Minnehaha County Commissioner and chess master Jeff Barth continues to press his first-mover advantage, launching the official website for his campaign to unseat Congresswoman Kristi Noem in 2012:
Revision #1: Commissioner Barth, I appreciate your support for early voting. But you'll want to express your appreciation for our vote on November 6, which is the date of the 2012 general election, not November 2. The Donate page remains in 2010 mode as well; fix that! Remember, Jeff: it's the Republicans who want to keep fighting the 2010 election. We Dems have to be all 2012!
If we get past calendrial quibbles, Barth's opening text strikes nice notes: veteran, grandpa, experienced board member. To the Indies marking Noem's name last time, he signals that he represents "all citizens, not just an extreme faction of either party." To Dems like me who might not mind a little extremism in the defense of liberty, Barth reminds us he has experience in winning elections.
On Barth's bio page, I find this strong plus: he's a world traveler! Because his dad was a diplomat, Barth grew up in Iceland, Germany, Belgium, South Africa, and Washington, D.C. Not that South Dakotans vote on foreign policy, but it would be interesting to hear Barth's more worldly perspective side-by-side with the Noem worldview that has trouble conceiving of a real America beyond her kitchen table and ranch fence.
The "Why Jeff Barth?" page leaves me unsatisfied. "Jeff is the only candidate who has experience on a county commission coupled with governance of numerous other organizations," it says, followed by a list of seven groups of which Barth is part. Having served as county commissioner doesn't exactly shout "I'm top dog!" against an incumbent Congresswoman. And even if those other board memberships sway your vote, I'm not seeing the policy outline that says what I'm getting for legislation and budget priorities when I vote for Barth. Webmaster, crank out that issues page!
The "What Has Jeff Done?" is a little better, signalling Barth's positions on expanding the courthouse, opposing commissioner salary increases, and standing for open meetings laws. However, Barth fails to lay out how those local positions translate into Congress-level positions. The sale point here is not, "Gee, Jeff's been a good county commissioner"; it's "Gee, Jeff would be a great Congressman!" To make that sale, each point should thus conclude with a paragraph that starts, "Jeff will take this experience to Congress and fight for..." followed by specific policies that set him apart from our substanceless incumbent.
The "What Does a County Commissioner Do?" page commits the same error. Folks can certainly use a civics lesson, but save that for your county commission page. THe campaign site needs to be all about Congress. You can tell us what you do now, but every paragraph should then tell us how that current job will inform the job you want to get as Congressman.
You've got the website, Commissioner Barth, now make the sale! Make every page on that site shout, "I'm your man for Congress!" Edit that election date... and have a back-up page ready to replace that date with June 5, just in case you get a primary challenger!