The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer; 1996 Republican National Convention

z's economy growing twice as fast as it is has grown in the last four years but the time alice in seattle is that attach so you know it's a little defensive here but that this is the way it's going to emerge not by point by point analysis of the platform that few people read so our own former senator from hatcheries around recently and he expressed concern about the fact that there were so many activists so many leaders now in the republican party who were doing things on a religious basis for sure whatever and he was concerned about that and he said people who want religion and politics at what's happened about that but what happened in beirut and other places you show that matter what about not about the republican party nor know i share the concern of activists church isn't that that are highly engaged in the democratic party i used to campaign in texas and a lot of the campaigning in texas is you will remember was done and minority churches all across texas and they're all unanimously for the opposition i

go there and show the flag anyway you don't hear much about that you do hear more about their conservative christian coalition but then i i don't worry about it i don't see anything dramatically wrong with somebody trying to get out their shape events and i think i think the liberal side it's love's to flail away at a christian coalition when you look at the values to look at what these people believe strong families you know sound economy i don't see how people can argue the point to the partition extremists in this you know in our midst sure there are other plenty in the democratic side absolutely actor mark shields and poles you know the platform for president bush said in an interview the same thing the bob dole said yesterday in an effort at the platform all this fighting that mean anything that's not what the party has asthma what i believed in whether it was the average person's boston was to take focus well the truth is somewhere between

a platform is it's a summary of what the activists in the party believe it's a summary of the police of those people who like the antelope to show up at them at the platform committee to really work hard for the party who come to the party because of their beliefs but you don't wanna an election simply with those people you have to appeal to the broader center of the country and ultimately a party any party is defined by its president and vice presidential candidates and that and the progress of that they said when they go to the country after the convention i think that's the point the doors making in a candid assessment forget all this well kate dixon chooses in and we do we do have parties defied essentially in the final analysis by the president to get it don't forget that franklin roosevelt the dominant political figure the twentieth century and i don't want it to be very true to it but under the democratic party over generation that which which really intriguing team to me is how this party is a symbol and in a convention hall i mean it's entirely different and it's a lot more conservative than bob dole was a big majorities delegates one

would keep the assault weapons ban they're more conservative than the boggle a whole host of issues and one of five of them fits that stereotype of republicans net worth a million dollars put into their own statements of times got a prominent republican with him in the gym where the governor of the state of calvary p wilson joins us now generated it will speak to this convention in prime time has been some discussion in the corridor that while we're there allow the host governor i don't think i know an invitation was issued in the animals drawn i mean i really don't know why i hear my voice well the speculation is and has not been discouraged by you that they thought that you would talk to cobble way was a need for moderation on the issue of abortion and they didn't want that to happen either because they were the forefront i can't say because i

don't know they haven't said no and so i'm not publicly speculate what i do think is that most people in this whole probably have asked to agree that what we ought to be concerned with are the number of children born out of wedlock in this country and all that flows from that that is an infinitely greater concern and it happens to be the best way to deal with the question of abortion as well as the question of the social tragedy that is flowing from a fatherless america one child in three born out of wedlock real concern about her jack have been chosen by bob dole during the fact that he has differed with a pretty sharp when affirmative action a whole question about it we treat illegal immigrants in this country no i wasn't first of all jack is also an old friend i we go back a long ways and he has helped and campaigns we do disagree on that issue but i think the point really is this when you are the presidential nominee as bob always in this case

you obviously have a conversation with your potential running mates and if you are the running mate if you accept that invitation and that responsibility then whether it was bob dole running with gerald ford or richard nixon with it or george bush was robbery the understanding is that the presidential nominees the senior partner he is the one who sets the policy and by accepting the invitation iran you accept the condition that he will in fact set the policy but a bottle is very clearly and for a long time been in support of proposition one eighty seven that settles the issue but the fact is a job typical your party been more outspoken than jack kemp about for example issues of integration and affirmative action and making this an inclusive party and there are lots of hispanics and blacks in this country who believe that we are doing in california saying to them you know welcome and there sadly raul because one eighty seven said that we didn't think state taxpayers should be stuck with a cost of federal

failure to stop mass and illegal immigration i would point out to the past in california heavily was a sixty percent vote that included every racial and ethnic group every social economic group in fact some of the most fervent supporters were that those who are among the most recently arrived illegal immigrants and it had nothing to do with illegal immigration we are a nation of immigrants and proud of it no state is more cosmopolitan than this one vote but why should the children of illegal immigrants become allies as the language in the platform indicates they will be especially those become citizens that they're born here either they're war new alerts tom why should we have immigration laws in all and spend money on a border patrol and then offer incentives to violate the law and enter the country illegally what sense does a tradition they are under this law and now there are very few nations

in europe in africa in asia that afford automatic citizenship to the children of those who've entered the country in violation of its laws and in fact the united kingdom australia i believe once had that law and now repealed they no longer can for automatic citizenship where she rather the question wouldn't help or useful economy's doing better here that's actually climbs down on the hot button issues focus on everything that will inure house he spent so much time in jail for it sweet tough to win this but it's a little pause in the country isn't painful well you know going to twenty eight fundraisers in beverly hills and messing with a glitzy set doesn't say that you were adequate to deal with real people with real problems of real people and he has failed utterly to give icann leadership necessary to reform the massive illegal immigration that has brought about one eighty seven it is giving some medical judges when phrases like menudo in that rather than dealing honestly when the divisiveness

that has generated by a system that engages in unfair preferences based on race and gender as not leadership and bob dole you will get their positions clear leadership and you won't get the kind of broken promises that have become associated with president says dr dre or most memorably russell will be appearing on television but now courson is with martin quote is not a big deal or does he been a good soldier with the fact that pete wilson is not the governor of california as migrants and if he's the mayor of san diego by the way and he is not going to speak to his own convention he's not this bakery according to the wilson people not dispute about a republican which it originally was scheduled speech in evening tuesday and then that was changed according to the wilson talks to monday welcoming a recent media state of the audience at this afternoon that sadly republicans was not that great so the government i think quite frankly is distancing himself from this will come if an invention

of the political ad dollars the consideration well he is saying that he has gotten onboard after some grudging approval of jack up jack kemp was so like i think there's a little bit of the two people criticize the camp appointment i you had the bay buchanan again and sister to pete wilson the governor of california and it seems to me there's probably a little bit of your two thousand positioning going on here positioning themselves to say look we told you so we have a little bit different position if this ticket should go down for additional views on the republican party and it was before for more on how the republicans got where they are now we turn to three news our regulars presidential historians doris kearns goodwin and michael beschloss and author and journalist haynes johnson enjoying tonight and throughout the week by william kristol editor and publisher of the weekly standard welcome college doris kearns goodwin what does history tell us about those party this is who is a party has again i think history tells us

that this has been a battle for a long period time after party this i can think of three moments that really illustrate that the first one was in nineteen fifty two when dirksen representing tax which was the isolationist point of view of the party dismantle the new deal versus the wilkie doing much more liberal international if you stood up and yelled it doing on the floor saying you took us to defeat we will not fall you again and then a fistfight broke out in the convention because these passions were so hot that i can think of nineteen sixty when nixon's platform included rockefeller to try and get that liberal wing in there and goldwater said he had sold out it was the munich surrender and he would pay for and then in sixty four of course the great moment the sad moment when rockefeller tried to speak on the minority civil rights plank and was brought down by the convention and not even allowed the free speech those are moments that show is obviously unity they come together but they've always been divisions it'll always be that way to be particularly be surprising if there were divisions when that this is a party that's taken people from all the region's all different classes sixty four convention that was the one that if you think about where the republicans are

today you have to look at the record that barry goldwater wins the nomination pull conservative tied the south and the west against the old industrial east midwest and all of a sudden it's a new party he goes down the worst defeat in american history and there were people i hope i'm not one into what look like lives was doomed because of libya four years later that is the party that became the majority that we're seeing today and hold on to its place in history it was seen as the the abt party of the country club set for so long that change might guess that the republican party was once wall street possibly street with these little international wing political wing if you will and they should republicans bob those were the last july sales in florida beat western the fiscal restraint republicanism the addition to the party to be single word about forty percent of nineteen sixty four and you're waiting at sixty percent of nineteen eighty four was reagan democrats or religious conservatives not

country club types of people who are now accused thought of being an extremely divisive it more difficult for a park to assimilate that were responsible for the republicans become a bargain with the majority party they'll do you think what we're saying at this convention center the differences even though they have come to a sort of peace for the convention it's a result of all the new groups it's easier to be unified if you're a small minority party and when roosevelt of the most shorted the greatest majority coalition american history probably was franklin roosevelt's new deal coalition which really lasted till nineteen ninety four for this really hard dominate american politics at the national state and local level for six decades for the last couple decades but was the dominant coalition it was a huge collision of catholics in the east anti catholic from the midwest and southwest union members at an anti union civil rights activist southern segregationist successful political parties might become a principle which they consistently good defense and there's

another thing here also that runs throughout this whole period and that is that you have one group that had the idea of the republicans should be basically a centrist big tent party a little bit where the center dwight eisenhower felt that way richard nixon did george bush did although i think he didn't really demonstrate that inaction and i think probably bob dold us and on the other side you have people such as barry goldwater ronald reagan who felt that the republican party should be a bold ideological colors and there were a lot of people who could be and that's the republican point of view and also who would respond to a sense that there was strong leadership and also that if you voted for the republicans' with the strong ideas life would change one of the reason it may be the runaway reagan won the election was not so much that you have an enormous number of people who entirely sure to set of views but many people nineteen eighty one for a much attracted to the fact that reagan was a strong enough leader to suggest a lot of things that perhaps people did not feel were tremendously popular and also they

felt that if you voted for reagan and the republicans in nineteen eighty over jimmy carter of the democrats' life would change politics would change that had a lot to do with lead republicans got to remember though that the republican party straight historically now has come from the south where it never was before ever since the civil rights revolution of the nineteen sixties indeed when lyndon johnson signed the civil rights act he said as he sign that this may be the beginning of the end of the democratic control in the south and that's been an enormous boost to the republican party and so it's built on the bass in some ways of the anti civil rights movement so that's a sad commentator have the collapse of the democratic party because of the war in vietnam because of the assassinations the licensing if all these things that well to get richard nixon thought regarding silence i'm in the street all these things have now been playing off the last generation coming up again but being subsumed theres one figure i think this convention is largely party that's

right and this is ronald reagan's party and he was the most for the republicans certainly since i would argue and what the century and this is eisenhower bezos import president really not that important is the fbi and all parts of the party literally firfer sexual agendas ok will be back later thanked her and that's jan right hold those all those thoughts we wanna go to outback town of the convention center time we have a lot of the beginning of some action here tonight and where we just heard zach for interviews his father the former president gerald ford jack ford was a committed word nadir here and now at the podium is it's both as

americans we strongly believe that the best years of our nation light just ahead for decades the washington decisions that affected the lives of real americans were the wrong ones bigger government more taxes more welfare while in nineteen ninety four after forty years of high spending it acts that democrat decisions in washington americans elected a commonsense republican congress under republican leadership welfare has been time limited and replaced by war and the first balanced budget in a generation was passed with will and deficit spending and save families two thousand hours a year in lawrence restraints republicans approve long overdue family guy actually because taxes are so high today that many parents actually spend more time working to pay the tax collector then they get time to stand with their children ladies and gentlemen there's even more to do in the days ahead republicans warn act no nonsense

and i drop was because teenage marijuana use has doubled since bill clinton took office the gop congress will pass the whole family can actually plan because bill clinton's largest tax increase in history is still families was stagnating and cones and little to save for the future a few years ago americans gave our party the opportunity to apply common sense solutions the problems long ignored by those who ran congress for forty years this year will make history again along with collecting vibe going to have for the first time in sixty eight years will relax a republican house a high clay of what that will mean just one year from today families benefiting from more interest rates from a balanced budget workers having more take home pay and more time for their clients thanks to

family guy actually serious problems like illegal immigration problems being tackled with serious solutions was the mall will have a leader in the white house and honestly with integrity and character will be a source of pride to all and ladies and gentlemen gentlemen once again americans will know with certainty that's the best use for our nation and for our children live just that thank you all and god bless america thank you so you were about to hear from one of the outspoken uncovered for members of the republican party analysis on a figure from bob dole six months or so and that is the

senator from the state of new york the junior senator alfonse d'amato maybe in the white house that's of course are in the spring issue of his extended periods in the making the people's been the prize being me with the

united states is that a well known pianist why don't we have about what the uk one reason that we have this bill that maybe it's always flea a bill clayton vetoed a balanced budget he was long then he has long now and we are going up the dollar bill it's

brilliant believing in the american dream came to america seeking opportunity for their children and grandchildren might actually speak a word of english and billy started grade school he was forced to drop out of high school blended uprising supported at rutgers institute but you know yeah they're fighting american spirit he never gave up he went back to high school and worked his way through problems were your degree in english the language of the land below and wanted to be so much a part of and now it gets on the honor and privilege of serving as united states senator representing the people of the great state of new york only in america my friends won't fight fight for that american dream and one american soul into the fall before for freedom they'd fought for liberty before

for america who painted all wounded on the battlefield was never expected to live more than three years in hospitals and seven operations later bob dole defied the odds you look death in the eye and he was lying on the bob dole as roving is buried under fire make no mistake about it the american people are under fire every day they don't feel safe in their homes or walking down the street that's not freedom people have a right to live free from the fear of crime it's time we had a president will put the rights of victims the fop women on the piano need more than sixty years in political rhetoric from a president we need a leader we can trust and a fighter who will wear and bob ball has never been afraid to leave in the battlefield of life and he

has never quit and he never will the policeman's beers and it's not just a battle about republicans and democrats if a battle for the everyday men and women of this country they battled to restart preserve the american dream for children and a battle that we can when we must win and we will win thank you and have life senator alfonse d'amato security television now on to a genuine power in the united states senate and on the national scene one of the early an enthusiastic advocate so bob all a big big promoter of him in his home state of new york and he was important at his side in the early going of this campaign a gym or were saying so far from the podium at least they're giving him as a very tight schedule when you keep

alfonse d'amato to under ten minutes you know that everything is being wrong with clockwork as a prisoner got it thank you tom brokaw now back to all those before and work to finish up our conversation she was having before we left a month ago back to our discussion of the historical roots of this republican party in and its divisions the rise of the religious conservatives michel the people with very strong religious feelings started the republican party they were abolitionists ride release they were a major part of forming of the party so religious strong religious feelings no not that although if you go back to the mid nineteen seventies i think something that was new was the development of religious groups and evangelical christians particularly with large movements of people who were very well organized very savvy about politics willing to get involved particularly in the presidential primary process and a very big way that has happened at the same time to outgrow the presidential primaries where you have a great number of activists early that year being

able to exercise even inordinate influence compared to fifteen years ago and the other thing that's made it much easier more generally is that we have been in the victory over the last twenty thirty years' war ideologically much of the country has been shifting to the right so that they have been able to be in a republican party which is much more conservative than twenty years ago but still is in contention to be the majority party in the market that which you say that this rise of religious conservatives has the most important change in the recent republican party it's that they really is this village five all sorts in the country more people are believers in first serve for some political insight politicized expenditures brought into politics and where they were drilling were seen to be twenty thirty years ago and they generally moved the republican party if you look at the diversity of the republican voters said the congressional level twenty years ago today the different colors with precisely these religious conservative voters in just a minute we have left he's the

former president bush said didn't read the platform eateries senator dole said that it's this unusual or is this something that has happened throughout the years that what happens as in what the candidates as a recession but what now what is important here is this party that there was talking about michael wilbon about is very different ideologically you'll see a debate on that platform right now about the divisions over abortion an idea the currents flowing very strongly that they are there and this is a different party today because of the religious so called right well there's no question that at certain moments they're very aware of the platform for example and forty eight when civil rights plank went into the democratic platform in the dixie cracks walk down you had a whole new party because the platforms or truman was aware that in sixty eight your question humphrey was aware of the platform when the anti war plan was not passed and his his convention erupted so this arun i think is probably desirable not have to worry about it is that

it shows that you can do what you want they want the freedom to parental that soon as we continue our look no to these republicans are unsure oh another goal joining us now to give us some polling data insight into who the republicans are is andrew kohut director of the pew research center for the people and the press and nonpartisan polling center thank you for joining us the polling data tells us about the profile of the republican party today we'll look at the people who say that they are consider themselves republicans rode democrats republicans intelligence continue to be party leaders billy crystal was saying but also the party of the mainstream the dominant demographic groups are largely republican whites are republican policies are republicans very public speaking with middle incomes are are republican democrats are still the party of minority groups the less affluent and the party of diversity it's a certain level the same republican private will always known that is that profound which also

told me that that's changing somewhat and we've been hearing a little bit about that throughout the program is the most import ways change our gender that we've heard an awful lot about the so called gender gap when the subject of sort of employees democratic plurality of them think of themselves as republicans such as on different sides of the partisan divide but also we have these great religious differences white evangelical protestants have made a big impact in the past fifteen years or just ten years ago only one in four republicans the locals now that figure is up to one thirty thirty five percent are white evangelicals far they're more related to that white southerners voted heavily republican party was traditionally democrats and catholics we heard just a few moments ago the point at which they began to weigh and catholics now wants them for the democratic party leaders like the republicans democrats are so many differences one polling data show about

the reasons for some of these changes like that catholics like the event telecast why are they coming into the private wealth and the total people's values as we do on a regular basis on the number of social conservatives now outnumbers that economic conservatives in the republican party has benefited from social conservatives and that's as part of the second part of it is that american politics is going into the church isn't coming out of the church's this white evangelical protestant ministers so the christian coalition very heavy impact very big positive impact for the republican party what are some other issues like abortion driving any of this but the catholics for example is that time i think traditionally republican to differentiate from democrats and independents on the basis of an economic conservatives lower interest in social welfare his support for

business but no issues of sexuality make as much a difference between republicans and democrats are countless much of a difference as the as the economic issues and so yes the abortion debate a debate about homosexuality all of these things have put the people of the two parties and different to look at a show the people more conservative until the people in it honey is a traditional republican sees themselves to the left toward the center was built with as many associate bob dylan gingrich not because there were no bubbles with bishops and briefly held that the people at this convention i've made representative of the larger mass of republicans out there that well they're older than they were in the path of the delegates were in the past and one male dominated than they were four years ago these things obviously are much more so than even the republican public and on abortion ban on assault rifles on the

environment that much more conservative than republicans around the country there is a gap on the sort of social issues or the environment or so on the economic issues and more confluence between the way these delegates you about economic issues where republicans around the country as i can sure i'm back because you go on mark shields pretty much all what the court's findings so do you think that if you're a republican you can't like having a republican congress and dislike religious voters and the those are the people who brought to the majority for the first time in forty years you have this in two years ago or you have this tension that exists now in the party between social conservatives and economic conservatives you didn't have that fifteen twenty years ago a lot of the drama were seen at this convention we saw last week at the platform is a tension between these two groups really jockeying for power and influence

within the party mart to do quick point one and follow and really had to say but also bill kristol and doris kearns goodwin had to say elizabeth first of all the republican party has become the party of brawling party it wasn't much of his party the gender gap within the republican party and in these findings is almost as deep as it isn't it's like a large republican when that much more pro environment are much more tolerant of homosexuality and a republican in second lead author and reprinted kearns goodwin's book point about the cells become the bastion among college graduates in the cell and republicans of nails forty seven eighteen republican over democrat and women's college graduates forty five to twenty six republican over democrat that is so it's not huge at that i think it could be getting its couple of factors one is obviously historically is the party of business if the

party of government regulation gave the party of the country club ii it's a party as well it had its birth in the resistance to the civil rights movement at washington movement of the most pro government people united states of america a black americans because they've seen the federal government abolished slavery and legal discrimination civil rights in my years of mark's point about the gender gap is very interesting but i think it's probably rooted in part in the differences between men and women on the views of government that are much more anti government now that women are and then says both in the democratic party and the republican party you look at tom brokaw on the convention hall we have a summit on the podium now three representatives of the republican party feeling farber is a symbol of what mark shields of talking about the growth of howard fuller says they flutter public and from the state of mississippi the fact that right now i have the privilege of turning dough but it's a

gavel to a leader who built white a white sheet our promise to reduce tax and he actually did it ladies and gentleman active for a healthcare the honorable governor of the state of new jersey the only woman republican governor the only woman governor in america governor christie toddler as she recovered by forcing some of the coma for that and he is now the governor of all i'm a passable debut of the world that have enough to california in speaking out on behalf of women having a choice to make the

primetime tv a r n thank you i am truly honored to take the gavel as a temporary co chair of the nineteen ninety six republican national convention over the last few decades our party has grown as people have flocked to our common sense ideas restoring the american dream like lowering taxes smaller and smarter government and returned a personal responsibility you delegates at this convention are the living legacy of the republican party's principles of inclusion and diversity bound together dr milner has been the peak viacom and believe in the values of farm work

family and country this evening we're going to meet a few of our fellow delegates a cross section of the hard working americans here tonight first i'd like you to meet jim marcus du knows of the republican party america's best hope of winning the fight against crime and reporting on the decline and the nation's moral values ladies and gentlemen america jim hawkins now to be able to share the county sheriff's office i have been for twenty three years as a police officer every day on the street i see the direct correlation and i think it

means they don't get anything in life you have to go around working for the republican party represents an opportunity for americans to grow and prosper when i was selected at the republican convention i'm representing their interest and select the next president united states i think all the delegates to the republican national convention representing mainstream america i'm just a regular guy like a lot of the other people you have a job and have a family to support and i took a week's vacation to come out here to do my part for for the past four years mary fischer has traveled the country working tirelessly to raise the weirdness about the navy seal writes mary has touched the hearts and

souls of thousands of americans living with this disease and the parents and the family she's a nationally recognized artist of my republican a devoted mother a concerned citizen and a person living with a ladies and gentleman it is my great honor to present to you mary fischer may remember that four years ago murray fisher stolen that from republican convention with useful for people from the city it's at home with the gold plated republican convention for the father next column and the flow of time for the financier the party and mary bridget work in the warehouse and he still is in fact from a husband now

at the time the deadliest epidemic in our history a third of a million americans are gone and our young are taking their place we know how they become infected and how they die and we stopped near the infectious nor the dying what we know matters those who knew nothing of the fall of isis maybe they're given that those who knew and did nothing are remembered for their cowardice because knowledge brings a burden of responsibility we cannot escape we know now the community's gay men and african american youth are brutalized by this epidemic we know now that

infection rates are rising fast says among adolescents and women we know now that death comes as the consequences of infection not immortality and we must act on what we know i mean to live and to die a republican the pain and will die in the aids community a community hungry for the evidence of leadership and desperate for help i'd like to introduce you to an idea broadband a friend who has been a member of the americas aids community since her birth twelve years ago and sweetheart

if you know my friends wanted you to fund tonight no look they want to know about america's dreams and they wanted me to ask you what you're right he's here with us now the piece beautifully

yes the plan who really cares for us the question is not political it's a human relations my suffering and death and it demands our

moral response because despite the headlines of miracle drugs we know the truth to well there is no prevented it and no cure for every death is a new infection and the dying has hardly begun after my late husband brian died i tried to explain to my children that the value of our lives will be measured not either lying but either depth it's a lesson that i learned from my father when he when he taught his children to play in the label the lesson it offers for us all rachel had his way with me when i can no longer live my son is to see the future or bend down to kiss away the pain at

that moment max's that will become the community's children more than my own and we will all be judged through the eyes of politics through the eyes of children may lose my own battle against but if you embrace moral courage tonight i didn't raise my children yeah there have what a greater than we would have achieved it four years ago

the fourth place so soon to do with the war as for treatment for aids and a greater commitment moral commitment and a government ultimately than a financial commitment to fight which he describes as the greatest epidemic in america to war thank you tom brokaw mr shales a message of compassion and inclusiveness the east german lemus no absolutely i mean i think a very fair share an idea abroad that touched everybody that that extended beyond any party lines and i think it was a suspect long before clear long before the selection to check out guy can describe themselves a bleeding heart conservative and he said the soul of america lies in how we treat the poor and minorities is unconscionable to me

people living in the conditions they do in this country hi and i think that boy that was that there was a strong nation with compassion from camp i think was a strong message of compassion all in a very conscious so a part or a conscious effort i think by the republicans to avoid what many of them think of the mistakes in houston for years ago where the fairly or not to approve the convention was perceived as sending a message of exclusivity and this is one that was to put a more human face and more compassionate face on the republican party which is often accused of not being compassionate and that's one of the messages they're trying to set throughout this and that was certainly have a moving example of their eighth issue i mean to live and that you guys are republican message it does is it about that i and the future and i have a very powerful statement we're going to take a short break now that will be right

back to resume our joint pbs nbc news coverage of the republican national convention ms boynton has begun funding for this program has been provided by the corporation for public broadcasting and viewers like you and i the presidential race is only part of what's happening in america is electing their true colors choices that that's why pbs is hosting an unprecedented debate with congressional candidates throughout the country from the region and the town that you're in

this year's debate about the future of congress someday september twenty nine these years oh yes or

the polls but the republican national convention and we are indeed back now with the pbs nbc news coverage of the convention in san diego joining me from the nbc anchor booth in the convention hall is tom brokaw thank you very much and where we have not yet spotted any presence with pitchforks down there on the convention floor but we do know that there are buchanan dollars that of course is how he described his rank and file in the early stages of this campaign when in new hampshire he won that primary and thought to be

going away of pat buchanan is not yet in the convention hall when he gets are about a half hour or so it prominently the early as they put him back in the cheap seats but let's check now available and see what he knows about ten dollars david what's on their mind not have pitchforks but there's some of the what about the fight for yet john walters is a delegate from the search for pat buchanan who were disheartened today to hear him endorse bob dole why reading we we and i came to attacking the fight to what is now the time to give up the fight is now thomas hardy's was to come together why would you want a bottle to win in november say i was heartened by the ocean well this is the people's record and i couldn't find a reason to support him as was born in that review that we know a reason why he's a supporter but no doubt now you'll come behind about your

partner or not so well i'm going to go back to missouri were hard for local and state candidates to give careful thought the us has had with bob dole says i have not read the entire party platform and i am not bound by this platform it responds well most conservative democratic platform was airing it at thirty two an early mr roosevelt every other plan for either but for those buchanan delegates who've worked so hard to get this tough anti abortion anti immigration anti affirmative action language about the form as a disarming we thought we would have to fight for the platform they handed to us on a silver platter everything that bush we got to hang out sports and rosa i was here your love for a fight supporters like you very much or tom sawyer jenner delegates really not ready to join this a republican party a hard day for march or also look for is that nbc when i foresee there were so another big

an annoying one day weekend ahead in louisiana you when every analysts be but if they can do it all and that you also saw what he did today what he said last night and then all of the house and senate are republicans but today there are a lot of delegates or this thought that you know if you are really happy with the way they think there's some concern that you know they're not really on the other side of the platform that lee says the alabama branch of now

susan molinari i'm not sure that's what i mean i don't want to take away from the ntc ninety six bob dole needs buchanan i think that they can raise more voters than susan molinari don't really agree with that and so i guess i'd rather seen as rather than lead it triglycerides when i

fall i'm joined here by nbc's tim russert washington bureau chief moderator of be the press to extend that metaphor all that they open the door to pat buchanan the eyes water republican women are slamming the door on them and that's the gravelly tom build people's a listen this is san diego ninety six we don't want to we now have pat buchanan endorsement we want nothing else we don't work in the state and in fact that he says he's disappointed with some of our more moderate positions still the media that we like that we encourage that it's the kind of thing town where they think that the cannon is going to run for president again sometime but as far as bob dole and jack kemp they believe that the voters have a choice between goldblum than vote for bob dole the fact of the matter is as they can play the numbers game all at warner though people can because that you can just read a lot of attention from us because he's entertaining in his provocative and so one way looks back an army behind them ms nawal al origin really doesn't have another question you get smaller and smaller smaller and people know that you can can say the platform that reflect his thinking

but you know we've heard that a bob dole jack kemp newt gingrich and haley barbour cherry public polls say they haven't read the platform i've never seen leadership of party fleeing a platform so quickly in my life is the first day the convention dr venter much to richard j loehr well thank you tom brokaw and tim russert mr shiels palsy go what you think mark of the way of buchanan issue in his endorsement today in writing out all go well it was cut and loaded question of you know you can have big event last night here in san diego for those that were aware of it and it was rather most believe those photos troops and it would what weapons and training and i think that the written statement was perhaps are all little people wanted me that they certainly didn't want it wasn't a big job but what is interesting in the cameras pointed out when pat buchanan there's a

lot that began in the platform but more than that it is john mccain senator arizona said by spotlighting the issue of stagnant wages the issue as he put it that packet can raise this year i had any good in the primaries the republican ticket was responding to the nation an interest on how competitive and out of the spot though i mean he has opened around the platform he said i want to put a pro life vice presidential nominees got one in checkout certainly we know pat buchanan jack kemp our personal rifles and we want well i think a pat buchanan didn't run in nineteen eighty eight because he wanted jack kemp he said this is your attorney or the legitimate reagan era jeane and camper and an amendment and pat believe that he had strayed somewhat from the conservative pantheon some issues he calls about big rock candy mountain conservative because he promises that optimism that pat's phrase and pat is made sometimes of sterner approach your stuff and that they have a difference and i think pat sees himself as a potential rivals

of of say a vice president at the new two thousand ok we get three out more about three very unique views on now on this particular question and we get them through margaret warner margaret and those views come from three other men who also sought the republican presidential nomination earlier this year but dropped out before pat buchanan they are senator phil gramm of texas senator richard lugar of indiana and lamar alexander education secretary in the bush administration and a former governor of tennessee arkansas governor pat buchanan says that every day just ripe for very eyes this is becoming de cannes party isn't of course in fact every day right of our very eyes and i think that that's that's right because this is the party of the small businessman or part of paper planes taxes and a working mother would like to have more choices of schools with with bob dole and jack kemp with that optimistic progressive conservative hopeful republican party whose tone is much

different than pat buchanan starch well i agree with the republican party's war ii the people who do the working poor working and i think what that you can never understood is it under the american political system and you just sit down and we lost we have said now it became an offer our help that is still making them a hand when you lose you don't mind a major role for helping to inventing pat buchanan is not but senator levin by continuing to fight he didn't get a platform to be not that largely reflected his views and his supporters will some of those views are in the platform let us or some large has no effect on a lot of couples and their camps spontaneous outburst of enthusiasm and optimism this for that as bob wilson says things that were very good fifteen percent tax cut and the nomination of jack kemp who clearly confirms that as an advocate

you're up for the slowly stay on that message fifteen percent tax cuts the growth and opportunity is only get off into some other areas we all have ideas on foreign policy environment social issues the whole game but those are not the issues that the american people want us to concentrate on the media says to forget that mccain and programs will win the war and the neurons in our plans and totally and absolutely routine so they got almost all of us seem to be in the ring with president bush tonight for president bush and i would not deal with this platform doesn't matter at all if so then what the saints social conservatism of the candidates we will the