A lot of congressional candidates have made the rounds here at the CPAC bloggers lounge – some decent, some nutty, some with a chance, some with no chance in hell. Of those – a few have really impressed me – and we can add Katherine Jenerette of South Carolina to that list.
Jenerette, a veteran and paratrooper in the Army Reserve, has a tough race in the GOP Primary to succeed retiring Rep. Henry Brown. Among her opponents are Paul Thurmond, the youngest son of Strom Thurmond, and and Caroll Campbell III, the son of former Governor Carroll Campbell. However, I will say that Jenerette has the drive and the strategy to succeed. She ran a tough campaign in the primary against Rep. Brown in 2008, and managed to win 19% of the vote with a shoestring budget. This time, she’s back for more – and now she’s in decent position as a Tea Partier facing off against a more fractured field of establishment opponents.
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.
Of course, she’s solid on the issues, and very well spoken (although in a very down to earth fashion) – but it was the “what you see is what you get” attitude that really hit home for me. She pulled absolutely no punches and made no appologies for either her demeanor, her thick southern accent, or anything else about herself.
To give you an example, when the topic turned to Sarah Palin (who Jenerette REALLY remind me of) - she not only said she likes Gov. Palin, but that she’d love it if Sarah would be willing come to South Carolina and skydive with her and her friends in the U.S. Army Golden Knights (the army’s elite parachuting unit).
When I explained to her just how difficult it is to get a Palin endorsement, Jenerette looked me in the eye and told me, “Oh, I don’t want an endorsement, I just want to jump out of an airplane with her!”
Maybe this is rather superficial of me – but that was the moment I decided we NEED this woman in Congress. That sort of attitude could go a long way in the stodgy halls of the U.S. Capitol.
February 20th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Adam,
Do you (or anyone else) know anything specific about Dean Scontras, running for ME-1?
February 20th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
I’m aware of his site: http://www.scontras2010.com
I just wanted to see if you had any insider info. I just moved to ME-1 after being in the south for about six years, but I grew up in ME-2.
February 20th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
No – and cant find much online (no campaiggn site that I can find). ME-1 is the lib part of the state though – ME-2 has a decent candidate in Jason Levesque
February 20th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
I think it’s just one of those places that needs the right kind of Republican, and a bit of voter dissatisfaction.
February 20th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Yeah – never heard of him. Nice website but good luck in that disrtict. Then again – it’s only D+8 on the Cook Partisan Voting Index -so POSSIBLE but he’d need a lot more press.
February 20th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
I don’t know where you are from but we here in South Carolina who are tired of being a national punchline know that this woman would be a disaster. Do your homework next time and learn about Jenerette’s scandalous history.
February 20th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
With Palin as Inspiration, More Conservative Women Making Voices Heard
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/20/palin-inspiration-conservative-women-making-voices-heard/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+foxnews%252Fpolitics+%2528Text+-+Politics%2529
February 20th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Jenerette’s family situation is dysfunctional to the extreme. Hard to imagine her winning unless all these rumors are false.
February 20th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Rumors are False. Learn more about the persons behind the rumors.
February 20th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
#6
Adam ‘doing’ his homework would involve making facetious rumors of Jenerette that favors your candidate. Looking at her bio, Katherine is quite an accomplished woman and would get a lot more done in Congress than her competition of two silver spoon sons’ of politicians would.
I think the scandal, Steve, is the current US Congress, the elitist families might be better off just forfeiting this political year to the neophytes.
February 20th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
The persons behind the rumors are honorable members of the military who recall that Van Jenerette was forced from the Army as a married officer for having an affair with Katherine, a married enlisted subordinate 20 years his junior. He later married her one week after his divorce became final and one month before the birth of their child. Their lives are fraught with foreclosures and financial mismanagement. Over two years ago Van was a arrested and since indicted by a grand jury for raping a child. He should finally be tried this spring. All this is public record not some persons rumors.
Maybe that makes me a prude but she is not who I want representing my district.
February 20th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Rumors are False. Persons behind the rumors: Convicted Violent Felon AA deadly weapon. Much more.
February 20th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Both Officers: http://www.jenerette.com/dmz/
February 20th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
Can we have a little truth about Katherine and Van Jenerette, whom I know well? Katherine is a Lt. in the Army Reserve. Her husband, Van, a decent and honorable man, a great husband and father, retired from the U.S. Army with an honorable discharge after a distinguished career. In 2002, Van received the great honor being inducted into the Ft. Benning OCS Hall of Fame. I would trust both Katherine and Van with my life. There’s an old Jewish saying: “A virtuous man (or woman) will make many enemies.” Yes, Katherine and Van have both been involved in SC politics, and that sometimes means their virtue gets rewarded with scurrilous lies. They’ve been both subjected to attempts at blackmail and extortion, some of it fueled by a political figure in coastal Carolina. I believe the Katherine Jenerette described by my fellow Sarah Palin supporter, Adam Brickley, is the same Katherine I know and admire. Trust me, South Carolina is extremely lucky to have a person of her quality running for Congress. One or more of her opponents seemingly have discovered that Katherine is winning. She should win, and she will win. People who make defamatory comments about her or her husband are the scum of the earth. Anyone who’d like to learn more about Katherine should contact me at: TalkTop65@aol.com.
February 21st, 2010 at 12:45 am
People who believe and and help spread vicious ‘rumors’ should check the facts first.
There is a thread on http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420547/posts where the person who started the ‘rumors’ on her blog and whos made the bizzarre accusations that got Van arrested, is exposed for what she is – a convicted felon who is trying to cash in on Katherine’s with book or movie deals and openly encouraged Katherine’s political
opposition to use her accusations against Van. Oh, and then she asked her brother to pull another
thread from Free Republic when someone looked into more details about her real life nature and opportunistic motives.
And have you looked into the pitiful state of law enforcement in NMB? Several people there were already fired for political corruption, would not surprise me if they have been involved in Van’s arrest and ‘investigation’. And remember the indicted Duke Lacrosse team, the disgraced prosecutor Mike Nifong, and the infamous ‘rape accuser’?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=Duke+Lacrosse+accuser —
Then, in 2008 ‘Duke lacrosse accuser Crystal Gail Mangum promotes book’
and now, in 2010 ‘Duke lacrosse accuser charged with attempted murder, arson’
It’s time to start dealing with facts instead of ‘rumors’ and sick fantasies.
February 21st, 2010 at 8:34 am
Van, I mean uh Greg, your version is not accurate and you know it. His arrest followed an investigation by SLED (STATE law enforcement division) He’s been indicted by a grand jury. Those are news reports not rumors.
I don’t know if Katherine is his victim or his enabler. I just know that she is not who I want representing my district.
She is good looking and says the right things but she has no experience or accomplishments but for a Masters Degree in Library Science and four nice young kids. She’s never won an election and she’s run for several including school board and state senate. She was once appointed CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association but she quit after five months.
So maybe all her on line defenders aren’t actually Van undercover. Maybe you are one of her out of state pen pals. That’s great! This poor woman will need all the friends and support she can get during and after Van’s trial this spring. Just don’t try to argue she would be a good congressional representative when we have far more qualified candidates running.
February 21st, 2010 at 10:06 am
“…an independent-thinking conservative who’s not afraid to buck the status quo, Jenerette sent shockwaves through the Palmetto political landscape. Katherine Jenerette’s near win of a powerful Senate Seat in 2004 earned her a reputation in many political circles as ‘the good old boys’ worst enemy.”
February 22nd, 2010 at 10:09 am
Note – if there is ANYWHERE you treat rumors with a grain of salt – it’s South Carolina.
SI Steve – I’m sure Lee Atwater is smiling down on you right now but the rest of us are groaning in disgust.
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:09 am
SLED investigations, public records and Grand Jury verdicts can’t compare to the opinions of out of state Jenerette dupes? I guess you know more than the first district voters who have giggled at their delusional antics for over a decade.
Hopefully justice will finally be served at this spring’s trial.
Meanwhile I think we can all agree we should pray for poor Katherine and her kids.
February 23rd, 2010 at 1:18 pm
“The October 25, 2007 charges arose out of allegations made by the 41-year old accuser that she had been the victim of an assault in 1972 while on a family vacation in South Carolina when she was six-years old. The incident had never been reported to authorities previously during the 35-years interval.”
“The accuser was quoted in a newspaper interview on October 26, 2007 stating that she could not sit back and let Katherine Jenerette sit in a political arena.”
[Switch to Duke Lacrosse] “As a result, grand jury indictments were returned in April 2006 against Reade Seligmann…” see: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1268888/
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:02 pm
[...] Brickley who writes for Race 4 2012 was a CPAC blogger who had the fortunate experience of crossing paths with Katherine Jenerette, [...]