1992 Republican Convention | The Swastika's Shadow
A Magazine Full of Hope for Penn State Football, Unlike JoePa’s Presidential Campaign
“But for what purpose was the earth formed? To drive us mad.”
The Republican primaries opened in mid-January with the Alaska and Louisiana, with early victories for McCarthy and Evers respectively, however the small number of votes and delegates led these results to be dismissed as flukes while the “real” start of the season approached in Iowa. Despite polling indicating a 5-to-6-point lead for Paterno, it would be McCarthy that would come out on top with 35.4% of the vote to Paterno’s 30.7% and Cheney’s 29.6%. Concern would turn to alarm as McCarthy’s outsider campaign would pick up victories in New Hampshire and the following three states, with Paterno only finally achieving a win in South Dakota due to local Republicans memories of McCarthy’s prior relationship with Democrat George McGovern. The last few results before Super Tuesday would see Evers pick up another Southern state and Cheney finally pick up a couple of victories as the Paterno campaign was seemingly coming apart at the seams.
What had at first seemed to be in an insurmountable behemoth had been revealed as a house of cards, with infighting between the Bushes and other members of the Republican Old Guard leaving the politically inexperienced Joe Paterno left with the assumption that all was well in his camp, while in reality funds were being spread back and forth, ground coordination was nearly non-existent, and the upper echelons of the campaign were hiding it all from their candidate. After the defeat in Iowa, and subsequent under performances in New Hampshire & Delaware, reporters began to pick up on the fights going on within the campaign, which was how Paterno first found out about the sorry state of things, although he was already starting to have suspicions that he was being lied to.
Outraged and feeling betrayed by his friend, George H.W. Bush, he would attempt to “clean house,” bringing in his son, Jay, along with veterans of Sen. John Heinz’s campaigns, all in an attempt to turn the campaign around at Super Tuesday. However it would be too little too late, as he would fail to win any states and his support would fall dramatically in many of them due to the damage from the news reports. In his announcement of the suspension of his campaign later that night, he would call this foray into politics his “greatest failure,” saying that he “had been too trusting of the people around him” and that if he ever did run for any sort of office “it will be on my own terms, with my own people.” And so Paterno would head back to State College, vowing to make up for by “giving the fans an historic season,” with the first order of business being to hire a young Defensive Backs coach by the name of Nick Saban as the replacement for Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who would be welcomed as the new Head Coach at Michigan, following his leadership of the team throughout Paterno’s absences during their undefeated regular season and the playoffs, where the team would nearly make the national championship.
“There is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of man.”
With Paterno out of the race, attention shifted to another candidate whose campaign many were questioning, that being Charles Evers, who entered the year in the middle of a federal investigation. Between this and his own stubborn continued support of former Pres. Bob Dole already set him far behind the other candidates. While he would win in Southern states, with ever increasing numbers of Black participation in Republican primaries, as well as a positive reputation with the old guard of Southern Republicans, his ongoing federal investigations and other controversies weighed him down. While McCarthy would largely ignore Evers, the establishment, already having lost their star candidate, would focus its efforts on the “spoiler” candidate seemingly standing in the way of Sen. Cheney’s victory. However the continued assault on Evers would backfire, with him gaining over 25% in New York, with the aid of Jack Kemp and Herschel Walker as well, and another 20%+ in Missouri, with him continuing to post results in the 10-15% range.
Despite this, Evers short rebound would come to an end as the months long federal investigation would end with “lack of conclusive evidence.” Evers would compare the sudden end of his investigation to that of Perot’s two years prior after his resignation as Governor of Texas, stating that “the President waited until I had no chance of victory to call of his dogs.” McCarthy would seize on this theme, stating that Pres. Chavez has been engaging in “blatant lawfare” and “manipulating” the opposition, with the Republican elite deciding not to call out these “unconstitutional” and “Hooverite” attacks because “they are only interested in protecting themselves and not those who stand with the citizens of this nation.” While Evers would not drop out, behind the scenes his campaign was making overtures to McCarthy’s in the case of a contested convention.
“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.”
The stage was now set for a confrontation no one had seen coming, with Senate Minority Leader Dick Cheney leading the charge of the Magnavox Republicans against yet another version of change for the Republican Party. While still more preferable to the old guard, Cheney’s vision of the future would still nonetheless bring about the end of the old Republican Party. Cheney was also still a relatively mysterious figure, having only been the Republican Senate Leader for about three years, with his national recognition also having been overshadowed by other rising stars from more populated states, such as Hillary Rodham Bush and Joe Lieberman. Through his connections to his mentor, Sen. Henry Kissinger, he had become known by the politically literate populace as a foreign policy guru, which only made them more surprised at his campaign. Yet know it stood as the only thing between McCarthy and the nomination.
However, Cheney had never intended for things to reach this point, as he had little hope of a Republican victory against Pres. Chavez, rather he had just looked to expand his name recognition for a future campaign, as well as to be able to influence the party platform. Despite some similarities in his and McCarthy’s platform, albeit with a more moderate flair, he shared the same distrust that many elected Republicans had off McCarthy, due to his current official Independent status, past affiliations with the Democrats and the Socialist Party of America, and questions over the validity of his “conversion” from his previous beliefs. Between this and his own personal connections with many of the Congressmen and party leaders that made up the establishment, he had gained their support when they lost Paterno.
Despite notching key wins in Illinois, attributed to McCarthy’s endorsement from former Chicago Mayor Jesse Jackson, and Ohio, a comeback victory in California would turn things back in McCarthy’s favor, with him even managing to win late Southern primaries due to the continued decline of Evers increasingly moribund campaign, with credit to McCarthy’s late surge in the South also being given to his appearances at several NASCAR races, where he was pictured socializing with Cup champions and icons of the sport, such as Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant, and A. J. Foyt. There was also some confusion on the part of Cheney’s supporters, as he seemed to not be putting up much of a fight, focusing on spending time in Senate committee meetings and relying on advertisements. In a way, this was Cheney’s way of blunting his own momentum, as he was still not convinced that a Republican had a chance of winning the Presidency and was still wary of taking the nomination now, likely removing any chance of him running again. This would only be amplified with the emergence of a new event overseas that would gain nearly all of Cheney’s attention.
“There is no subjection so perfect as that which keeps the appearance of freedom.”
On May 12^(th), American TVs would be interrupted with shocking footage of Soviet Cosmonaut Alexander Lebed walking on the Moon, following in the footsteps of dozens of Germans & Americans that had also visited the lunar surface. This event blindsided both the U.S. and German governments, as the Soviets only maintained a measly six manned space stations, compared to the 21 German ones and 16 American ones. While both nations had been aware of the Soviet rocket, they believed that it was just a probe, not a manned mission, believing that they were not technologically capable of it. As a result, the Germans would accuse the Soviets of stealing their technology, while Pres. Chavez would face criticism for being the first President since Walt Disney to not oversee a manned mission to the moon, with the NASA budget having been cut and redirected to other areas.
Leading this charge of criticism would be the man now seemingly at the forefront of the Republican Primaries, Sen. Eugene McCarthy, a man who has staked his recent return to elected politics on populist sentiments, ever since returning to the Senate at the same time that Chavez entered the White House. It was originally his anti-Chavez rhetoric that had even gave him an opening into the Republican Primary, as the Democrat victories in the Midterms caused a groundswell of interest among the base for an attack dog, someone unafraid to take on this new goliath. The cerebral McCarthy made an unlikely figure for this role, not only because of his age, but also due to his academic manner of speaking. However now his sayings have become highly sought after quotations, with lines such as “The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is its inefficiency,” “It is dangerous for a national candidate to say things that people might remember,” and “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help” splashing the front pages of newspapers and the openings of television programs that have been desperately craving a sensational opposition to the President.
This, along with the other fortuitous developments over the course of the campaign, gave McCarthy the upper hand going into the last month of primaries, as one by one the final states would fall in his column as voters would see McCarthy’s public debate on the space program and other government policies as more “proactive” than Cheney’s cloistering within Senate committees. Out on the campaign trail, McCarthy would call out his opponent for “hiding from the people” and continue to attack the President and his “stooge,” AG Zell Miller, for “blatant violations of the Constitution” over the course of their “inquisition against the opposition.” He would frame Cheney’s overall muted tone and his focus on foreign policy as evidence that he “has no interest in restoring the constitutional order” and is simply a “for profit politician.” Meanwhile, he would continue to speak on his “conversion” from “radical socialism,” talking about how “mystifying” the “red opium” is and how that has only fueled his desire to “stand up for liberty and freedom” against the proponents of “big government.” As it turns out, this was striking the right chord with the Republican electorate, who had grown disillusioned with Dole’s brand of politics and frustration with the lack of action from the Republican establishment in standing up to Pres. Chavez. As the final primary results rolled in, it would be McCarthy, not Cheney, that would hold the most delegates, however he would still be a little under 200 away from the nomination, setting the stage for a contested convention.
McCarthy and his staff had already been planning for this scenario and had made several moves to aid in securing the nomination. First, Evers support had already been secured, bringing the hypothetical number of delegates to 1,108, leaving just four more needed delegates. After the 1^(st) Ballot however, Evers did not immediately release his delegates and achieved a net gain, causing him to hold on through the 3^(rd) Ballot, where he would start to bleed support due to people growing tired of his games. Finally realizing that he did not really have control, he would release his delegates with an endorsement of McCarthy, leading to him securing the nomination on the 4^(th) Ballot. Paterno would decline to make an official endorsement during the convention, however he urged his delegates to “vote their conscience” and “not be afraid to try something new,” which was interpreted as support for the Minnesotan. Additionally, Puerto Rican Governor Pedro Rosselló, who had been placed on the State’s ballot as a favorite son by supporters, would make history for being the first person from the island to receive votes in a political party’s convention for a Presidential nomination.
Following the confirmation of Eugene McCarthy’s nomination, cheers would erupt from his supporters throughout Madison Square Garden, with certain Republicans looking on in horror as old enemies such as Jesse Jackson taking the stage to celebrate alongside him and his family. They would resolve to block any candidates he put forward to be his running mate; however they would be denied the opportunity when he would decline to put in a nomination, with Cheney putting one forward instead. Despite the campaign rhetoric, he had met with his opponent following his nomination to find areas of agreement, with him secretly giving Cheney his blessing to vet a candidate to be his VP. Not wanting the job himself, he would instead look for someone that was more aligned with his interests, while still being palatable to both the establishment and McCarthy’s camp. The man he would land on would be a local New York hero, Sen. Al D’Amato, who was currently projected to cruise to re-election against Al Sharpton. While he would be able to continue his re-election campaign if placed on the ticket, he was hesitant to place his seat at risk if a McCarthy/D’Amato ticket somehow prevailed in November. At the same time, he had come to appreciate the new McCarthy and also saw that there were no volunteers rushing to accept the challenge, so he was eventually convinced to allow his nomination to be taken to the floor. With New Yorkers celebrating at the announcement, the convention would unanimously vote to make D’Amato their nominee for Vice President.
With all the voting finally completed, it was time for the man himself to make his speech on primetime television, an event that many were waiting for in either hopeful anticipation or dread. As the 76-year-old Senator stepped forward to give his first speech at a Presidential convention since the ill-fated ’68 Socialist Party of America convention in Chicago nearly 25 years prior, he was might with thunderous applause, but also a number of cold stares and boos.
“My fellow citizens of this great nation: With a deep awareness of the responsibility conferred by your trust, I accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United States. I do so with deep gratitude. I am very proud of our party tonight. This convention has shown to all America a party united, with positive programs for solving the nations problems; a party ready to build a new consensus with all those across the land who share a community of values embodied in these words: family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom.
I know we have had a quarrel or two in our party, but only as to the method of attaining a goal. More than anything else, I want my candidacy to unify our country; to renew the American spirit and sense of purpose. I want to carry our message to every American, regardless of party affiliation, who is a member of this community of shared values. Never before in our history have Americans been called upon to face three grave threats to our very existence, any one of which could destroy us. We face an economy under threat of collectivization, a weakened defense, and an administration that holds zero regard for the founding principles of this great nation. The major issue of this campaign is the direct political, personal and moral responsibility of Democratic party leadership-in the White House and in Congress-for this unprecedented calamity which has befallen us. The President’s administration has been gradually working to unravel the constitutional order within our country, applying pressure on their political opponents and working to centralize power within the executive bureaucracy. Meanwhile, the Democrats in Congress have made themselves willing accomplices to this subversion of American liberty by rubberstamping the President’s dangerous policies. It is time for us to remind them that our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed. All of us should remember that the federal government is not some mysterious institution comprised of buildings, files, and paper. The people are the government. What we create we ought to be able to control.
This is what I have come back to fight against, to raise the alarm bell on the encroachment on American liberty. I once believed that the bigger the government, the better off the people. But I have come to realize that is but a fallacy, a lie. While not necessarily a malicious belief, it is a misguided one, one that can be manipulated by those who seek power to enrich themselves and enslave the people for their glory. As John Locke wrote: ‘the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.’ And as we can plainly see with the actions of President Cesar Chavez, he intends to make himself a king, and the people of this country paupers. First he is destroying the financial institutions, then he will go after the companies that refuse to fall in line with his agenda, which will destroy the jobs and livelihoods of countless hard-working citizens. Then, he will continue his agenda against the political opposition, exercising the power of lawfare to eliminate the last safeguards keeping him from going after the people of this country. We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding—we are going to begin to act, beginning today.
I will not stand by and watch this great country destroy itself under mediocre leadership that drifts from one crisis to the next, eroding our national will and purpose. We have come together here because the American people deserve better from those to whom they entrust our nations highest offices, and we stand united in our resolve to do something about it. We need a rebirth of the American tradition of leadership at every level of government and in private life as well. The United States of America is unique in world history because it has a genius for leaders many leaders on many levels. My view of government places trust not in one person or one party, but in those values that transcend persons and parties. The trust is where it belongs in the people. The responsibility to live up to that trust is where it belongs, in their elected leaders. That kind of relationship, between the people and their elected leaders, is a special kind of compact; an agreement among themselves to build a community and abide by its laws.
Three hundred and sixty years ago, in 1620, a group of families dared to cross a mighty ocean to build a future for themselves in a new world. When they arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts, they formed what they called a compact; an agreement among themselves to build a community and abide by its laws. The single act the voluntary binding together of free people to live under the law set the pattern for what was to come. A century and a half later, the descendants of those people pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to found this nation. Some forfeited their fortunes and their lives; none sacrificed honor. Four score and seven years later, Abraham Lincoln called upon the people of all America to renew their dedication and their commitment of, for and by the people. Is it not once again time to renew our compact of freedom; to pledge to each other all that is best in our lives; all that gives meaning to them for the sake of this, our beloved and blessed land?
Together, let us make this a new beginning. Let us make a commitment to care for the needy; to teach our children the values and the virtues handed down to us by our families; to have the courage to defend those values and the willingness to sacrifice for them. Let us pledge to restore, in our time, the American spirit of voluntary service, of cooperation, of private and community initiative; a spirit that flows like a deep and mighty river through the history of our nation.
As your nominee, I pledge to restore to the federal government the capacity to do the people’s work without dominating their lives. I pledge to you a government that will not only work well, but wisely; its ability to act tempered by prudence, and its willingness to do good balanced by the knowledge that government is never more dangerous than when our desire to have it help us blinds us to its great power to harm us.
The first Republican President once said, While the people retain their virtue and their vigilance, no Administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can seriously injure the government in the short space of four years. If Mr. Lincoln could see what has happened in these last three-and-half years, he might hedge a little on that statement. But, with the virtues that are our legacy as a free people and with the vigilance that sustains liberty, we still have time to use our renewed compact to overcome the injuries that have been done to America these past three-and-a half years.
First we must overcome something the present Administration has cooked up: a new and altogether indigestible economic stew, one part inflation, one part runaway taxes, one part deficit spending and seasoned by the ongoing destruction of the unique characteristics that have made America’s economy the greatest the world has ever seen. It is an economic stew that has turned the national stomach. It is as if Mr. Chavez had set out to prove, once and for all, that economics is indeed a dismal science.
Ours are not problems of abstract economic theory. These are problems of flesh and blood; problems that cause pain and destroy the moral fiber of real people. The head of a government which has utterly refused to live within its means, and which has, in the last few days, told us that this year’s deficit will be $60 billion. High taxes, we are told, are somehow good for us, as if, when government spends our money it isn’t inflationary, but when we spend it, it is. Our problems are both acute and chronic, yet all we hear from those in positions of leadership are the same tired proposals for more government tinkering, more meddling and more control all of which led us to this state in the first place.
Can anyone look at the record of this Administration and say Well done? Can anyone look at our reduced standing in the world today and say, Let us have four more years of this? I believe the American people are going to answer these questions the first week of November and their answer will be, No we’ve had enough. And, when the American people have spoken, it will be up to us beginning next January 20th to offer an Administration and Congressional leadership of competence and more than a little courage. We must have the clarity of vision to see the difference between what is essential and what is merely desirable; and then the courage to use this insight to bring our government back under control and make it acceptable to the people.
I believe it is clear our federal government is overgrown and overweight. Indeed, it is time for our government to go on a diet. Therefore, my first act as Chief Executive will be to impose an immediate and thorough freeze on federal hiring. Then, we are going to enlist the very best minds from business, labor and whatever quarter to conduct a detailed review of every department, bureau and agency that lives by federal appropriation. We are also going to enlist the help and ideas of many dedicated and hard-working government employees at all levels who want a more efficient government as much as the rest of us do. I know that many are demoralized by the confusion and waste they confront in their work as a result of failed and failing policies.
Our instructions to the groups we enlist will be simple and direct. We will remind them that government programs exist at the sufferance of the American taxpayer and are paid for with money earned by working men and women. Any program that represents a waste of their money a theft from their pocketbooks must have that waste eliminated or the program must go by Executive Order where possible; by Congressional action where necessary. Everything that can be run more effectively by state and local governments we shall turn over to state and local government, along with the funding sources to pay for it. We are going to put an end to the money merry go round where our money becomes Washingtons money, to be spent by the states and cities only if they spend it exactly the way the federal bureaucrats tell them to.
I will not accept the excuse that the federal government has grown so big and powerful that it is beyond the control of any President, any Administration or Congress. We are going to put an end to the notion that the American taxpayer exists to fund the federal government. The federal government exists to serve the American people and to be accountable to the American people. On January 20th, we are going to re-establish that truth. Everywhere we have me thousands of Democrats, Independents and Republicans from all economic conditions and walks of life bound together in that community of shared values of family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom. They are concerned, yes, but they are the kind of men and women Tom Paine had in mind when he wrote during the darkest days of the American Revolution ‘We have it in our power to begin the world over again.’
Nearly one-hundred-and-fifty years after Tom Paine wrote those words, an American President told the generation of the Great Depression that it had a rendezvous with destiny. I believe this generation of Americans today also has a rendezvous with destiny. Tonight, let us dedicate ourselves to renewing the American Compact. I ask you not simply to Trust me, but to trust your values our values and to hold me responsible for living up to them. I ask you to trust that American spirit which knows no ethnic, religious, social, political, regional or economic boundaries; the spirit that burned with zeal in the hearts of millions of immigrants from every corner of the earth who came here in search of freedom. Some say that spirit no longer exists. But I have seen it I have felt it all across this land; in the big cities, the small towns and in rural America. The American spirit is still there, ready to blaze into life if you and I are willing to do what has to be done; the practical, down-to-earth things that will stimulate our economy, increase productivity and put America back to work. The time is now to limit federal spending; to insist on a stable monetary reform and to free ourselves from imported oil.
The time is now to resolve that the basis of a firm and principled foreign policy is one that takes the world as it is and seeks to change it by leadership and example; not by lecture and harangue.
The time is now to say that while we shall seek new friendships and expand and improve others, we shall not do so by breaking our word or casting aside old friends and allies.
And the time is now to redeem promises once made to the American people by another candidate, in another time and another place. He said, for three long years I have been going up and down this country preaching that government federal, state and local costs too much. I shall not stop that preaching. As an immediate program of action, we must abolish useless offices. We must eliminate unnecessary functions of government, we must consolidate subdivisions of government and, like the private citizen, give up luxuries which we can no longer afford. I propose to you, my friends, and through you that government of all kinds, big and little be made solvent and that the example be set by the President of the United States and his cabinet. So said Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his acceptance speech to the Democratic National Convention in July, 1932. The time is now, my fellow Americans, to recapture our destiny, to take it into our own hands. But, to do this will take many of us working together. I ask you tonight to volunteer your help in this cause, so we carry our message throughout the land. I ask you now to join me in crossing our Rubicon, to save the American Republic from all enemies, foreign and domestic, so that we may achieve peace and justice for all mankind. I hope that you will all stand with me and reject the demagoguery of the Democrats. Good Night America, and Let’s Make America Great Again this November!
For President of the United States of America: Eugene McCarthy, United States Senator from Minnesota
For Vice President of the United States of America: Al D'Amato, United States Senator from New York
