[The 90s Election Specials raw: RNC #5]

Raw footage for "The 90's." Political satirist / onscreen personality Stoney Burke makes his way around the Republican National Convention in 1992. He later goes on to visit protests in Houston, TX where the convention was being held.

00:00Copy video clip URL This tape begins with footage of the end of Ronald Reagan’s speech at the convention. Burke remains very critical of Reagan and makes comments throughout the rest of his speech. Hercules gathers more footage from around the convention, including a shot of Reagan on the large screen. Reagan remains very complimentary of George Bush. “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 nineties which is exactly what we need. We need George Bush.” Reagan also compliments Dan Quayle (who is also in attendance).

06:22Copy video clip URL Cut to a shot of Stoney Burke outside of the convention approaching a man and woman adorned in George and Barbara Bush masks. The two are promoting a book entitled “Bush-isms.” Burke then interviews a young boy about his thoughts on the convention. The boy explains that he’s been shining shoes all day and remains neutral about the election.

09:48Copy video clip URL Burke speaks with Vietnam veteran Velardo Valdez. Valdez gives his reasons for protesting outside of the RNC. “I’m trying to get attention to the system that the VA uses in processing veteran claims, medically, or in my particular case it’s a PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders.” Valdez states that he is having difficulty getting services for the problems he developed after serving in the war. Valdez, along with many others, is unhappy with how he is being treated by the government. Valdez goes on to say he politically disagreed with the war in Vietnam while simultaneously serving his country. “We took a lot of casualties and I think the problem began here at home, with the division and the non-support that we had and consequently, not only did we lose the war, but we lost a lot of soldiers spiritually that came back and never wanted to admit that they were veterans and that’s what you find under the bridges, is people that are still hiding from the reception that we got years and years and years ago.” Valdez goes on to say that he would probably go to war again as long as the government were to ensure proper care for soldiers after they return to the states after war.

14:13Copy video clip URL Burke speaks with a few Hispanic men protesting the re-election of George Bush and his policies on free trade.

18:57Copy video clip URL Burke speaks with a woman advocating the use of the Bible and prayer in public schools. Hercules goes on to ask her about her views on religion and televangelist Pat Robertson.

21:26Copy video clip URL Burke approaches a pro-life advocate. “What I’m here for is to try to wake up those within the Republican Party, my party, that are ‘pro-choice’. A woman’s exclusive right to privacy ends where the placenta begins. No one’s saying that a woman doesn’t have a right to privacy, but that conception triggers and generates the placenta. If it were not for the placenta, the fetus would be rejected as foreign tissue from a woman’s body.” Burke, Hercules, and the pro-life supporter debate the issue for several minute, and eventually touch upon other hot button issues such as the death penalty and war.

29:02Copy video clip URL Cut to footage from inside of a car. Hercules and Burke travel to their next destination, spotting numerous billboards along the way, most of them supporting Republican causes. The audio cuts in and out throughout this portion of the tape.

31:53Copy video clip URL Upon arriving at their destination, Hercules gets footage of a broken down vehicle with the words “Don’t Gag The Arts” painted on its side. Shortly afterward, one of the other camera operators falls and hurts his ankle.

32:23Copy video clip URL Burke steps toward a woman adorned in a “smart bomb.” The woman is protesting Bush’s emphasis on bolstering the military budget. Another man talks about the same issue. He states that the Bush Administration has destroyed the American family. Burke speaks with several protesters about their artwork and what it represents.

35:10Copy video clip URL Burke states that he and Hercules are at a Gag Rally against censorship at The Menil Collection, an art museum in Houston. Hercules gathers footage from around the event. Burke goes on to speak with a protester, Jeff Graham, about his reasons for being there. “Specifically over the last several years we have seen an increase in institutional attacks on lesbian and gay created artwork, but an attack in general on all political artwork here in the United States, and it is just reprehensible, and we’re here to put an end to it today.” Graham talks about how censorship negatively effects his life. “As a gay man I see images that reflect my experiences that are denied from public funding, denied from public museums, denied from schools, denied from public support, and that is just wrong.” He then talks about the conservative definition of family values.

38:06Copy video clip URL Protester Mark Durham discusses the under-funding of the National Endowment for the Arts. Durham talks about the Republican definition of family values.

41:51Copy video clip URL Burke approaches a man named Lee Green and asks him about his reasons for being at the protest. Burke then gets a few quick words from other protesters about their thoughts on the Reagan/Bush Administration’s effect on the arts. One woman states, “Censorship is basically… it’s counter to everything this country stands for and simply said, we don’t need it and won’t put up with it.” Burke also speaks with a woman about her disapproval of the Bush Administration, who eloquently presents her views.

50:52Copy video clip URL Cut to footage from the rally. The crowd awaits the speaking portion of the event to begin. The audio cuts out for a brief portion of the segment.

52:32Copy video clip URL An artist performs a fairly explicit monologue about being conceived by his parents.

57:35Copy video clip URL Cut to more footage from the rally. A large group of people performs to some music, but unfortunately the audio cuts out again, for the remainder of the tape.

01:03:06Copy video clip URL Tape ends.