Jeff Barth visits with media in Rapid City
During the South Dakota Democratic Convention in Yankton Jeff Barth and the Minnehaha County people took a straggler into their ranks while pressing the caucus on strict adherence to the rules with vigorous confidence. Minnehaha County Democratic Party chair Jeff Barth is running for chair of the state Democratic Party, he said Thursday. Barth said he didn't have a particular agenda to take the party in a different direction, but wants to "energize young people, Native Americans, teachers (and) the other entities that are normally part of our party. Our theme is that we can't win as individuals or factions, we can only win as a team," Barth said. Barth is notably outspoken. In just recent months, he filed a lawsuit against Mike Rounds and others about EB-5 and has excoriated the county auditor for vote-counting delays. [David Montgomery, Sioux Falls Argus Leader]In Rapid City during his run for US House Barth stuck his hand out after greeting the couple before me and after introducing myself he said, "you're a little bigger than I am." My 6'2" 173 pound frame and his 6'1" likely-more-than-that laughed simultaneously. "Last month I supported your opponent in the primary: good to know I can still evolve," I blurted. He responded with a kind thank you. I didn't hesitate: "where you at on the so-called War on Drugs?" It fell right out of my mouth. "It's crazy," he replied. He described a future where, as long as law enforcement can easily test drivers stopped for some other infraction, cannabis law should look just like alcohol law.
Barth greeted the warm, enthusiastic gaggle, gave a thumbnail sketch of his campaign, and described the proposed Ryan budget that enjoys the support of incumbent Kristi Noem as "the final solution." That banks are too big to fail suggests that banks are too big, he said. Corporations look like people to some; yet, British Petroleum killed 13 people in the Gulf of Mexico and nobody has gone to jail.
In response to a question from a self-described federal employee Barth said that public service should be celebrated rather than denigrated; and, "I have no problem that public employees have collective bargaining rights." The biggest applause from the gathering came after he repeated his support for marriage equality: he revisited the topic several times in follow-up questions. Barth cited Minnehaha County's responsibility to prosecute a capital offense in the death of a prison guard at the State Penitentiary as a necessary function of government.
Jeff stopped by Madville Times and left this comment:
ReplyDelete"Look, I’m running for this position to do a job. We need to manage our resources, build local parties, recruit candidates and win elections. When a pipe breaks do we ask a plumber his view on Choice before we let them in? When facing surgery do we quiz the doctor about the Ukraine before he cuts you? No. We just want a plumber or a doctor that can do the job. I can do this job.
It is a Democratic Party tradition in this state to set up circular firing squads at times like this. Then next election we lose again and again and again. We need every Democrat to get involved, to push, to run, to vote. If we want to win an election we can’t afford to dismiss any Democrat because of some Litmus Test. Union workers, gun owners, business owners, men, women… everyone! We need those people. We need THE people. Those people need us. But until we win some election we don’t have a seat at the table we don’t matter to the decision makers.
I am a Big Tent Democrat. We can’t win as Individuals, we can’t win as Factions, we can only win as a Team."