Sarah Palin of the South

Katherine Jenerette: Courageous Carolina Candidate

"Someone recently said of Katherine Jenerette (see SteveMaloney's previous column the day before here..) that if a man had her resume, he'd probably be a US Senator and perhaps on the way to a nomination for the presidency. Anyone who looks honestly at Katherine's life finds a very bright, honorable, courageous individual. I look at Katherine as a dear friend and an exemplar of just about everything that's good about my fellow Americans.

Katherine Jenerette is a U.S. Army veteran of the Persian Gulf War Operation Desert Storm and a graduate of the University of South Carolina, Coastal Carolina with a Masters Degree from USC, Columbia. She served as U.S. Congressional Field Representative for the First Congressional District, South Carolina. She is married and the mother of four children and an Officer in the U.S. Army Reserve.

She was recognized as one of the region's top runners when she was named to the NCAA Track & Field Big South Conference in 1994 and in 2000, Katherine represented her hometown of North Myrtle Beach in the Mrs. South Carolina International Pageant. 

See her bio: http://www.jenerette.com/2010_bio/index.html

American deserves a Congressman like her and we need to help her win the race for the House seat in SC's. She can if she raise just one-third of the money her better heeled competitors will accumulate for their campaigns. Yes, she needs your support. And with an adult lifetime of service to her community, state, and country, I'd argue she deserves your support. If you afford a $20 contribution, please go ahead and donate.

Can a representative of middle-class America like Katherine win a seat in a House of Representatives (or the Senate), two chambers overloaded with millionaires? As Hamlet said, "That is the question."

Southern Political Report said of Katherine: “While insiders question her ability to win either the nomination or the General Election, they note she has several advantages, including some name ID from her 2008 race, being from Horry County in a primary field possibly dominated by Charleston area contenders, and being the lone female in a race with a half-dozen or so males. “She’s sort of an outsider… she’s kind of got that Sarah Palin thing going on..”

And Adam Brickley said: “After spending a few minutes with her – I think this woman definitely has a shot. For one, she is a PISTOL - and I’m not even sure that term does her justice, even when bolded, italicized, underlined, and capitalized. She sat and chewed that fat with several bloggers for a few minutes - and this woman doesn’t just come off as a real person, she IS a real person. In all my political experience I have NEVER met a candidate with such a total lack of pretension.”

In Katherine's case, she enlisted in the Army at the age of 19. She's spent good chunks of her life in the deserts of the Middle East in the Persian Gulf War (one of her nicknames is "Desert Kate") and on the base at the home of the 82d Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, NC. She's made 15 airborne jumps and spent time training soldiers for deployment to the Middle East. In her spare time, she has four terrific kids.

You don't meet a lot of rich people in the military. You meet a lot of great people who have modest means (to say the least) and immodest levels of confidence and courage. You don't hobnob with the special interest groups that hand out campaign cash for "favors."

Katherine is not the kind of person who trades cash for favors. Katherine is the kind of person who invariably does the right thing and says that the only strings attached to her are from the voters and the people of America.  Katherine has strong support from the Tea Party and 9/12 movements. But again, such people tend to be ordinary Americans who don't have wallets or pocketbooks loaded with cash.

Please see Katherine at the Tea Party gathering: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnmmaHLDm50

Interesting; a local editorial columnist said: “Katherine Jenerette of North Myrtle Beach, an Army paratrooper, was essentially a Tea Party activist before there were Tea Parties…” So, do I think Katherine will win? To use Sarah Palin's favorite line, "You betcha." She has spent her entire life over-achieving. She's someone who's taken on challenges much greater than those faced by most Americans, including her opponents in this years' race. Like the savvy South Carolinian she is, Katherine will outsmart her opponents most of the time -- and outwork them all the time.

Even a National Leftwing Blogger said of Katherine: “…she's no dummy. She also has more charisma than the whole Republican Party machine that's trying to tear her down…”Katherine Jenerette needs your support -- your prayers, your volunteer help, and your donations -- to win the June primary and the November election. With your help, she will win . . . and the ultimate winner will be the United States of America."

Hey, please sign up as one of her friends on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katherine-Jenerette/193243500669 

P.S. Please tell your friends and family in SC and around the nation about a remarkable congressional candidate: Katherine Jenerette.