Onalaska Life - Election

Two candidates are seeking the Libertarian nomination to represent the 3rd Congressional District in the Sept. 9 primary. The winner will take on incumbent Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, and Republican challenger Paul Stark in the Nov. 4 general election.

Kevin Barrett

Age: 49

Address: E2729 Porter Road, Lone Rock

Current job: Radio host

Political experience: None

Other public service: One year full-time organizing for nuclear weapons freeze with SANE-FREEZE; four years organizing for truth, peace and impeachment; two years' experience as political talk show host.

Education: Bachelor's degree from UW-Madison; master's degree in French from San Francisco State University; master's degree in English from San Francisco State University; master's degree and Ph.D. in African languages and literature (Arabic) with Islamic studies focus from UW-Madison.

Web site: www.barrettforcongress.us

Ben Olson III

Age: 55

Address: E9510 Oakhill Road, Wisconsin Dells

Current job: Self-employed builder, sawyer and musician; bartends at a supper club in Lake Delton.

Political experience: None Other public service: No response.

Education: Attended Northern Arizona University and UW-Stevens Point but did not attain a degree.

Web site: http://sites.google.com/site/benolsoniiiforcongress

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Why are you running for office?

BARRETT: I support peace and truth. I am appalled at the Bush administration's outrageous lies and war crimes, and Congress' cowardly acquiescence in those crimes and lies. Congressman Ron Kind and the rest of the Democrats were elected in 2006 to end the war and hold Bush and Cheney accountable. They failed. Fire them!

OLSON: I am running for Congress in the 3rd District because the citizens of western Wisconsin deserve one candidate on the ballot who actually believes in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and who will advocate for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

What should be done with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and to what extent should the federal government regulate financial markets?

BARRETT: $400 billion in adjustable-rate mortgages reset between March and October 2008. It can take six months for debtors to feel the pain. That means a surge of defaults is coming. The whole banking system is on the verge of collapse as the 1 quadrillion-dollar derivatives bubble implodes. We need fundamental financial reform, not Band-Aid bailouts. Ron Paul's right: Abolish the Federal Reserve!

OLSON: I believe that it is government intervention in the financial markets that caused the mortgage crisis in the first place. Any bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be a further burden on taxpayers who were not part of the problem. The federal government should not be in or involved in the mortgage business.

What conditions would you require in Iraq before backing a complete withdrawal of American combat troops?

BARRETT: I favor immediate withdrawal. Polls show the majority of Iraqis support attacks on U.S. troops. Even the quisling government has ordered us to leave. I speak Arabic and follow Arab news, and I can tell you that nobody in Iraq wants us there and nobody ever wanted us there. It's a Nazi-style criminal war of aggression, and it must end.

OLSON: The occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan is a direct result of Congress not using the power granted to it by the citizens of the United States to rein in the president. In no way does our military aggression make the U.S. any safer or protect our borders. No special conditions need to be met to bring our troops home. This Congress must show courage and do the right thing by cutting off funding for the occupation in the Middle East.

What response, if any, should Congress take to the recent Supreme Court ruling that the Constitution gives individuals the right to bear arms?

BARRETT: Congress should congratulate the Supreme Court for noticing that the pope is Catholic, bears do defecate in the woods, and the Second Amendment does exist. While the Bush-Cheney regime has decimated the rest of the Bill of Rights, it's nice to see that we still have at least one amendment recognized by the court.

OLSON: The Supreme Court correctly ruled that individuals have the right to bear arms as written in the Second Amendment, and any congressman who has a problem with that should be turned out of office by his constituents.

How can the government best promote manufacturing jobs, particularly those in old-line industries such as paper mills that are common in Wisconsin?

BARRETT: We need to abolish NAFTA and stop rewarding corporations for sending jobs overseas. Although I generally favor libertarian principles, I believe we are facing an economic crisis greater than the Great Depression, so we may need some FDR-style New Deal remedies, including a national industrial policy to support our own industries.

OLSON: The federal government should not be in the business of helping or subsidizing industries, as that ultimately leads to a skewed market which must "correct itself" at some point in the future. The current housing market is a prime example. Any time the government props up an industry or caters to any special interest group, the burden is bourne on the backs of the taxpayers.

What, if anything, should the government do to boost the use of renewable energy?

BARRETT: First, stop invading other countries in order to (unsuccessfully) steal their oil. Second, legalize and promote industrial hemp, a vastly more efficient biofuel crop than corn. (Wisconsin's 3rd District was once a world leader in industrial hemp production, and it will be again if I am elected.) Finally, cut military spending 90 percent and put the savings into renewable energy research and design.

OLSON: Despite all the good intentions of our government, renewable energy will emerge when it makes economic sense. The free market system will respond, and respond in the most efficient way whether the government helps or not.
.

PRINT ADS

View more >

Kevin Barrett

Ben Olson III

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Comments »

Post a comment »