Changes

==Background==​

==Background==​

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Ranchino was one of five children born in Herrin in Williamson County in southern [[Illinois]] to Angelo "Comp" Ranchino (1908-1988), of [[Italy|Italian]] descent, and the former Esther Verna.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://williamson.illinoisgenweb.org/marriage.html|title=Williamson County Marriage Project|publisher=Williamson.illinoisgenweb.org|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref> His siblings were three sisters, Alma Joy Hise (1928-2010) of Herrin,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meredithwaddell.com/p/whatNew.php?whatnewID=177 |archive-url=https://archive.is/20130902171706/http://www.meredithwaddell.com/p/whatNew.php?whatnewID=177 |dead-url=yes |archive-date=September 2, 2013 |title=Alma Joy Hise |publisher=meredithwaddell.com |accessdate=September 1, 2013 }}</ref> Mariann R. Hunt (1933-2010), of [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]], [[Iowa]],<ref name=hunt>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilesfuneralhomes.com/obituary/Mariann-Hunt/Des-Moines-IA/856869|title=Mariann Hunt|publisher=ilesfuneralhomes.com|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref> and Cheryl Ranchino Trench, a newspaper columnist in Herrin,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.herrinillinois.com/?page_id=653|title=Cheryl Ranchino Trench|publisher=herrinillinois.com|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref> and a brother, John Edward Ranchino, who died in infancy.<ref name=hunt/> Ranchino and his wife, Veda, had two children, Tony A. Ranchino (born 1969), a photojournalist for KATV, where his father collapsed, and Nicole "Niki" R. Jackson (born 1971), who was seven at the time of her father's death and operates a children's camp. After her husband's early death, Veda continued to live in Clark County and the next year married local prosecuting attorney Henry Morgan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/apr/06/frontampcenter-niki-jackson-20080406/|title=Spencer Watson, Niki Jackson, April 6, 2008|publisher=arkansasonline.com|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref>​

Ranchino was one of five children born in Herrin in Williamson County in southern [[Illinois]] to Angelo "Comp" Ranchino (1908-1988), of [[Italy|Italian]] descent, and the former Esther Verna.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://williamson.illinoisgenweb.org/marriage.html|title=Williamson County Marriage Project|publisher=Williamson.illinoisgenweb.org|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref> His siblings were three sisters, Alma Joy Hise (1928-2010) of Herrin,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meredithwaddell.com/p/whatNew.php?whatnewID=177 |archive-url=https://archive.is/20130902171706/http://www.meredithwaddell.com/p/whatNew.php?whatnewID=177 |dead-url=yes |archive-date=September 2, 2013 |title=Alma Joy Hise |publisher=meredithwaddell.com |accessdate=September 1, 2013 }}</ref> Mariann R. Hunt (1933-2010), of [[Des Moines]], [[Iowa]],<ref name=hunt>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilesfuneralhomes.com/obituary/Mariann-Hunt/Des-Moines-IA/856869|title=Mariann Hunt|publisher=ilesfuneralhomes.com|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref> and Cheryl Ranchino Trench, a newspaper columnist in Herrin,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.herrinillinois.com/?page_id=653|title=Cheryl Ranchino Trench|publisher=herrinillinois.com|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref> and a brother, John Edward Ranchino, who died in infancy.<ref name=hunt/> Ranchino and his wife, Veda, had two children, Tony A. Ranchino (born 1969), a photojournalist for KATV, where his father collapsed, and Nicole "Niki" R. Jackson (born 1971), who was seven at the time of her father's death and operates a children's camp. After her husband's early death, Veda continued to live in Clark County and the next year married local prosecuting attorney Henry Morgan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/apr/06/frontampcenter-niki-jackson-20080406/|title=Spencer Watson, Niki Jackson, April 6, 2008|publisher=arkansasonline.com|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref>​

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Ranchino graduated in 1954 from Herrin High School. In 1961, he received a [[Bachelor of Arts]] from [[Southern Baptist]]-affiliated [[Louisiana College]], a [[conservative]] institution  in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]], [[Louisiana]].<ref name="obu-bulletin">[https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1034&context=catalogs ''Ouachita Baptist University General Bulletin 1969–1970''], Ouachita Baptist University, p. 17.</ref> In 1963 or 1964, he received his [[Master of Arts]] in history from [[Texas Christian University]] in [[Fort Worth]], [[Texas]]; his thesis is entitled "The Work and Thought of a Jeffersonian in the Populist Movement: James Harvey 'Cyclone' Davis" and is a study of the [[Populism|populist]] organizer and Democratic [[U.S. Representative]] James "Cyclone" Davis of Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625065305/http://clio.missouristate.edu/wrmiller/Populism/Texts/Documents/Bibliography/biography.htm|archivedate=June 25, 2010}}</ref> He studied graduate political science and also history from 1963 to 1965 under the [[liberal]] historian [[William Appleman Williams]],<ref name=rmoore>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Da-Ali-Show-Compleet-Seereez/dp/B002OID4WM|title=By Robert Moore - Published on Amazon.com|publisher=amazon.co.uk|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref> during his time at the [[University of Wisconsin]] in the capital city of [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]], [[Wisconsin]].<ref name="obu-bulletin"/> Despite his Louisiana College experience, Ranchino was described as a "campus radical".<ref name=amarcus>{{cite web|url=https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-229834253/bill-clinton-in-arkansas-generational-politics-the|title=Alan Marcus, Bill Clinton in Arkansas: Generational Politics, the Technology of Political Communication and the Permanent Campaign|publisher=''The Historian'' (Vol. 72, No. 2)|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref>​

Ranchino graduated in 1954 from Herrin High School. In 1961, he received a [[Bachelor of Arts]] from [[Southern Baptist]]-affiliated [[Louisiana College]], a [[conservative]] institution  in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]], [[Louisiana]].<ref name="obu-bulletin">[https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1034&context=catalogs ''Ouachita Baptist University General Bulletin 1969–1970''], Ouachita Baptist University, p. 17.</ref> In 1963 or 1964, he received his [[Master of Arts]] in history from [[Texas Christian University]] in [[Fort Worth]], [[Texas]]; his thesis is entitled "The Work and Thought of a Jeffersonian in the Populist Movement: James Harvey 'Cyclone' Davis" and is a study of the [[Populism|populist]] organizer and Democratic [[U.S. Representative]] James "Cyclone" Davis of Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625065305/http://clio.missouristate.edu/wrmiller/Populism/Texts/Documents/Bibliography/biography.htm|archivedate=June 25, 2010}}</ref> He studied graduate political science and also history from 1963 to 1965 under the [[liberal]] historian [[William Appleman Williams]],<ref name=rmoore>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Da-Ali-Show-Compleet-Seereez/dp/B002OID4WM|title=By Robert Moore - Published on Amazon.com|publisher=amazon.co.uk|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref> during his time at the [[University of Wisconsin]] in the capital city of [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]], [[Wisconsin]].<ref name="obu-bulletin"/> Despite his Louisiana College experience, Ranchino was described as a "campus radical".<ref name=amarcus>{{cite web|url=https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-229834253/bill-clinton-in-arkansas-generational-politics-the|title=Alan Marcus, Bill Clinton in Arkansas: Generational Politics, the Technology of Political Communication and the Permanent Campaign|publisher=''The Historian'' (Vol. 72, No. 2)|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref>​

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At Ouachita Baptist University, at which he joined the faculty in 1965,<ref name="obu-bulletin"/> his teaching colleagues included two other Arkansas political figures, Bob Cowell Riley, the lieutenant governo] from 1971 to 1975, and the Clinton friend and [[Whitewater]] associate [[Jim McDougal|James B. Dougal]], who subsequently ran unsuccessfully for the [[United States House of Representatives]] in 1982 against the late Republican [[John Paul Hammerschmidt]] in Arkansas' 3rd congressional district. Coincidentally, Clinton himself had lost the 1974 congressional race to Hammerschmidt. A Ranchino student recalls that the professor demanded original thinking by his students and sometimes gave false information in a lecture to test the alertness and preparation of the class.<ref name=rmoore/> Ranchino was the director of the OBU Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, the first of its kind established in 1968 in Arkansas. Forty-eight students signed up initially as volunteers. In 1969, the program was co-sponsored by OBU and the Arkansas Council on Human Relations and described at the time as the largest of its kind in the nation.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4257|title=Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref>​

At Ouachita Baptist University, at which he joined the faculty in 1965,<ref name="obu-bulletin"/> his teaching colleagues included two other Arkansas political figures, Bob Cowell Riley, the lieutenant governo] from 1971 to 1975, and the Clinton friend and [[Whitewater]] associate [[Jim McDougal|James B. Dougal]], who subsequently ran unsuccessfully for the [[United States House of Representatives]] in 1982 against the late Republican [[John Paul Hammerschmidt]] in Arkansas' 3rd congressional district. Coincidentally, Clinton himself had lost the 1974 congressional race to Hammerschmidt. A Ranchino student recalls that the professor demanded original thinking by his students and sometimes gave false information in a lecture to test the alertness and preparation of the class.<ref name=rmoore/> Ranchino was the director of the OBU Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, the first of its kind established in 1968 in Arkansas. Forty-eight students signed up initially as volunteers. In 1969, the program was co-sponsored by OBU and the Arkansas Council on Human Relations and described at the time as the largest of its kind in the nation.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4257|title=Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref>​

 

L. T. Simes, II, an [[African-\ American]] student at OBU who in 1970 was elected vice president of the student body, recalls Ranchino as a:​

L. T. Simes, II, an [[African-American]] student at OBU who in 1970 was elected vice president of the student body, recalls Ranchino as a:​

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<blockquote>​

visionary.  I will never forget the conversation we had about political polling. He could foresee the art of polling as early as 1970. He allowed me to challenge him on this point. I didn’t believe that it was possible to predict voter behavior in that there were so many variables. Dr. Ranchino was right. Now polling is a basic component of our electoral process. Most memorable was the time he invited me to come to his office the following day to meet ... this man dressed like a [[hippie]], long hair, etc. Dr. Ranchino said to me, L. T., I want to introduce you to Bill Clinton. He became governor of Arkansas and later President of the United States]]. Times passes on ... While in the [[University of Arkansas]] School of Law, I again met Bill Clinton as my law professor. ...<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holyspirit777.com/testimony.aspx |title=L. T. Simes, Jr., The Testimony of the Holy Spirit |publisher=holyspirit777.com |accessdate=September 1, 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927021021/http://holyspirit777.com/testimony.aspx |archivedate=September 27, 2013 |df= }}</ref></blockquote>​

visionary.  I will never forget the conversation we had about political polling. He could foresee the art of polling as early as 1970. He allowed me to challenge him on this point. I didn’t believe that it was possible to predict voter behavior in that there were so many variables. Dr. Ranchino was right. Now polling is a basic component of our electoral process. Most memorable was the time he invited me to come to his office the following day to meet ... this man dressed like a [[hippie]], long hair, etc. Dr. Ranchino said to me, L. T., I want to introduce you to Bill Clinton. He became governor of Arkansas and later President of the United States]]. Times passes on ... While in the [[University of Arkansas]] School of Law, I again met Bill Clinton as my law professor. ...<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holyspirit777.com/testimony.aspx |title=L. T. Simes, Jr., The Testimony of the Holy Spirit |publisher=holyspirit777.com |accessdate=September 1, 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927021021/http://holyspirit777.com/testimony.aspx |archivedate=September 27, 2013 |df= }}</ref></blockquote>​

Ranchino estimated the 1970 Arkansas electorate as 150,000 conservatives, 150,000 liberals, and 300,000 moderates. In his own words, Ranchino offers this analysis from 1970 which has been rendered totally obsolete by the development of political events of the 21st century:​

Ranchino estimated the 1970 Arkansas electorate as 150,000 conservatives, 150,000 liberals, and 300,000 moderates. In his own words, Ranchino offers this analysis from 1970 which has been rendered totally obsolete by the development of political events of the 21st century:​

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Republicans have never had a party in Arkansas in the strictest sense. They have not offered consistent opposition to the Democrats at all levels of government and have frequently opted out for individual efforts and campaigns at the expense of the broad party-oriented effort.<br>​

Republicans [prior to the 1990s] never had a party in Arkansas in the strictest sense. They have not offered consistent opposition to the Democrats at all levels of government and have frequently opted out for individual efforts and campaigns at the expense of the broad party-oriented effort.<br>​

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...Whichever way the moderate vote leans in any specific election does make the essential difference between victory or defeat for the candidates. ... There is "no emerging Republican majority" (a term coined in 1969 by [[Kevin Phillips]]) in Arkansas built on a coalition of blue-collar, middle-class Democrats and upper-class traditional Republicans. The success that Republicans have had in Arkansas has come from a moderate liberal coalition based on blacks and [[Progressivism|progressive]] Democrats. That combination was shattered in 1970. ...<ref>Ranchino, ''From Faubus to Bumpers'', pp. 91-92.</ref></blockquote>​

...Whichever way the moderate vote leans in any specific election does make the essential difference between victory or defeat for the candidates. ... There is "no emerging Republican majority" (a term coined in 1969 by [[Kevin Phillips]]) in Arkansas built on a coalition of blue-collar, middle-class Democrats and upper-class traditional Republicans. The success that Republicans have had in Arkansas has come from a moderate liberal coalition based on blacks and [[Progressivism|progressive]] Democrats. That combination was shattered in 1970. ...<ref>Ranchino, ''From Faubus to Bumpers'', pp. 91-92.</ref></blockquote>​