Two Democrats running for 3rd District seat say they can work with GOP
May 17, 2010 by comrex
Filed under Federal, South Carolina, US
Greenville News www.greenvillenews.com
By Anna Simon • Clemson bureau • May 17, 2010
Both Democratic candidates running for the 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary claim to be that person who can work across the aisle in Congress for the good of the district.
“The key is to be able to listen to what the people in your community want,” said Brian Ryan B. Doyle, of Aiken, who added that his radio show gives him experience in listening to many voices. “I have the experience to do that and go to Washington and make the change — real change and bring back what the 3rd Congressional District has been missing for the last 15 years,” he said.
Jane Ballard Dyer, of Easley points to her “wealth of experiences” as an Air Force captain, working mom and grandparent that help her understand of basic family needs the residents of this district face daily. “I’m the person who can go to Washington and sit down with people on both sides of the aisle and find solutions that will move our country forward,” Dyer said.
It was 15 years ago that Democrat Butler Derrick took his trademark suspenders and retired from the seat he held for 20 years, a seat the party, and especially the two June 8 Democratic primary contenders, desperately want back.
With U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett now in the governor’s race, the primary is being watched by party members who hope to regain the predominantly rural 10-county district that extends from Pickens and Oconee counties southward to Aiken County.
It’s a district rich in resources including water, timber and nuclear energy production but poor in jobs, a need both candidates stress in their campaigns.
Yet the bigger issue for many Democrats is which candidate has the best chance of winning back the district in November and defeating the eventual winner in a field of six Republicans vying for their party’s nomination in the June primary and a likely GOP runoff.
Neither Democratic contender has held prior political office; both can cite personal achievement and unconventional careers.
Dyer, 52, and a FedEx pilot, was the first female Clemson University graduate to become a U.S. Air Force pilot.
Doyle, 35, of Aiken, is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host, dishing politics weekday mornings on the Urban Media Broadcasting Network’s “Water Cooler Moment” and counting down top tunes on weekends.
Dyer, who two years ago lost to Barrett, then the Republican incumbent, said she’s not discouraged. Her father ran for office as a Republican and lost in a race years ago, when she was a child and when predominantly Democrats were elected in South Carolina. She grew up chewing on dinner table conversation about politics and believes in a two-party system.
“Our state will be much better served if every time you go to the ballot you have a choice,” Dyer said. “It is tragic that so many people will vote based on just a party and not looking into individuals.”
South Carolina “has had its share of not very stunning leadership in the last few years,” said Dyer, who wants people to consider candidates in both parties “and see who wants to solve the problems and who just wants to talk the party line.”
Doyle describes himself as a “different kind of Democrat,” willing to buck the party line. To regain the formerly Democratic seat, “The party needs a candidate who’s willing to tell the party we’re wrong on some issues,” he said.
Doyle lobs criticism at Dyer as well, saying he’s challenged her to debates in all 10 counties in the district and she’s “avoided” his invitations. “If she is going to run from me, if she can’t debate me as a Democrat, there’s no way she can debate anyone on the other side of the aisle,” he said.
Dyer said she hasn’t avoided the invitations and hasn’t been able to schedule debates because of her work schedule.
Jobs and health care
Both candidates have proposed ways to create jobs in the district, and both are interested in capturing federal “green industry” dollars to do that.
Dyer would involve rural electric cooperatives in hiring local residents to help poorer families make their homes more energy efficient, wants to help small businesses get loans to keep them viable during the slow economic recovery, and capitalize on Clemson University and state technical colleges in the district to train a labor force for new jobs in energy and transportation.
As a congressional leader, Dyer said she would work with community, business and elected leaders to convince industry that this is a good place to bring their jobs.
Doyle attacks the North and Central American free trade agreements as a key reason for jobs leaving the district and moving overseas. He said he would call for limits and increased taxes on goods shipped into the U.S. in order to discourage large corporations from seeking cheap labor overseas and keeping manufacturing jobs here.
He also would like to suspend taxes on small businesses for six months to enable them to save money and hire more people.
On health care, Doyle, who worked as a paramedic for 12 years, said the new legislation needs to be fixed but not scrapped. People shouldn’t have to buy health insurance and small businesses making under $10 million a year should be exempt from providing employee health insurance because the cost could put them out of business, he said.
He also calls for a 30 percent cap on what insurers can charge people with pre-existing conditions.
Dyer said the new health care legislation, while not perfect, contains “lots of good things.” It will help those on Medicare, provide medications for seniors “in the gap,” allow young college graduates to stay on their parents’ plans, guarantee coverage for pre-existing conditions and help bring down the national debt.
“This is a first step. We need people who will work to find solutions to make it better,” Dyer said.
As a congressional leader, Dyer said she would work with community, business and elected leaders to convince industry that this is a good place to bring their jobs.
Doyle attacks the North and Central American free trade agreements as a key reason for jobs leaving the district and moving overseas. He said he would call for limits and increased taxes on goods shipped into the U.S. in order to discourage large corporations from seeking cheap labor overseas and keeping manufacturing jobs here.
He also would like to suspend taxes on small businesses for six months to enable them to save money and hire more people.
On health care, Doyle, who worked as a paramedic for 12 years, said the new legislation needs to be fixed but not scrapped. People shouldn’t have to buy health insurance and small businesses making under $10 million a year should be exempt from providing employee health insurance because the cost could put them out of business, he said.
He also calls for a 30 percent cap on what insurers can charge people with pre-existing conditions.
Dyer said the new health care legislation, while not perfect, contains “lots of good things.” It will help those on Medicare, provide medications for seniors “in the gap,” allow young college graduates to stay on their parents’ plans, guarantee coverage for pre-existing conditions and help bring down the national debt.
“This is a first step. We need people who will work to find solutions to make it better,” Dyer said.
New Leadership needed in South Carolina and who’s got the Answer?
March 13, 2010 by comrex
Filed under Federal, Ryan B., South Carolina
By: Brian “Ryan B” Doyle, Candidate for US Congress
What an interesting night! I attended a very informative meeting of the Democratic 3rd Congressional District in Greenwood, South Carolina at Ryan’s Steak House. I was allowed to speak and heard the concerns of many during this meeting.
But what shocked me the most about a few in the meeting is that things still haven’t really changed much even in the 21st Century if you know what I mean. You would have had to experience something to understand.
For over two years as a local radio talk show host before syndicating into other market areas. The Chair of the State Democratic Party, the Aiken County Chair and a member of the McCormick County Party had all talked, been on my radio program, and I extensivelyed pushed and supported the Democratic agenda of many candidates as I was requested. As an African-American with a large listening base, and being able to move the people to polls and town hall meetings. I was a “modern day severant” to the party. But as soon as I attempted to take a lead role or seek office they abandoned me quickly I see this as modern day slavery.
It’s okay for some to be followers and in their eyes a good little boy or girl, but when you choose to lead oh, “Houston we have a problem”.
I say all this to say, my own chair (Aiken County Chair) made it his business to avoid me the entire night at this meeting. The same man who came on my radio program several times to use me to push his candidates and agenda as he saw fit refused to as much as say hello or good luck on your run for U.S. Congress. And that other Gentleman from McCormick County Party, who sat with me for hours at the McCormick County Democratic Party office to make sure “I got it right about why these were their candidates” also made it his business to avoid me at the meeting as well. This demonstrates to me one great thing about some people and shows that things still haven’t change in America.
In the eyes of some as long as we are followers and stay in our place we’re okay but when we get out of place or want to lead we are treated like lepers.
I will always remember the statement at an event I attended some years ago with my dear friend and great civil rights leader someone I honor Dr. Joseph L. Lowery.
“One party (the Republicans) don’t want us, and the other party (the Democrats) just put up with us for our votes, but don’t respect us!”
That was brough home to be as clear as the sky is blue with the State Democratic Party playing games with my candidacy for four months and the behavior of some on Thursday night March 12, 2010.
But one thing I’ve learned, that I want to say to both white and black voters of South Carolina. “I don’t take your votes or voices for granted”. I guess that’s why I don’t fit in with the power structure of the party and I’m not their favorite candidate for the 3rd District seat. “See there no strings attached to me and surely there will be no puppet show playing”.
It’s one thing to be controled by the people who elect you to serve, but its another to be a puppet with all the strings being pulled by the “power structure” while yhou move around the stage as instructed. The only show that’s playing in South Carolina for Brian “Ryan B” Doyle is : jobs, health care, education, trade agreements that are taking away our jobs and immigration reform.
Now I want to be clear, I accept full responsibility for my 1999 incident. Where as a result of sharing a phone number and a document and office space with a associate with who was under investigation unknown to me. But I refused then to be a puppet for the government and make statements about people I wasn’t sure to be a part of his scheme. And I surely refuse to be a puppet now!
It’s amazing that when certain people face issues in life they are excused, but when others (you can read between the lines and fill in the blanks) some never forget it.
Some great examples that are to be forgotten and never mentioned again are; You worked for your boss, who was a married man at the time to someone else, but you find a way to interfere with his marriage only for him to divorce his wife and marry you his former employee. Or being accused of contacting the CIA[1] about a businessman who had donated money to the Democratic Party only to search high and low and couldn’t remember anything and it all ended with any controversy and it was all forgotten. Or to make comments about victims of a Hurricane[2] and apologies and it was forgotten and forgiven. But don’t be black, oh I’m sorry did I say that it follows you for life.
The State Democratic Party needs new leadership! Their system of molding and inventing their candidates is over or should be over. Discrimination should not be tolerated in a party that claims to believe in equal rights for all. We shouldn’t act like republicans and preach about things we don’t hold true to. Less government and values something that they couldn’t hold true to for eight years in Washington nor for 30 days in South Carolina (the governor mess).
It’s time for real change in South Carolina we have a majority house and senate of Republicans who didn’t hold true to their family values when the governor left the State unprotected only to go spend time with his “concubine” in another country, and our Republican brothers and sisters in the House and Senate couldn’t find their family values to really address the issue and show South Carolina and the World that they are true Republicans with true family values and impeach the governor.
Additionally, the same Republican House and Senate doesn’t understand the value of our Children’s future and education here in South Carolina and call for cuts to teaches pay and education funding. These are the same Republicans that cry about passing debt onto our children while they support and take part in giving trillions of dollars to dishonest bankers.
I’m running to make the South Carolina 3rd District and South Carolina better, not for Democrats or Republicans, but for the people of South Carolina who don’t have a voice in Washington.
We need jobs, better education and reasonable pay for our teachers, police and firefighters. We need more public safety funding for EMS, Fire and Police and we need jobs for those convicted of felonies in order to pregfent and reduce crime in our community.
We need to provide our small businesses with taxes breaks and we MUST limit the amount of foreign goods shipped into this country that means changing our trade agreements Mr. President Obama.
That’s why I’m running not to be a part of the “power machine” nor the “power structure” but because I care about South Carolina, our health, futures and retirements, our children’s education and the freedoms our constitution affords us.
Best Regards,
Brian “Ryan B” Doyle,
Candidate for US Congress
3rd Congressional District
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Fowler; see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/cf090997c.htm; “See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/cf090997c.htm
[2] http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/08/ex-dem-chair-ap.html
