Posted on 12/01/2018 7:01:57 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
It will go down as one of the most famous broken promises in political history. In 1988, George H.W. Bush stood before delegates to the Republican National Convention and vowed: "Read my lips: no new taxes."
Bush, who died Friday night at 94, had been trailing opponent Michael Dukakis by as much as 17 points. He made the pledge as part of his effort to draw a contrast with an opponent he wanted to define as a Massachusetts tax and spend liberal. It worked and helped him win in a landslide.
But then, in 1990, under pressure to strike a budget deal with the Democratic-controlled Congress, Bush relented and agreed to hike taxes.
American politics and policy has never been the same.
The sense of betrayal aided Newt Gingrich's rise to power. As the number two Republican in the House minority at the time, he broke with Bush and led a rebellion against the budget deal. Though the deal ended up passing anyway, his opposition helped rally conservatives behind him, and it fueled his eventual ascent to the speakership when Republicans took control of the House four years later.
Bush, meanwhile, was dogged by the broken pledge during his 1992 reelection campaign, both in the primary against Pat Buchanan and in the general election, in which Bill Clinton used the issue to effectively muddy the waters on the honesty question.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Everybody remembers where they were that day - unless they were Democrat voters (cemetery).
This rotten bastard single handedly ended the Reagan revolution, AND established the deep state as our masters.
Good riddance.
I hope he rots in hell.
True. But that's not how it was interpreted at the time and I don't think that is how he intended it to be interpreted.
I think Bush was Reagan's first big mistake. The second was the amnesty agreement with the Democrats.
The term “Voodoo economics” to describe Reagan’s economic policies was coined by none other than GHWB.
Yep, he torpedoed Reagan’s policies about day one of his administration.
Well he standing before God as we speak.
Didn't the Moral Majority play a big role in Reagan in 1980?
ummm... ok... but George H.W. Bush was never a US Senator.....
Thanks for the history lesson. I turned 18 in 92 was caught up in Ralph Reed and Pat’s Christian Coalition early on.
Which is why 2024 concerns me a bit. We need to find just the right person, one who will continue the momentum.
Yea, my bad.....forgot he lost the Senate election in Texas to Yarborough in 64. I suppose it’s because he behaved so much like a Senator that I forget that fact.
Most excellently put. Cutting back room deals with your friend across the aisle is definitely a quality of a "leader".
/sarcasm
Best original insight I've read on FR in quiet a while.
You didn’t mention O’Connor and Kennedy on the court.
GHWB also lost a second Senate race in 1970 to his friend, Lloyd Bentsen, Dukakis’ running-mate.
Don't look now, but your apostrophe is hanging out.
Way too many people ignore that fact. Our side looks for reason not to vote.
Every American who was above the age of seven on that day, remembers precisely where they were when the heard the news of JFK being shot.
So did Poppy Bush. Why he felt the need to be evasive with that answer, is fuel for much disturbing speculation.
“Best original insight I’ve read on FR in quiet a while”
Aw, shucks.
What happens when sometimes when you type faster than your brain works. Sign of age I’m afraid
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