 4, 2012.</ref>

Secretary of Labor [[Lynn M. Martin|Lynn Martin]] delivered the nomination speech of President Bush for re-election. The nomination was seconded by [[J. C. Watts]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Republican Natl. Conv. Nomination Speech |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?31363-1/republican-natl-conv-nomination-speech |website=[[C-SPAN]] |accessdate=September 1, 2021|date=August 19, 1992}}</ref>

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' contract with the Astrodome.<ref>Staff. "[http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1992_1072698 Convention '92/Convention briefs]." ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. Sunday August 9, 1992. A25. Retrieved on February 6, 2012.</ref>

==Presidential nomination roll call vote==
* '''[[George H. W. Bush]] 2,166'''
* [[Patrick J. Buchanan]] 18
* [[Alan Keyes]] 1

==Vice presidential nomination vote==
* [[Dan Quayle]] was renominated by voice vote.

==Aftermath==
The convention energized the Republican base, giving the Bush-Quayle ticket a [[convention bounce|bounce]] in the polls.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5DF113FF935A1575BC0A964958260& The 1992 Campaign; Bush's Gains From Convention Nearly Evaporate in Latest Poll – ''New York Times'']</ref> As the bounce faded, the race returned to a lopsided double-digit Clinton–Gore lead.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7D8133DF931A3575AC0A964958260 The 1992 Campaign; The Race in Different Polls – ''New York Times'']</ref> The race narrowed considerably, however, when [[Ross Perot]] rebooted his insurgent campaign.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5DC113DF935A35753C1A964958260 The 1992 Campaign: Poll; Poll Finds Hostility to Perot And No Basic Shift in Race – ''New York Times'']</ref>

The major parties have avoided hosting their conventions at baseball stadiums since then, now holding them in non sports venues (such as convention centers) and venues for teams whose seasons are not currently in play at the time of the convention.

==See also==
{{Portal|Texas|United States|Politics}}
*[[1992 Republican Party presidential primaries]]
*[[George H. W. Bush 1992 presidential campaign]]
*[[History of the United States Republican Party]]
*[[List of Republican National Conventions]]
*[[U.S. presidential nomination convention]]
*[[1991 Libertarian National Convention]]
*[[1992 Democratic National Convention]]
*[[1992 United States presidential election]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.c-span.org/video/?3848-1/bush-acceptance-speech George Bush's nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC] (video) at ''C-SPAN''
* [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=21352 George Bush's nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC] (text) at ''The American Presidency Project''
* [http://convert2mp3.net/en/index.php?p=tags&id=youtube_GUZT3sPVJJU&key=3pVZH3yW7yrI George Bush's nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC]{{Dead link|date=July 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (audio) 
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyU3xQ747J8 Video of Quayle nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC (via YouTube)]
* [http://convert2mp3.net/en/index.php?p=tags&id=youtube_lyU3xQ747J8&key=OAC3KkzdStvN Audio of Quayle nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC]{{Dead link|date=July 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-21-mn-5796-story.html Transcript of Quayle nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC] 
* [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25847 Republican Party platform of 1992] at ''The American Presidency Project''
* [http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/31259-1 Ronald Reagan's Address to the 1992 Republican National Convention (video)] [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/reagan/stories/speech.archive/rnc.speech.html (text)]
* [http://www.c-span.org/video/?31306-1/senator-phil-gramm-1992-republican-national-convention-keynote-address Video (with audio) of Phil Gramm's Keynote Address at Republican National Convention]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/19/news/in-their-own-words-excerpts-from-keynote-address-by-phil-gramm.html Text of Phil Gramm's Keynote Address at Republican National Convention]

{{sequence|
 prev=[[1988 Republican National Convention|1988]]<br />[[New Orleans, Louisiana]]|
 list=[[Republican National Convention]]s|
 next=[[1996 Republican National Convention|1996]]<br />[[San Diego, California]]
}}

{{1992 United States presidential election}}
{{Republican National Convention}}
{{George H. W. Bush}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Republican National Conventions]]
[[Category:1992 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:1992 in Houston]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Republican Party (United States) events in Texas]]
[[Category:1992 conferences]]
[[Category:Conventions in Texas]]
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[[Category:August 1992 in the United States]]
[[Category:Conventions in Houston]]
[[Category:1990s political conferences]]
[[Category:George H. W. Bush]]
[[Category:Dan Quayle]]
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