MANHEIM, Pennsylvania, March 18, 2022 (LifeSiteNews) – A Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate possesses a powerful pro-life story and vision for the future.
Before announcing her candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, Kathy Barnette endured an upbringing fraught with dire economic and personal hardships.
“I was born on a pig farm in southern Alabama,” Barnette told LifeSiteNews. “I was born below the bottom rung on the economic latter. I was born in a home with no insulation, no running water, an outhouse in the back, and a well on the side.”
“When I say poor, we could not afford the other ‘o.’ We were just po’.”
The senatorial candidate is the direct descendant of generations of black slaves who were also raised in that same home. When Barnette’s mother was 11 years old, she became pregnant with Kathy by a 21-year-old man.
“I am the byproduct of rape,” Barnette said. “I am one of those exceptions to some people’s rule, and yet my life has value. I am so very grateful to God that there were adults in the room.”
Despite her grandmother’s lack of education, Barnette credits her with recognizing the dignity of her life in the womb and saving her from abortion.
“She wasn’t from the world’s standard a very knowledgeable individual, and yet my grandmother knew that what was in my mother’s little body was a life, and she saw value in me,” said Barnette, crying. “And I am so grateful … I am so grateful.”
Despite the circumstances surrounding her arrival and childhood, Barnette’s family did not let those hardships dictate outcomes in their lives. The family may have had little in terms of material wealth, yet Kathy was given an abundance of love and protection. In fact, Barnette credits the conditions of her early years for her strength of character and success as an adult.
“My family could have cried victimhood at any moment,” she reflected.
“I remember my grandmother asking me to help her in the garden. And I thought she just wanted to spend quality time with me. But it wasn’t until I grew up did I realize that, in large part, that was for our survival. If we wanted beans, or greens, or potatoes, we had to grow it.”
Barnette rejects the spirit of victimhood prescribed by the left as the antidote for America’s woes. It is an attitude that is utterly foreign to her character. The false compassion of ‘wokeness’ that is foisted upon Americans in both education and the mainstream culture has compelled her to run for office and come to the country’s rescue.
“All of it is Marxist-related, and Marxism comes into a nation not to improve that nation, but to divide that nation,” Barnette explained.
“And I refuse for that ideology to be taught to my kids because I am not a victim. I am a victor.”