A small article on the 2006 Missouri 4th district U.S. Congressional Race. by Ranneyj
(conservative)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Well to start out my thoughts lately have been on the Missouri 4th district U.S. House race of 2006, which may seem random to everyone else, however to me it was a life changing election.
It was the primary race, I was working with former Missouri State Senator Jim Noland, serving as his Campaign Manager(well really his only campaign anything). Jim is a great man and I love the guy, it was an honor to work with him. I learned so much from his character, however I learned so much more by watching the other candidates we had in that primary race. We have Alan Conner, Jeff Parnell, and Lloyd Sanders(which quick shout out to Lloyd, your a great guy but I am not going to be talking much about you.). Alan Conner was a wealthy man, who decided to invest a great deal in this campaign(I believe end estimates were around $300,000) Mr. Noland I believe spent around $2,000, and Jeff & Lloyd I have no idea but prob. near where Jim spent.
Well back to the story, I had the privilege of attending many events with Mr. Noland, in multiple events I ran across Mr. Conner and Mr. Parnell. I remember Mr. Conner, he had an arrogant persona about him, very loud, controlling of the conversation, even rude. I remember him name calling, he even gave me his cell number, and told me he could "double my pay" (little did he know, I declined all pay checks that Jim tried to give, except for help with expenses), when I refused, he mocked me, telling me not to "come running" after he wins the primary race. I later spoke with Jeff Parnell who had a similar experience. I also spoke with Lloyd Sanders who Alan actually tried to talk into dropping out, claiming, "two Christians should stick together against these other guys". Then to top it all off, Jim and Janice Noland started receiving angry phone calls from Alan, threatening him, and telling him to drop out "or else"(this one received a little media attention). To top it all off, on election day, I started receiving text messages from Alan Conner on election day when we beat him with 49.70% of the vote to his 27.08%. He told me of my evil in supporting Jim, how we had just handed Congressman Skelton the race, etc. . . . We shall call this segment Example 1
Now for Example 2, Jeff Parnell. Jeff is a small business owner in Missouri, he is an amazing singer/songwriter also. Jeff was the other serious contender in the election. I had a much different experience with Mr. Parnell. I remember him shaking my hand, and he had a great presence, he was polite, positive and personable. He spoke with us, gave Mr. Noland his admiration and respect. I remember him telling me what a great candidate Jim was, and how he would love to see him in the house, he also gave me his number. He handed me his card, and told me "I own a tire store south of here, if you ever need anything, just let me know and I'll get you taken care of".
Jim Noland was the big competition in that primary, he was a former State Senator, and very well known in the district. Jeff and Alan both knew Jim was strong competition. However how Jeff and Alan handled it was very different. Jeff respected Jim, his morals, his ethics and would not attempt to harm his reputation because of his own morals and ethics. From that election forward I understood something that I never had before. The value of my own ethics and morals. While Jeff and Alan both lost that primary race, I decided something, that no matter what Jeff Parnell runs for, he has my vote and my support. He is a candidate I feel passionate about, and respect much like I do Jim Noland. It is ironic that he was our "competition" but maybe that is where our true colors show, when we are forced to make a decision between, ourselves and our own egos, or something more.
Jeff and Alan both made choices as does each political candidate. My question is How many Jeff's are out there and how many Alan's? I often feel sad looking at my choices, thinking it would be much easier if we had a Jeff Parnell or a Jim Noland. All too often I just see 2 candidates who all too much resemble Alan Conner.
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