Rubel Phillips
Rubel Phillips | |
---|---|
Member of the Mississippi Public Service Commission from the Northern District | |
In office January 16, 1956 – January 1, 1958 | |
Preceded by | Howard H. Little |
Succeeded by | Thomas Hal Phillips |
Personal details | |
Born | Alcorn County, Mississippi, U.S. | March 29, 1925
Died | June 18, 2011 Ridgeland, Mississippi, U.S. | (aged 86)
Political party |
|
Spouse |
Margaret James (m. 1955) |
Relations | Thomas Hal Phillips (brother) |
Children | 2 |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1943–1963 |
Rank | Commander |
Rubel Lex Phillips (March 29, 1925 – June 18, 2011) was an American politician and lawyer. He grew up poor in Alcorn County, Mississippi, and graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law. Hailing from a politically active family and initially a member of the Democratic Party, he served as a circuit court clerk from 1952 to 1956 and chaired the Mississippi Public Service Commission from 1956 to 1958. In 1962 Phillips joined the Republican Party. He ran as a Republican in the 1963 Mississippi gubernatorial election, the first person to do so since 1947. Supporting a platform of racial segregation and opposition to the presidential administration of John F. Kennedy, he lost, garnering only 38 percent of the vote.
Phillips ran as a Republican a second time during the 1967 Mississippi gubernatorial election with a more racially moderate approach, losing after getting only 30 percent of the vote. He never ran for office again but continued to fundraise for Republican candidates throughout the rest of his life. He thereafter became an executive at the Stirling Homex Corporation, but was incarcerated and disbarred after becoming involved in a scheme to inflate profit figures to investors and regulators. Reinstated to the bar in 1982, he resumed legal practice and worked as a consultant and counsel for a telephone company. He died at an assisted living facility in Ridgeland, Mississippi, in 2011.
Early life
Rubel Lex Phillips was born on March 29, 1925, in
Political career
Early career
Hailing from a politically active family and initially a member of the
Party switch and 1963 gubernatorial campaign
Phillips opposed the nomination of John F. Kennedy as the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1960 and voted for the slate of unpledged electors during the general election. In late 1962 he began consulting Wirt Yerger Jr. on the possibility of him running for the office of governor of Mississippi with the backing of the Mississippi Republican Party, which Yerger chaired. After several weeks of public speculation, on December 20, Phillips formally announced his decision to run as a Republican in the 1963 Mississippi gubernatorial election, making him the first Republican gubernatorial candidate in Mississippi since George L. Sheldon ran in 1947. He justified his switch in party affiliation by arguing that the Republican Party offered Mississippi "a program of genuine conservatism and local responsibility" and accusing the "National Democratic Party" of promoting socialism.[13] Political columnist Bill Minor said of his party switch, "I really believe he converted to Republicanism as a political opportunity to raise money to run. I never saw him as adopting the philosophy."[4]
Like his Democratic opponent,
1967 gubernatorial campaign
Eager to continue to build up the Republican Party in Mississippi, state Republican chairman Clarke Reed and finance director Billy Mounger convinced Phillips to run again in the 1967 Mississippi gubernatorial election.[23] Encouraged by the good performance of moderate Republicans in the South during the 1966 United States elections, Phillips decided to run as a moderate against segregationist Democrat John Bell Williams.[24] He opened his campaign on October 3 with a television broadcast, calling for a "two-way street in human relations" and advising that "The white cannot keep the Negro down without paying the awesome penalty of restricting his own advancement."[25] The declaration marked a break from previous Republican messaging in the state and garnered skepticism from political observers. When asked whether his comments had doomed his chances, Phillips stated, "I think the people of Mississippi are ready to face this issue. I think it is a timely subject."[26] He also alleged that the state was controlled by an "old guard establishment" who were interested in perpetuating their own power at the expense of the state's economy.[23]
Phillips backed the reinstatement of compulsory school attendance legislation, the disbanding of the Mississippi Milk Commission and the repeal of the two-year residency requirement for prospective voters in the state. He also supported a freeze on state government hiring, which Williams rejected, arguing it would deny employment opportunities to young people.[27] Phillips was endorsed by the black-dominated and civil rights-oriented Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which praised his call to improve the state's race relations and reduce the restriction of black economic advancement.[16][28] He denounced their support as a "kiss of death type endorsement".[16] He lost overwhelmingly to Williams, only garnering 30 percent of the vote, much of it coming from black voters registered in wake of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[23] He never ran for office again but continued to fundraise for Republican candidates throughout the rest of his life.[4][29]
Later life
Following his second failed gubernatorial bid, Phillips became an executive for the
References
- ^ ProQuest 1461974091
- ^ Stuart 2003, p. 69.
- ^ "Margaret Phillips Enjoys Meeting Mississippians". The Greenwood Commonwealth. September 19, 1963. p. 11.
- ^ a b c d "Rubel Phillips, pioneer in Mississippi Republican Party, dies at 86". GulfLive. Advance Local Media. Associated Press. June 21, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- ^ Hathorn 1985, p. 244.
- ^ a b Parker, Tim (December 20, 1957). "Phillips Resigns As PSC Chairman". Hattiesburg American. Associated Press. pp. 1A, 8A.
- ^ a b "PSC Will Oppose All Integration". The Clarion-Ledger. December 2, 1955. pp. 1, 10.
- ^ "Coleman Next Governor As Landslide Recorded". The Clarion-Ledger. August 24, 1955. p. 1. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
Mrs. Thomas L. Bailey was reelected after a hard battle with Howard H. Little, who is the incumbent public service commissioner in the northern district. Rubel Phillips soundly trounced Gov. White's administrative assistant Sam Wilhite, 68,865 to 26,970 from 537 of the 642 boxes.
- ^ Starr, Douglas (January 16, 1956). "Other State Officers Are Inducted Today". Hattiesburg American. Associated Press. pp. 1, 17.
- ^ Hills, Charles M. (July 29, 1962). "Affairs of State: R. Phillips Hat In Ring?". The Clarion-Ledger. p. F3.
- ^ "Power Company Favored In Co-Op Service Case". The Daily Herald. Associated Press. January 1, 1958. p. 1.
- ^ "R. Phillips May Run As Republican". The Clarion-Ledger. United Press International. December 20, 1962. p. 1.
- ^ DeLuaghter, Jerry (December 21, 1962). "Phillips Is Running On Republican Slate". The Clarion-Ledger. pp. 1A, 10A.
- ^ Crespino 2021, pp. 89–90.
- ^ Hathorn 1985, p. 245.
- ^ a b c Krane & Shaffer 1992, p. 83.
- ^ Herbers, John (November 5, 1963). "Mississippi Race Touches on T.V.A.". The New York Times. p. 19.
- ^ Nash & Taggart 2009, p. 44.
- ^ a b Crespino 2021, pp. 90–91.
- ^ Hathorn 1985, pp. 247–248.
- ^ Hathorn 1985, pp. 249–250.
- ^ Hathorn 1985, p. 257.
- ^ a b c Nash & Taggart 2009, p. 48.
- ^ Crespino 2021, p. 216.
- ^ "Negro Votes Sought in Mississippi Race". The New York Times. October 4, 1967. p. 26.
- ^ "G.O.P. Moderate Is Seeking Mississippi Votes". The New York Times. October 8, 1967. p. 67.
- ^ Hathorn 1985, p. 260.
- ^ "Phillips Gets Support from Rocky and FDP". The Clarion-Ledger. November 1, 1967. pp. 1A, 6A.
- ^ a b c Hathorn 1985, p. 263.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
Works cited
- Crespino, Joseph (2021). In Search of Another Country: Mississippi and the Conservative Counterrevolution (reprint ed.). Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400832712.
- Hathorn, Billy Burton (November 1985). "Challenging the Status Quo: Rubel Lex Phillips and the Mississippi Republican Party (1963–1967)". The Journal of Mississippi History. XLVII (4): 240–265.
- Krane, Dale; Shaffer, Stephen D. (1992). Mississippi Government and Politics: Modernizers Versus Traditionalists. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803277588.
- Nash, Jere; Taggart, Andy (2009). Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2008 (second ed.). University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781604733570.
- Stuart, Jan (2003). The Nashville Chronicles: The Making of Robert Altman's Masterpiece. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879109813.