The 1996 Republican National Convention convened at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, from August 12 to August 15, 1996. The convention nominated Senator Bob Dole from Kansas, for president and former representative and secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp, from Maryland, for vice president.
Background Political context
After a bitter primary, Dole had secured the Republican presidential nomination—but at high cost, financially and politically. The Party had lost momentum after President Bill Clinton successfully co-opted the historically Republican issues of crime and welfare reform and portrayed Speaker Newt Gingrich as an extremist.
Within his own party, Dole was under pressure from both sides of the political spectrum. Social liberals such as California governor Pete Wilson and Massachusetts governor Bill Weld loudly argued to remove the Human Life Amendment plank from the convention platform. On the right, primary opponents Pat Buchanan and Alan Keyes withheld endorsements—Buchanan staged a rally for his supporters in nearby Escondido on the eve of the San Diego convention.Buchanan Rejects Offer for Small Role at Convention. The New York Times. July 30, 1996. Indeed, past comments by Kemp labeling Dole as a tax-raiser surfaced. The long, bitter primary had also left the Dole campaign short of funds as a result of federal election spending limits in the months leading up to the convention.
The Dole campaign sought to use the convention to unite the party, to appeal to political moderates, and to highlight Dole's honorable service in World War II and in the U.S. Senate. Nearly all floor speeches were delivered by moderate or liberal Republicans, including the keynote address by New York Representative Susan Molinari, and Dole was nominated by fellow veteran and Arizona Senator John McCain. Gingrich, who less than two years earlier had been a star of the party, was denied a prime time slot altogether, as was Buchanan, who had finished in second place for the nomination, with over 200 delegates. However, supporters in the socially conservative grassroots organizations such as the Christian Coalition directed the convention to adopt a conservative platform with little controversy, and Buchanan released his delegates at the last minute.
The convention ran smoothly overall, and the Dole-Kemp team seemed to benefit in the short term. Opinion polls taken shortly after the conclusion of the convention showed the Republicans with a significant "bump" of increased support. However, this bump was extremely temporary, and they continued to trail the incumbent Clinton-Gore team; they went on to lose the election by almost nine points.
Site selection The Republican National Committee asked 30 cities to submit bids. Their finalist cities were Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, San Antonio, and San Diego. Chicago withdrew after winning their bid to host the 1996 Democratic National Convention. San Diego, ultimately, beat out the remaining finalists to win the RNC. The selection of San Diego was announced in January 1995.
The 1996 RNC was the first presidential nominating convention to be held in San Diego, and the only Republican National Convention held in Southern California (the 1972 RNC was scheduled for the San Diego Sports Arena but relocated to Miami Beach, Florida, due to scandal). Indeed, San Diego's bid had been considered unlikely to win. The San Diego Convention Center was far smaller than its predecessor venues, the Astrodome in Houston and the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, and its normal seating layout left several sections and skyboxes with obstructed views. Ardent lobbying by Mayor Susan Golding, who some named as a potential candidate for U.S. Senate in 1998, and by Governor Wilson, himself to seek the 1996 presidential nomination, helped secure San Diego's selection in 1994.
Bids + Finalist cities City Venue Proposed financing for convention Previous major party conventions hosted by city Name Capacity Chicago, Illinois (withdrew bid) United Center Democratic: 1864, 1884, 1892, 1896, 1932, 1940, 1944, 1952, 1956, 1968Republican: 1860, 1868, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1904, 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1952, 1960 New Orleans, Louisiana Louisiana Superdome 40,000 $14.6 million Republican: 1988 New York City, New York Madison Square Garden 20,924 $30.5 million Democratic: 1868, 1924, 1976, 1980, 1992 San Antonio, Texas Alamodome 43,311 $17.3 million San Diego, California San Diego Convention Center 18,000 $14 million
Other bids In mid-February 1994, Los Angeles, California, withdrew its bid to have the Los Angeles Convention Center host the convention, citing the previous month's 1994 Northridge earthquake as the reason the city could not afford to finance the hosting of such an event in 1996.
In late-March 1994, St. Louis, Missouri, withdrew its bid.
Logistics
The San Diego Host Committee, "Sail to Victory '96," was organized on September 8, 1995.
This was the first national party convention since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which sparked heightened concerns over terrorism. The possibility that the explosion of TWA Flight 800 weeks before was a terrorist incident also weighed on convention planners. The Convention Center was located on the waterfront, near a harbor frequented by thousands of small boats—upon one of which Dole and Kemp made their ceremonial arrival. The police, Coast Guard, and other security presence was massive.
Convention planners situated the designated protest area several blocks away from the convention center, sparking criticism and legal action. It was later moved to a parking lot closer to the building which had originally been designated as an ADA-compliant transportation hub.
The convention was successful for San Diego, bringing positive publicity to the city and its revitalized waterfront and Gaslamp Quarter. The convention committee, however, overran its budget by some $20 million, largely because of the extra costs of security.
Due to the limited ceiling height of the convention hall, the podium was elevated a mere above the convention floor, significantly lower than the podium had been elevated at the preceding 1992 Republican convention. Due to the small space in the convention hall, thousands of credentialed convention-goers were relegated to watching the convention via television screens in secondary rooms in the convention complex.
Media outlets observed that the convention's prime time programming had deen choreographed as a "made-for-TV" event; The Washington Post described it as having a "tightly packaged, carefully scripted format" and a "fast-paced program, replete with cutaways, taped segments and slick videos, in an effort to maximize air time for their partisan message." Except for the acceptance and keynote speeches, speakers were generally allotted no more than five minutes to speak. To warn speakers when their allotted speaking time was running out, a light was mounted on the podium. The convention even built its schedule to anticipate and accommodate commercial breaks on the networks broadcasting the convention live. RNC chairman Haley Barbour explained that the convention would be "fast-paced and entertaining" to preserve viewer interest, arguing that the video packages allowed them to deliver their message "more succinctly, more clearly and more efficiently" not unlike a newscast.
To ensure that some television audiences would see uncut extended coverage of the convention with a strictly pro-Republican slant, the Republican National Committee purchased television time on The Family Channel to air its "GOP-TV" coverage commercial free from 9am to 11pm for the duration of the convention. The Family Channel was owned by Pat Robertson, who was prominently involved in Republican politics. The Republican Party also purchased a half hour of morning broadcast time on USA Network on five days during the convention week. Television pundits expressed their displeasure with how choreographed and non-spontaneous the convention proceedings were, and television viewership of the convention were lower than any previous nationally television conventions. Republican advisor Bill Kristol criticized the RNC for "[thinking like] a sitcom producer", arguing that "there's not even a pretense that there's going to be any articulation of ideas and issues."
One of the chief Dole operatives tasked with overseeing convention preparations was Paul Manafort.
The cost associated with setting up the convention hall itself were reported to be between $5 million and $7 million.
The federal government provided both conventions with $12.3 million in funding in 1996. Johnson & Higgins provided liability insurance coverage for the convention.
Party platform Despite speeches at the convention having a more moderate and inclusive tone, the party platform adopted at the 1996 convention catered the conservative ideological right.
Convention speakers John Marelius of the San Diego Union-Tribune described the convention's lineup of speakers as portraying a, "diverse, inclusive Republican Party of stirring orators, women, minorities, disabled people and Democrats who switched parties." Marelius regarded the convention as contrasting with the preceding 1992 Republican convention, which had given prominent platform for Pat Buchanan's "religious war". Some religious conservatives took issue with the sparse inclusion of "pro-life" (anti-abortion) rhetoric in the convention. Pat Buchanan was denied a speaking slot at the convention.
Schedule
Day one: Monday, August 12 SpeakerThe GOP Convention Day-by-Day (published in CQ Almanac 1996, 52nd ed., 11-6-11-9. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1997)Gifts of Speech – Nancy ReaganPosition/NotabilityGerald Ford38th President of the United States (1974-1977)George H. W. Bush41st President of the United States (1989-1993)Colin PowellFormer Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993) Former U.S. National Security Advisor (1987-1989)Nancy ReaganFormer First Lady of the United States (1981-1989)Mary Fisher Hydeia BroadbentHIV/AIDS activists
Day two: Tuesday, August 13 SpeakerPosition/NotabilitySusan MolinariU.S. Congresswoman from NY-19 (1990-1997) Vice Chairwoman of the House Republican Conference (1995-1997) (keynote address)George W. Bush46th Governor of Texas (1995-2000) Son of George H. W. Bush (call to order)John KasichU.S. Congressman from OH-12 (1983-2001)J. C. WattsU.S. Congressman from OK-04 (1995-2003) Kay Bailey HutchisonU.S. Senator from Texas (1993-2013)Christine Todd Whitman50th Governor of New Jersey (1994-2001)Newt Gingrich50th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (1995-1999) Leader of the House Republican Conference (1995-1999) U.S. Congressman from GA-06 (1979-1999)John G. Rowland86th Governor of Connecticut (1995-2004)John Engler46th Governor of Michigan (1991-2003)Tommy Thompson42nd Governor of Wisconsin (1987-2001)Tom Ridge43rd Governor of Pennsylvania (1995-2001) Jim Edgar38th Governor of Illinois (1991-1999)Bill FristU.S. Senator from Tennessee (1995-2007)
Day three: Wednesday, August 14 SpeakerPosition/NotabilityElizabeth Dole20th U.S. Secretary of Labor (1989-1990) 8th U.S. Secretary of Transportation (1983-1987) speech by wife of presidential nomineeRobin DoleDaughter of Bob DoleBen Nighthorse CampbellU.S. Senator from Colorado (1993-2005) Dan Quayle44th Vice President of the United States (1989-1993) Jeane Kirkpatrick16th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (1981-1985)Fred ThompsonU.S. Senator of Tennessee (1994-2003)James A. Baker III 44th U.S. Secretary of State (1989-1992)