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5/15/2008
Wigderson: So the Libertarian Party does have standards...
Former UW Madison lecturer and 9/11 conspiracy theorist Kevin Barrett has returned and is running for Congress as a Libertarian against Democrat Ron Kind. Inevitably, his campaign will be largely about the 9/11 conspiracy theories.
It’s not always easy to understand why someone would want to believe conspiracy theories, many of which cast the United States government in a monstrous role. Marquette professor John McAdams is an expert on conspiracy theories and the Kennedy assassination. According to McAdams, there are different levels of conspiracy theorists.
The most common kind, typical of those who believe in the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories, are people who just are not willing to believe the simpler explanation because of its horrific nature. After all, who would want to believe that one psychologically frail leftist with a store-bought rifle was capable of changing the world? There’s actually psychological comfort then in the larger conspiracy theory.
Then there are the parlor game conspiracy enthusiasts. McAdams explained they like to play the guessing game. Who do you think killed Kennedy? McAdams says he often gets looked at as some sort of spoil sport when he tells them Oswald acted alone.
Finally there are the believers with an almost pathological dislike for our government. On the fringes, these see themselves “fighting the power.” This is the type of conspiracy theorist that fuels much of the “9/11 Truth” movement.
When I asked the national Libertarian Party Political Director Sean Haugh why 9/11 conspiracy theorists are naturally drawn to the Libertarian Party, he replied that it was because when people feel the government is lying to them, they are attracted to the political party that searches for the truth no matter who it affects. In other words, the Libertarians do not exactly discourage anti-government conspiracy thinking within their ranks.
Haugh did end up calling me back to say that he could not support Barrett’s candidacy for Congress. Not because of the 9/11 conspiracy thinking. It was Barrett’s support for Holocaust denier David Irving that had given him pause. “Oh, my.” And then Haugh’s research also led to discovering Barrett had called for the execution of journalists “complicit in the 9/11 cover-up.”
So it’s interesting to note that the Libertarian Party does have some standards. Calling for violence against journalists and denying the Holocaust are, in Haugh’s words, “beyond the pale.”
We’ll see if the Wisconsin Libertarian Party also finds Barrett to be “beyond the pale” or if Barrett will continue to run as a Libertarian without opposition from the party leadership.
Given former Libertarian Party candidate for governor Ed Thompson’s seeming endorsement of much of Barrett’s 9/11 conspiracy views in a February 19 radio interview, it’s a fair bet the Libertarian Party will continue to be the home of the political fringe.
COMMENTS
The dilution (or pollution, if you'd prefer) of the LP roster with kooks who marginalize the membership as a whole are the reason that Libertarians like me are forced to seek shelter in the RLC instead.
I'll admit though, that the party is doing well for itself by recruiting the likes of a Bob Barr, who shows the promise of re-infusing staunch, traditional conservativism and (perhaps more importantly) common-sense into a group who routinely have their image tarnished by the vociferous "Art Bell" faction and their conspiratorial ramblings.
Once the Libertarian Party cleans the bats from their collective belfry, and the general public no longer visualizes LP members as schizoids in tin-foil hats mumbling about how Bigfoot killed Kennedy, they'll be well on their way to legitimacy.
But not until then. The rejection and ouster of moonbats like Kevin Barrett is perhaps their first step down the road to recovery for my friends in the LP...
J. Gravelle, Author: Homeless to Homeowner - the Birth of a Libertarian
J. Gravelle (Thu May 15 09:02:53 2008)
I appreciate the reporting on this issue. One thing I would like to clarify is that it's clear Kevin Barrett himself is not a holocaust denier. He has made several statements acknowledging the historical record of the holocaust. What troubled me was one specific statement attributed to Barrett which lends qualified support to three of the most vociferous holocaust revisionists. I'll do anything in my power to dissociate the Libertarian Party from even the slightest taint of holocaust revisionism. Ditto for the notion that the Libertarian Party is calling for anyone's execution. I am currently trying to get to the sources of these quotes to determine whether Barrett actually did say them.
Sean Haugh
Political Director, Libertarian Party
Sean Haugh (Fri May 16 16:57:12 2008)
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