Changes

|residence=[[Jackson]], Mississippi​

|residence=[[Jackson]], Mississippi​

|religion=[[Baptist]]​

|religion=[[Baptist]]​

|spouse=Margaret James Phillips (married ca. 1955–2011, his death)​

|spouse=Margaret James Phillips (married c. 1955–2011, his death)​

|children=Rubel Phillips, Jr.

|children=Rubel Phillips, Jr.

Dr. William James Phillips​

Dr. William James Phillips​

}}

}}

'''Rubel Lex Phillips, Sr.''' (March 29, 1925 &ndash; June 18, 2011<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi|title=Social Security Death Index|publisher=ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=December 8, 2011}}</ref>) was an [[attorney]], [[business]]man, and [[politician]] from [[Mississippi]] best known for his losing [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[governor|gubernatorial]] campaigns of 1963 and 1967.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/clarionledger/obituary.aspx?n=rubel-phillips&pid=152099370 |title=Rubel Phillips Obituary|publisher=''Jackson Clarion Ledger''|date=June 20, 2011|accessdate=December 19, 2011}}</ref>​

'''Rubel Lex Phillips, Sr.''' (March 29, 1925 &ndash; June 18, 2011), was an [[attorney]], [[business]]man, and [[politician]] from [[Mississippi]] best known for his losing [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[governor|gubernatorial]] campaigns of 1963 and 1967.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/clarionledger/obituary.aspx?n=rubel-phillips&pid=152099370 |title=Rubel Phillips Obituary|publisher=''Jackson Clarion Ledger''|date=June 20, 2011|accessdate=December 19, 2011}}</ref>​

Previously, as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Phillips was a circuit court clerk in Alcorn County in northeastern Mississippi and a member and chairman of the Mississippi Public Service Commission from 1956 to 1959. By 1963, he had switched parties to become only the third Republican since 1877 to seek his state's governorship. Phillips ran on the slogan of "K.O. the Kennedys",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cresswellslist.com/ballots2/phillips.htm|title=K.O. The Kennedys! The 1963 Rubel Phillips Campaign in Mississippi|publisher=cresswellslist.com|accessdate=November 1, 2011}}</ref> even though he had backed [[U.S. Senator]] [[John F. Kennedy]] for the presidency in 1960 over the Republican [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Phillips, with 38 percent of the ballots cast, lost to Democrat Paul Burney Johnson, Jr., the son of a former Governor Paul Johnson, Sr. That election was held barely two weeks prior to the [[assassination]] of President Kennedy in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]].​

Previously, as a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], Phillips was a circuit court clerk in Alcorn County in northeastern Mississippi and a member and chairman of the Mississippi Public Service Commission from 1956 to 1959. By 1963, he had switched parties to become only the third Republican since 1877 to seek his state's governorship. Phillips ran on the slogan of "K.O. the Kennedys",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cresswellslist.com/ballots2/phillips.htm|title=K.O. The Kennedys! The 1963 Rubel Phillips Campaign in Mississippi|publisher=cresswellslist.com|accessdate=November 1, 2011}}</ref> even though he had backed [[U.S. Senator]] [[John F. Kennedy]] for the presidency in 1960 over the Republican [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Phillips, with 38 percent of the ballots cast, lost to Democrat Paul Burney Johnson, Jr., the son of a former Governor Paul Johnson, Sr. That election was held barely two weeks prior to the [[assassination]] of President Kennedy in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]].​

In 1967, Phillips ran as a [[Moderate Republican]] but lost decisively to the [[conservative]] Democrat John Bell Williams, then a veteran a [[U.S. Representative]].​

In 1967, Phillips ran as a [[Moderate Republican]] but lost decisively to the [[conservative]] Democrat [[John Bell Williams]], then a veteran [[U.S. Representative]].​

​

​

==Backgorund==

==Backgorund==

In 1958, he entered the private practice of law in Jackson with the firm Overstreet, Kuykendall, Perry and Phillips. He was subsequently a senior partner in the reorganized firm, Perry, Phillips, Crockett and Morrison. From 1979 until 1990, Phillips was retained as a consultant and attorney for Mobile Communications Corporation of America, later MobileComm, a subsidiary of BellSouth. In 1993, he was accepted into the Master of Laws program at [[Cambridge University]]'s Downing College in Cambridge, [[England]].<ref name=obit/>​

In 1958, he entered the private practice of law in Jackson with the firm Overstreet, Kuykendall, Perry and Phillips. He was subsequently a senior partner in the reorganized firm, Perry, Phillips, Crockett and Morrison. From 1979 until 1990, Phillips was retained as a consultant and attorney for Mobile Communications Corporation of America, later MobileComm, a subsidiary of BellSouth. In 1993, he was accepted into the Master of Laws program at [[Cambridge University]]'s Downing College in Cambridge, [[England]].<ref name=obit/>​

Formerly a member of the First [[Baptist]] Church of Jackson, Mississippi, Phillips later was among five founding members of Northminster Baptist Church, at which he was the first chairman of the deacon board and taught the men's [[Sunday school]] class. He was a fundraiser for his alma mater, Millsaps College and the St. Andrew's Episcopal School, also located in Jackson.<ref name=obit/>

Formerly a member of the First [[Southern Baptist|Baptist]] Church of Jackson, Mississippi, Phillips later was among five founding members of Northminster Baptist Church, at which he was the first chairman of the deacon board and taught the men's [[Sunday school]] class. He was a fundraiser for his alma mater, Millsaps College and the St. Andrew's Episcopal School, also located in Jackson.<ref name=obit/>

==Switching to the GOP==

==Switching to the GOP==

In Meadville in Franklin County, Phillips remarked, "I was born a segregationist, I am for segregation now, and I will be for segregation when I die."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' October 17, 1963; ''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' October 22, 1963.</ref> Phillips said that opponents who branded him a "closet integrationist" were deceptive: "noting could be further from the truth."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' October 22, 1963.</ref> Phillips said "the one-party system ... gave us John and Bobby Kennedy and the integration of our state's university."<ref>''Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald'' (since ''The Sun Herald''), September 3, 1963; ''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 4, 1963.</ref>​

In Meadville in Franklin County, Phillips remarked, "I was born a segregationist, I am for segregation now, and I will be for segregation when I die."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' October 17, 1963; ''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' October 22, 1963.</ref> Phillips said that opponents who branded him a "closet integrationist" were deceptive: "noting could be further from the truth."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' October 22, 1963.</ref> Phillips said "the one-party system ... gave us John and Bobby Kennedy and the integration of our state's university."<ref>''Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald'' (since ''The Sun Herald''), September 3, 1963; ''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 4, 1963.</ref>​

Phillips accused outgoing Governor Barnett and Democratic opponent Paul Johnson of "rooster fighting with U.S. marshals" in the 1962 desegregation crisis, which ended in the enrollment of James Howard Meredith as the first African American student and subsequent Ole Miss graduate. Phillips said that Barnett and Johnson had merely tricked voters by staging their opposition to desegregation and that Johnson was the "Kennedy candidate" in the race.<ref>'The 'Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' September 7, 1963.</ref>

Phillips accused outgoing Governor Barnett and Democratic opponent Paul Johnson of "rooster fighting with U.S. marshals" in the 1962 desegregation crisis, which ended in the enrollment of James Howard Meredith as the first African American student and subsequent Ole Miss graduate. Phillips said that Barnett and Johnson had merely tricked voters by staging their opposition to desegregation and that Johnson was the "Kennedy candidate" in the race.<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' September 7, 1963.</ref>

​

​

Until the 1960s, Mississippians had known no alternative to segregation, and many linked the separation of the races to the Bible. Governor Barnett, like Phillips a Baptist Sunday school teacher, declared "The Good Lord was the original segregationist. He put the black man in [[Africa]]. ... He made us white because he wanted us white, and He intended that we should stay that way."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' September 12, 1963.</ref> Barnett said that Mississippi had the largest percent of African Americans because "they love our way of life here, and that way is segregation."<ref>''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' September 25, 1963.</ref><ref>Silver, ''The Closed Society,'' pp. 273-274.</ref>​

Until the 1960s, Mississippians had known no alternative to segregation, and many linked the separation of the races to the Bible. Governor Barnett, like Phillips a Baptist Sunday school teacher, declared "The Good Lord was the original segregationist. He put the black man in [[Africa]]. ... He made us white because he wanted us white, and He intended that we should stay that way."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' September 12, 1963.</ref> Barnett said that Mississippi had the largest percent of African Americans because "they love our way of life here, and that way is segregation."<ref>''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' September 25, 1963.</ref><ref>Silver, ''The Closed Society,'' pp. 273-274.</ref>​

==Two-party political dissent==

==Two-party political dissent==

​

​

In its endorsement of Paul Johnson, the ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'' urged voters "not to play with fire" and ignite the birth of a two-party system, which would lead to a political division among whites along partisan and economic lines.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', November 4, 1963</ref> Johnson called the two-party concept "a political rendezvous with death."<ref name="ReferenceB">''Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' October 16, 1963/</ref> At a pre-election rally in Jackson, Barnett urged Mississippi Democrats to "push out this Republican threat" and added that he was "fed up with these fence-riding, pussy-footing, snow-digging Yankee Republicans."<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 16, 1963; ''Time Magazine,'' October 25, 1963, p. 29.</ref>

In its endorsement of Paul Johnson, the ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'' urged voters "not to play with fire" and ignite the birth of a two-party system, which would lead to a political division among whites along partisan and economic lines.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' November 4, 1963</ref> Johnson called the two-party concept "a political rendezvous with death."<ref name="ReferenceB">''Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' October 16, 1963/</ref> At a pre-election rally in Jackson, Barnett urged Mississippi Democrats to "push out this Republican threat" and added that he was "fed up with these fence-riding, pussy-footing, snow-digging Yankee Republicans."<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 16, 1963; ''Time Magazine,'' October 25, 1963, p. 29.</ref>

''The Hattiesburg American'' echoed the Democratic contention that the primary beneficiaries of a two-party system would be the then "920,000 Negroes who dwell here."<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 7, 1963.</ref> ''The American'' denounced Republican leaders [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] and [[Nelson A. Rockefeller]] of [[New York]], rivals for the party's 1964 presidential nomination,  for their common membership in the National Urban League and the [[NAACP]].<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 24, 1963.</ref> An advertisement carried in the ''Jackson Daily News'' linked white Republicans with "modern [[scalawag]]s," a reference to southern whites who cooperated with [[carpetbagger]]s during [[Reconstruction]]."<ref>''The Jackson Daily News,'' October 15, 1963.</ref>

''The Hattiesburg American'' echoed the Democratic contention that the primary beneficiaries of a two-party system would be the then "920,000 Negroes who dwell here."<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 7, 1963.</ref> ''The American'' denounced Republican leaders [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] and [[Nelson Rockefeller]] of [[New York]], rivals for the party's 1964 presidential nomination,  for their common membership in the National Urban League and the [[NAACP]].<ref>''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 24, 1963.</ref> An advertisement carried in the ''Jackson Daily News'' linked white Republicans with "modern [[scalawag]]s," a reference to southern whites who cooperated with [[carpetbagger]]s during [[Reconstruction]]."<ref>''The Jackson Daily News,'' October 15, 1963.</ref>

Phillips defended the two-party format on the grounds that competition can produce excellence and questioned how competitive general elections would be "dangerous" because white voters had for years been divided in contentious Democratic primary runoff elections.<ref>''The Jackson Daily News,'' October 18, 1963; ''Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald,'' September 20, 1963.</ref> Phillips stressed that in the 1850s, when Mississippi Democrats faced competition from [[Whigs]], the state ranked fifth nationally in per capita income. Like Johnson, Phillips felt compelled to denounce the [[Radical Republicans|Radical]] Reconstruction policies of the 1860s and 1870s.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

Phillips defended the two-party format on the grounds that competition can produce excellence and questioned how competitive general elections would be "dangerous" because white voters had for years been divided in contentious Democratic primary runoff elections.<ref>''The Jackson Daily News,'' October 18, 1963; ''Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald,'' September 20, 1963.</ref> Phillips stressed that in the 1850s, when Mississippi Democrats faced competition from [[Whigs]], the state ranked fifth nationally in per capita income. Like Johnson, Phillips felt compelled to denounce the [[Radical Republicans|Radical]] Reconstruction policies of the 1860s and 1870s.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>