Lieutenant Governor and Wisconsin Democrat Senate candidate Mandela Barnes has likened the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in schools to learning about science, a video unearthed by the Republican National Committee shows.
“I liken [CRT] to learning about science – like this is what it is, and people should know about it,” Barnes stated in 2021 on Devil’s Advocates Radio.
“My response is, you know, are you that ashamed of reality or that ashamed of the history that you want to make it illegal for people to learn about it?” Barnes questioned those who oppose CRT being taught in schools.
“And there are far more people in the country in this state, too, who understand. And I liken it to learning about science,” Barnes claimed.
Mike Marinella, a spokesman for GOP candidate Sen. Ron Johnson’s campaign, slammed Barnes for attempting to brainwash children in Wisconsin. “It’s no surprise Mandela Barnes wants to brainwash our children by pushing liberal, America-blaming nonsense into school curriculum,” he told Breitbart News.
“He is endorsed by some of the most extreme groups out there, and his policies would make Wisconsin less prosperous and less safe,” Marinella added.
Wisconsin Democrat Senate candidate Mandela Barnes on teaching Critical Race Theory: "I liken it to learning about science — like this is what it is and people should know about it." pic.twitter.com/xuOaIbGInq
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 26, 2022
It is not the first time Barnes has advocated for CRT’s core tenants, such as America is an evil nation founded illegitimately. Speaking at the Citizen Action of Wisconsin/People’s Action U.S. Senate Candidate Forum in 2021, Barnes said the United States is a prosperous nation because it allegedly used forced labor on stolen land:
The United States of America is the most wealthy, it is the most powerful nation on Earth, and that is because of forced labor on stolen land. We have to teach the reality of why we are where we are, or else people will just assume it just happened this way because of hard work, because of pulling up by your bootstraps … We should teach objectively, we should speak critically about why this nation is the way that it is.
Again, in 2021, Barnes said he does not understand why a controversy exists about teaching Americans to hate their nation.
“I didn’t even get to the point about critical race theory … It would be foolish to assume that the wealth of America was earned justly,” he said at the Portage Public Library Community Read 2021 Capstone Presentation/Q&A.
Barnes is one of the most radical candidates in the 2022 cycle. He believes in abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), permitting driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, and giving in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants. He has derided small business owners as “selfish” for wanting to serve customers during the pandemic.
Barnes also favors an entirely government-run healthcare system, eliminating the Senate filibuster, packing the Supreme Court, and passing the Green New Deal, which would destroy the American economy to reshape it into a socialist utopia.
But Barnes has pushed for defunding police departments and allowing felons to retain the right to vote. He also believes police do not prevent crimes.
“Police don’t prevent crimes from happening,” Barnes falsely stated on Real Talk with Henry Sanders. “We don’t live in a surveillance state nor would you want to.”
Yet Barnes has “averaged more than 13½ hours of security protection a day — including weekdays, weekends and holidays — at a daily cost to the state of $660 for patrol officers’ wages. That’s more than 10 times the number of hours as his predecessor,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
On September 15, the state of Wisconsin’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee launched a probe into Barnes for excessive security costs billed to the state.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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