By Brett McLaughlin
(Contact / Staff Bio)
March 28, 2008 - 12:00 a.m. EST
Click on photo to enlarge
Special to the Daily Journal/Messenger
Jane Dyer
EASLEY — A former Air Force pilot and second-generation political activist has announced her candidacy in the 3rd Congressional District.
Jane Dyer, a native of Pickens County and an Easley resident, said she will run as a Democrat, vying to unseat incumbent Republican Gresham Barrett, who will seek a fourth term.
“I believe that our representatives should be hands-on legislators, working hard to fix the many problems facing us today,” Dyer said in announcing her bid for office. “The loss of jobs, loss of people’s homes, loss of health care and the high costs of gas, food and medicine are just a few of the issues we must confront.”
Dyer said her philosophy of people and government working together to improve society is in stark contrast to what she defined as a Republican philosophy of “every many for himself.”
“I will work tirelessly to bring new jobs to our district, improve education and bring affordable health care to all Americans,” she promised.
Dyer was raised in Pickens and recalled handing our flyers for her late father, Grady Ballard, as he made an unsuccessful Republican run for the same congressional seat when the district was overwhelmingly Democrat.
She graduated from Easley High School and Clemson University. She was selected to attend pilot training out of the Air Force ROTC program and spent seven years as a pilot in the Air Force. She then worked 19 years as a pilot for FedEx. Dyer’s husband, John, is also a pilot who retired from the Air Force after flying combat missions over Vietnam. He later retired as a pilot for Michelin Tire.
“My Air Force experience and years as an airline pilot have honed my skills as a problem solver,” Dyer said. “I will put these skills to work for all the people of the Third District.”
She said that she is 100 percent behind a strong American military but added that it must be “used and managed wisely.”
“Our troops are doing an outstanding job,” she added. “They deserve leadership that truly supports them.”
Pressed on whether she would support a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, something her opponent has vigorously opposed, Dyer said she would vote for a timeline that would force the Iraqi government to take responsibility.
“The surge has worked. Our troops have been outstanding, but the Iraqi government has not responded to take control of its own government,” she said. “We have a responsibility because we have created this situation, but we must come up with a political solution that will force the Iraqi government to take responsibility.”
Dyer would not be pinned down on whom she favors atop the Democrat ticket but praised both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for campaigns that have increased the number of people involved in the process and created a new spirit of responsibility among the electorate.
She said it is her belief that the need for change being espoused by both presidential candidates will aid her campaign.
“I definitely believe I can win if people will look at what is at stake and where we are going if we don’t change,” she said.
The Dyers have two sons attending public schools and two older children who have families of their own in Texas and Maryland.
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Readers are solely responsible for the content of the comments they post here. Comments are subject to the site's terms and conditions of use and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of Eagle Media. Readers whose comments violate the terms of use may have their comments removed or all of their content blocked from viewing by other users without notification.Ms. Dyer has misstated the Republican philosophy of government. It is not “every man for himself” it is, in theory, personal responsibility.
According to this article Ms. Dyer wants to take our money from us and create a nanny state in which the FEDERAL government is responsible for feeding us, clothing us, healing us and finding us a job so they can take our wages from us to give to others.
It is not any government’s responsibility to do any of these things for us. It is our personal responsibility. It is government interference that has caused many of the problems in our area. We need less government involvement so we can keep more of our own money to take care of ourselves and our family. Government has NO business trying to improve society. That is our individual responsibility. Government’s only role is to keep us from violating someone else’s personal freedom.
How is Ms. Dyer going to bring new jobs to our district? By taking money from somebody that lives in some other congressional district. I say, let them keep their money and I’ll keep mine. Let me keep my money and I’ll spend it right here and create a job for one of my neighbors.
How can we expect the Iraqis to step up and govern themselves after just five years of freedom? America didn’t even have our current constitution until 1789, SIX years after the end of hostilities. And we’ve had to fight among ourselves for FIVE more years (At the cost of how many HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of lives?) and amend it many times to get to the peaceful life we now have OVER 200 years later.
How are the Iraqis going work out their freedom? Most of them have only lived under oppression. We had an ocean to keep our enemies away while we worked out our freedom. The Iraqis don’t even have fence.
I understand why Ms. Dyer thinks that all of our problems can be solved in 30 minutes or less by some authority figure. Look at the television shows of the last 50 years. Every problem in life can be solved in one 30 minute sit-com by some benevolent, all-knowing authority figure (think Father Knows Best). And many can be solved in less than 60 seconds (think Listerine for bad breath).
Unfortunately life isn’t like that. The only people that get rich, full lives from government are former Presidents and elected officials. The rest of us have our wealth taxed away by the people who go to Washington wanting to change things so that GOVERNMENT is responsible to feed, clothe and nurse us.
The change we need is LESS government. Run on that platform and I’ll support you. This offer extends to any other person in or running for a government office.
This is one of the best political comments I have read in a long time. If the princlples brought out in this letter were taught in our schools, our country would be much better off.
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