Chris and Me

I’ve known Chris McDaniel all of my life. He and I are both from Ellisville. Although he is a little older than me, we grew up together, went to the same schools, competed in the same church basketball league. He was a superstar at the game, by the way, and I … wasn’t. And my team always lost to his. 

He came from the best of families. I know his mother and I knew his late father, Coach Carlos; both salt and light; no two better individuals ever graced the earth. Though that may sound corny to some, it is true. Chris was raised the right way by two fine parents who taught him the value of life, self-discipline, the importance of hard work, and the tenants of the Christian faith. Those are the values he lives by every day and the morals he instills in his two sons.

He graduated from high school a year ahead of me and our paths briefly parted. I bumbled around for several years in a never-ending quest to see just how long it would take me to earn a college degree after high school. But he plunged straight through college and law school as a star student and then worked as a federal law clerk for two years before settling down in Jones County to practice law. He knew what he wanted to do and worked hard to obtain it, then set about marrying a fine Southern lady and starting a family.

We hadn’t seen each other for several years but bumped into each other one day in 1999 and became reacquainted. We soon realized how much we agreed on political matters and how much we both loved politics. I told him I was state vice-chairman for Pat Buchanan’s presidential campaign and he was intrigued. We never really knew that we both shared an avid interest in conservative principles. 

We ate lunch often at one of our favorite places, Pasquale’s in Laurel, and talked politics. I was a frequent listener to his radio show and was proud to serve on his campaign committee when he first ran for the State Senate in 2007, a race he won easily. 

It was obvious to me, as it was to many, that Chris McDaniel was destined for more than a career in the Mississippi Senate. Congress, governor, or an even higher office was not out of the realm of possibility to those of us who knew him best. He had the combination of intelligence, oratorical skill, charisma, indefatigable drive, and “the look” to go far in politics. I knew very early on that in the future he would do great things for the people of Mississippi. 

So, when I see the opposing campaign, and their cabal of mudslinging minions on social media, denigrate Chris McDaniel’s character when they don’t know him, have never met him in most cases, never been to his home as I have many times, don’t know his family or his friends and colleagues, it angers me greatly. 

In all the years I’ve known Chris, I have never seen the man that has been portrayed by his political opponents. The Chris I know is kind, generous, and the best exhibitor of Christian values. He doesn’t hold grudges, like I tend to do, and I’ve never heard him trash anyone the way his opponents so often trash him. As a matter of fact, he always told me in any campaign he wanted to run that he never wanted to sling mud or get nasty, nor did he ever plot and scheme against his opponents. He always wanted campaigns to be about ideas and political philosophy, with debates and townhalls, not a campaign in the gutter. Doing whatever it takes to win, no matter the cost, is not the Chris McDaniel way.

That’s because Chris is not only an honorable guy, he is a serious conservative scholar who truly believes what he articulates very effectively on the campaign trail. His political beliefs are near and dear to his heart. Since I’ve known him, he has never deviated from those beliefs. He’s the same today as he was decades ago. He says exactly what he believes and will do exactly what he says he will do. Rest assured, he won’t say one thing and do another. What he has promised the voters of Mississippi is exactly what he will work night and day to deliver. Politics to him is not a game. The lives of the people mean more to him than that. 

I think the world of Chris McDaniel. I would trust him with my life and that of my family. Without a doubt. If I had to entrust everything I own or would ever own to him I would do it in a second, without hesitation. He has always had my back, no matter what mess I made, and he never judged me nor his friends and family for faults or mistakes. And I’ve always stood behind him and did all I could for him, as feeble as my efforts sometimes are.

Mississippi can take a major step forward by electing my friend, Chris McDaniel, as Lt. Governor. Just as I trust him without question, the citizens of Mississippi can too. He will work as hard in office as he has on the campaign trail. He will move Mississippi forward with an agenda of conservative reforms. You can count on him!