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STATE - Despite her upbringing in Republican-inundated Pickens County, Jane Dyer is running as a Democrat in opposition to Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C.-03.
As gas prices continue to soar while jobs have been sent overseas, Dyer promises to better represent the average working Americans.
After graduating from Easley High School, Dyer became Clemson University's first-ever female pilot in its Air Force ROTC. She graduated from Clemson with a degree in mechanical engineering.
She served in the U.S. Air Force for seven years before switching to the private sector. She's been a pilot with FedEx for 19 years, where she's an A300 captain.
She's not the only one in her family with military experience - her husband, John Dyer, was awarded the Purple Heart after his plane was shot down during the Vietnam War.
This is the first time Dyer is running for a political office.
"I believe that my experiences as an Air Force veteran, commercial pilot, and a wife and mother gives me the skills to go to Washington and tackle the problems of the economy, health care and the military, and to really represent the real values of the people of South Carolina."
National security
"We believe in a very, very strong military," she said. "Tragically, the lack of a real political plan in Iraq has led our troops to be exhausted and our equipment to be almost used up."
At this point, America needs to start shifting the responsibility to the Iraqi government, she said.
"We're putting in $100 billion that we don't have - we're borrowing it - to keep this war going," she said. "Iraq has $80 billion of their own from oil revenue, of which they're only investing $20 billion."
Although it won't be possible to withdraw the troops immediately, the military and financial responsibility needs to be shifted to Iraq, she said. Meanwhile, the United States should set its eyes more on Afghanistan.
"I am still very concerned about Afghanistan," she said. "And it's tragic to realize that there are still people who think that the Iraqis attacked on Sept. 11. The Iraqis had nothing to do with the attacks on Sept. 11. We need to go to Afghanistan. That's where (Osama) Bin Laden is. That's where Al-Qaeda is."
Health care
Dyer said she finds it ridiculous that America is "even discussing" whether children should be insured.
"We're giving the oil companies who are making record profits $13 billion of record tax credits, and then we turn around and tell our children that we can't afford health care for them?" she said. "Those priorities I can't agree with."
Meanwhile, it's obvious that the "free market" health care approach isn't adequate, since many employees have outrageous premiums or no insurance at all, she said.
"Of course, some people say we should have a free-market health care. We have free-market health care. This is it," she said. "If you like it, then keep encouraging it. But for most people, it's not working, because even for people who have health insurance the premiums go up astronomically every year."
Dyer proposes starting a program that offers basic health care for anyone who wants it. A committee should get together to research ways to start a non-profit organization with government oversight, she said.
Economy
Dyer blames the philosophy of the current administration and Republicans who give too many incentives to the rich for Wall Street's current problems.
"They'll stand up and say: 'No government involvement, tax credits to the richest Americans, tax credits to the oil companies, big deals to the drug companies for when they deal with Medicare, it's great for health insurance companies to make tons of money when the people don't have health insurance. It's all for maximum profit," she said. "And now it's all falling through, and they put it on the shoulders of the American taxpayers."
And Congress needs to start looking out for the average working American more than the top 1 percent.
"There is no truth to trickle-down economics," she said. "I think that if you design policies that encourage corporations to keep all the profits at the top, and you design policies that will make the richest richer with the tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, they will take it, and they will keep it, and guess where it came from? It came from the pockets of working Americans."
Energy
In order to truly start solving the nation's energy problems, the focus needs to be on alternative fuel research, and not on offshore drilling, according to Dyer.
"I would love to see colleges like Clemson and technical colleges provide programs that equip the young people to go into higher technical jobs to make them bring in corporations that will be building solar industry needs, fuel efficient cars, alternative cars, windmills, biomass, ... the list can go on and on."
Colleges should get incentives for developing programs that would equip students to acquire jobs researching alternative fuels, and governments should promote businesses that offer alternative energy solutions, Dyer said.
"(Drilling) is not our end-all answer," she said. "We have got to embrace alternative energy."
And alternative energy sources will also help keep the environment cleaner, she said.
"I believe that there are scientists that are very smart, and that are telling us that we are hurting the environment. ... And when you've been told that you're hurting the environment, and you choose to ignore it, there will be consequences," Dyer said.
"You can vote for people who think that less government, tax cuts to the wealthy, tax breaks to the big oil companies will solve our problems," she said. "Or you can vote for people that think that government does have some responsibility for oversight and regulation of industry."
Dyer said that regardless of who becomes president, the American people have got to be able to set aside their partisanship and work together - even if doing so means compromising sometimes.
"This country was founded on compromise. ... We have got to get away from the idea that 'I'm absolutely right,' and you think you're absolutely right, and therefore we get nothing done. The country has got to move forward, especially in light of the huge issues that we have today."
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