Capitol Steps and Missteps: The Wild, Improbable Ride of Congressman John Jenrette - Softcover

Clark, John F.; VanSice, Cookie Miller

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1546953493 ISBN 13: 9781546953494

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

Synopsis

When congressional aide John F. Clark met his future boss, South Carolina Congressman John Jenrette, in 1975, he was awestruck. Jenrette seemed to be everything Clark was looking for in a leader. With intense charisma and uncanny knowledge of how Washington worked, Jenrette seemed poised to lead a New South and destroy the common stereotype of white southerners as narrow-minded racists.

Jenrette was indeed all the things Clark hoped him to be. He advocated for African Americans in an era when his political opponent insultingly sent a truckload of watermelons to a prominent black leader’s home. Jenrette became an enlightened champion of civil rights for both racial minorities and women.

Then, everything changed. Jenrette may have been a political success story, but his personal failings were too big and too politically precarious to hide. Capitol Steps and Missteps gives you a front-row seat to Jenrette’s eventual fall from power and the political scandal that set it all into motion. Wife Rita fueled flames by posing nude in Playboy, revealing a sexual tryst on the Capitol steps, and ridiculing South Carolinians and Washingtonians. Jenrette’s career seemed ruined, but he still had a chance for redemption…

About this title

About the Author

John F. Clark spent six years as a top aide for John Jenrette and was eyewitness to the triumphs and scandals that framed the congressman’s career.

A US Army veteran, Clark received his bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and his doctorate from Syracuse University. He also studied at the University of Paris and the University of Addis Ababa.

Clark spent forty years teaching political science and working in public service. He has served on several civic and professional governing boards, and is now a full-time writer and volunteer.

A resident of Columbia, South Carolina, Clark is a recipient of the South Carolina Sierra Club Distinguished Service Award, the US Army Commendation Medal, and the Order of the Palmetto. He is also coauthor of Scenic Driving South Carolina and Hiking South Carolina.

He wrote Capitol Steps and Missteps with the help of Cookie Miller VanSice, Congressman Jenrette’s longtime friend and confidante.

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1546953493
• ISBN 13: 9781546953494
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 446