When George H.W. Bush was running for office in 1988, he promised the American people not to raise taxes. After his election, the slowdown in economic growth and a Democratic majority in Congress forced Bush to compromise with it on a substantial increase in taxes. In 1990 he raised various taxes and broke his election promise. This caused great displeasure, especially among conservative Republicans who voted for him. Four years later, during the 1992 campaign for his re-election, both his competitor in the Republican primaries, Pat Buchanan, and his Democratic opponent, Bill Clinton, reminded him of this broken promise, which was in fact one of the causes why he lost against Clinton.
