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A controversial UW-Madison lecturer and 9/11 skeptic from Sauk County said Thursday he plans a third-party challenge to U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse.
Libertarian Kevin Barrett, 49, grabbed headlines in 2006 when the governor and legislators became concerned about his plans to include alternate theories about the 9/11 terror attacks in a course he was teaching on Islamic religion and culture.
Barrett is the second challenger to announce a run against Kind so far. Republican Paul Stark, a 46-year-old Eau Claire homebuilder, announced his run against Kind in late April.
Barrett said made a formal announcement of his candidacy Monday at a listening session in Sparta by Kind, who has represented the 3rd Congressional District since 1996.
The Madison native has a Ph.D. in African languages and literature with a focus on Arabic and Islamic studies. He converted from Unitarianism to Islam in 1992. He’s the author of a 2006 book about 9/11 and a radio show host. He lives in Lone Rock with his wife, a librarian, and their two children, whom he home-schools.
In an interview, he criticized Kind for his votes to fund what Barrett called an “illegal war” in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kind “was even elected in 2006 to end the war, as were the other Democrats. They have failed us, so we need to tell them, ‘you’re fired,’” Barrett said. “He and the other Democrats and Republicans need to be fired, and many of them arguably put on trial for treason and crimes against humanity.”
Even though he’s best-known for his views on 9/11, Barrett said his top issue is “the war on the economy,” by the “military industrial complex.”
“The people of Wisconsin need to wake up and demand that we defend our borders rather than trying to pollute the world,” he said.
Barrett won’t be criticizing Kind on agriculture. Kind has pushed to end federal crop subsidies for large corporate farms and millionaires.
“I support Ron Kind’s position on agriculture policy,” Barrett said. “I haven’t seen any real problems there, although ... I would like to see people exploring the possibility of growing hemp, possibly for biofuels among its many other uses.”
Barrett also attacked the “prison industrial complex,” and said the U.S. needs to “get our sentencing and our laws and practices in line with other countries and end drug prohibition. This could easily save us three-quarters of what we spend on prisons right now.”
Barrett described himself as “a New Libertarian. ... I’m arguing, for instance, we need to strengthen Social Security rather than privatize it. Also, I’m in favor of single-payer health care because I’m a fiscal conservative, and it costs half as much.”
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