Republican National Convention: President Reagan's Address at the 1992 RNC - 8/17/92

thank you very much [Music] thank you thank you thank you Paul for that kind introduction and mr. chairman delegates friends fellow Americans thank you so very much for that welcome you've given Nancy and me so many wonderful memories so much of your warmth and affection we cannot thank you enough for the honor of your friendship over the years I've addressed this convention as a private citizen as a governor as a presidential candidate as a president and now once again tonight as private citizen Ronald Reagan tonight is a very special night for me of course at my age every night's a special night after all after all I was born in 1911 indeed according to the experts I have exceeded my life expectancy by quite a few years now this this is a source of great annoyance to some especially those in the Democratic Party but here's the remarkable thing about being born in 1911 in my life's journey over these past eight decades I have seen the human race through a period of unparalleled tumult and triumph I have seen the birth of communism and the death of communism I I I have witnessed I have witnessed the bloody futility of two world wars and Korea Vietnam and the Persian Gulf I have seen Germany United divided and United again I have seen television grow from a parlor novelty to become the most powerful vehicle of communication in history as a boy I saw streets filled with Model T's as a man I have met men who walked on the moon I have not only seen but lived the marvels of what historians have called the American Century yet tonight is not a time to look backward for while I take inspiration from the past like most Americans I live for the future so so this evening for just a few minutes I hope you will let me talk about a country that is forever young there was a time when empires were defined by landmass subjugated people's and military might but the United States is unique because we are an empire of ideals for for 200 years we have been set apart by our faith in the ideals of democracy a free men and free markets and of the extraordinary possibilities that lie within seemingly ordinary men and women we believe that no power of government is as formidable a force for good as the creativity and entrepreneurial drive of the American people was those are the ideals that invented revolutionary technologies and a culture envied by people everywhere this powerful sense of energy has made American synonymous for opportunity the world over and after generations of struggle America is the moral force that defeated communism and and all those who would put the human soul itself into bondage within a few short years we Americans have experienced the most sweeping changes of this century the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of the global economy no no transition is without its problems but as uncomfortable as it may feel at the moment the changes of the 1990s will leave America more dynamic and less in danger than at any time in my life thank you all right a fellow a fellow a federal named James Allen once wrote in his diary many thinking people believe America have seen its best days he wrote that July 26 1775 there are still those who believe America is weakening that our glory was the brief flash of time called the 20th century that ours was a burst of greatness too bright and brilliant to sustain that America's purpose is past my friends I utterly reject those views [Music] that's that's that's not the America we know we were meant to be masters of destiny not victims of fate who among us would trade America's future for that of any other country in the world and who could possibly have so little faith in our American people that they would trade our tomorrow for our yesterday I'll give you a hint they put on quite a production in New York a few weeks ago you-you-you might even call it slick a stone's a stone's throw from Broadway it was and how appropriate over and over they told us they are not the party they were they kept telling us with straight face that therefore Family Values therefore a strong America therefore less intrusive government and they call me an actor to hear them to hear them talk you'd never know that the nightmare of nuclear annihilation has been lifted from our sleep you'd never know that our standard of living remains the highest in the world you did you'd never know that our air is cleaner than it was twenty years ago you'd you'd never know that we remain the one nation the rest of the world looks to for leadership [Applause] all right all right thank you [Applause] all right [Applause] it always or wasn't always this way we mustn't forget even if they would like to the very different America that existed just 12 years ago an America with 21 percent interest rates and back-to-back years of double-digit inflation and America an America where mortgage payments doubled paychecks plunged and motorists sat in gas lines and America whose leaders told us it was our own fault that ours was a future of scarcity and sacrifice and that what we really needed was another good dose of government control and higher taxes [Applause] it wasn't it wasn't so long ago that the world was a far more dangerous place as well it was a world where aggressive soviet communism was on the rise and America's strength was in decline it was a world where our children came of age under the threat of nuclear holocaust it was a world where our leaders told us that standing up to aggressors was dangerous that America might and determination were somehow obstacles to peace but we stood tall and proclaimed that communism was destined for the ash heap of history we we never heard so much ridicule from our liberal friends the only thing that got them more upset was two simple words evil empire but we knew then what the Liberal Democrat leaders just couldn't figure out the sky would not fall if America restored her strength and resolve the sky would not fall if an American president spoke the truth the only thing that would fall was the Berlin Wall I heard thank you hi I heard those speakers at that other convention saying we won the Cold War and I couldn't help wondering just who exactly do they mean by we and all right and to top it off to top it off they even tried to portray themselves as sharing the same fundamental values of our party but but they truly don't understand the principles so eloquently stated by Abraham Lincoln quote you cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong you cannot you you cannot help you cannot help the wage-earner by pulling down the wage payer you cannot you cannot help the poor by destroying the rich you you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves if we if we ever if we ever hear the Democrats quoting that passage by Lincoln and acting like they mean it then my friends we will know that the opposition has really changed until then when we see all that rhetorical smoke billowing out from the Democrats well ladies and gentlemen I'd follow the example of their nominee don't inhale all right but listen to me this fellow they've nominated claims he's the new Thomas Jefferson well let me tell you something I knew Thomas Jefferson II he was a friend of mine [Applause] and governor your no Thomas check now No all right all right but now let's not dismiss our current troubles but where they see only problems I see possibilities as vast and diverse as the American family itself even as we meet the rest of the world is astounded by the pundits and finger pointers who are so down on us as a nation well I've said it before and I'll say it again America's best days are yet to come our our our proudest moments are yet to be our most glorious achievements are just ahead America remains what Emerson called her a hundred and fifty years ago the country of tomorrow what a wonderful description and how true and yet tomorrow might never have happened had we lacked the courage in the 1980s to chart a course of strength and honor whoa [Applause] oh all the more reason all the more reason no one should underestimate the importance of this campaign and what the outcome will mean the stakes are high the presidency is serious business we cannot afford to take a chance we need a man of serious purpose unmatched experience knowledge and ability a man who understands government who understands our country and who understands the world a man who has been at the table with Gorbachev and Yeltsin a man whose performance as commander-in-chief of the bravest and most effective fighting force in history left the world in awe and the people of Kuwait free of foreign tyranny yes yes yes four years more years a man who has devoted more than half his life to serving his country a man of decency integrity and honor and tonight I come to tell you that I warmly genuinely wholeheartedly support the real election of George Bush as president of the United States we all right okay all right we know President Bush by his own admission he is a quiet man not a showman he is a trustworthy and level-headed leader who is respected around the world his is a steady hand on the tiller through the choppy waters of the 90s which is exactly what we need we need George Bush [Music] yes yes yes yes we need Bush we also need another real fighter a man who happens to be with us this evening someone someone who has repeatedly stood up for his deepest convictions we need our Vice President Dan Quayle now-now-now it's it's true a lot of Liberal Democrats are saying it's time for a change and they're right the only trouble is they're pointing to the wrong end of Pennsylvania Avenue what [Applause] but [Applause] but what we should change is a Democratic Congress that wastes precious time on partisan matters of absolutely no relevance to the needs of the average American so so to all the entrenched interests along the Potomac the gavel wielding Chairman the bloated staffs the taxers and takers and congressional rule makers we have a simple slogan for November 1992 clean house yes yes for you see where you see my fellow Republicans we are the change for 50 of the last 60 years the Democrats have controlled the Senate and they've had the House of Representatives for 56 of the last 60 years it is time to clean house to clean out the privileges and perks clean out the arrogance and the big egos clean out the scandals the corner cutting and the foot dragging what what kind of job do you think they've done during all those years they've been running the Congress they're absolutely right you know I used to say to some of those Democrats who chair every committee in the House you need to balance the government's checkbook the same way you balance your own then then I learned how they ran the house bank and and I realized that was exactly what that had they had been doing now now just now just change what they would do if they controlled the executive branch - this is the twenty first twenty first presidential election in my lifetime the sixteenth in which I will cast a ballot each of those elections had its shifting moods at the moment is headlines of one day that were forgotten the next there have been a few more twists and turns this year than in others a little more shouting about who was up or down in or out as we went about selecting our candidates but now we have arrived as we always do at the moment of truth the serious business of selecting a president now is the time for choosing as it did 12 years ago and as we have seen many times in history our country now stands at a crossroads there is widespread doubt about our public institutions and profound concern not merely about the economy but about the overall direction of this great country and as they did then the American people are clamoring for change and sweeping reform the question we had to ask twelve years ago is the question we ask today what kind of change can we Republicans offer the American people some might believe that the things we've talked about tonight are irrelevant to the choice these new isolationists claim that the American people don't care about how or why we prevailed in the great defining struggle of our age the victory of Liberty over our adversaries they insist that our triumph is yesterday's news part of a past that holds no lessons for the future well nothing could be more tragic after having come all this way on the journey of renewal we began 12 years ago then if America herself forgot the lessons of individual liberty that she has taught to a grateful world Emerson was right we are the country of tomorrow our revolution did not end at Yorktown more than two centuries later America remains on a voyage of discovery a land that has never become but is always in the act of becoming but just as we have led the crusade for democracy beyond our shores we have a great task to do together in our own home now I would appeal to you to invigorate democracy in your own neighborhoods whether we come from poverty or wealth whether we are afro-american or Irish American Christian or Jewish from big cities or small towns we are all equal in the eyes of God what as Americans as Americans that's not enough we must be equal in the eyes of each other we we we can no longer judge each other on the basis of what we are but must instead start finding out who we are an American an America our origins matter less than our destinations and that's what democracy is all about a decade a decade after we summoned America to a new beginning we are beginning still every day brings fresh challenges and opportunities to match with each sunrise we are reminded that millions of our citizens have yet to share in the abundance of American prosperity many languish in neighborhoods riddled with drugs and bereft of hope still others hesitate to venture out on the streets for fear of criminal violence let us pledge ourselves to a new beginning for them let us apply our ingenuity and remarkable spirit to revolutionize education in America so that everyone among us will have the mental tools to build a better life and while we do so let's remember that the most profound education begins in the home and let us and let us harness the competitive energy that Build America into rebuilding our inner cities so that real jobs can be created for those who live there and real hope can rise out of despair let us strengthen our health care system so that Americans of all ages can be secure in their futures without the fear of financial ruin and my friends once and for all let us get control of the federal deficit through a balanced budget amendment yes this is a budget amendment and a line-item veto the president and let us all renew our commitment renew our pledge to day by day person by person make our country in the world a better place to live then then when the nations of the world turn to us and say America you are the model of freedom and prosperity we can turn to them and say you ain't seen nothing yet for me tonight is the latest chapter in a story that began a quarter of a century ago when the people of California entrusted me with the stewardship of their dreams my fellow citizens those of you here at this hall and those of you at home I want you to know that I have always had the highest respect for you for your common sense and intelligence and for your decency I have always believed in you and in what you could accomplish for yourselves and for others and 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 opportunities arm steadying your way my hunt fondest hope for each one of you and especially for the young people here [Applause] yes and what this is my hope is that you will love your country not for her power or wealth but for her selflessness and 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 may all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins never fail to seek divine guidance and never lose your natural god-given optimism and finally my fellow Americans may every dawn be a great new beginning for America and every evening bring us closer to that shining city upon a hill before I go I would like to ask the person who has made my life's journey so meaningful someone I have been so very proud of over the years to join me Nancy my fellow Americans my fellow Americans on behalf of both of us goodbye and God bless each and every one of you and god bless this country [Applause] you

Channel: Reagan Foundation

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Keywords: 1992 RNC Speech, RNC Speeches, Reagan Speeches, Republican National Convention

Id: WxL3OU1dwmI

Length: 36min 39sec (2199 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 21 2010

Reddit Comments

[u/Prestigious-Alarm-61]

I miss Ronald Reagan.