Libertarian Republican

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into neolibertarianism. (Discuss)

Part of the series on

Libertarianism

Origins

Topics

Related

Philosophy Portal
Politics Portal
v • d • e

A libertarian Republican (LR) is a person who subscribes to libertarian philosophy while typically voting for and being involved with the United States Republican Party. Their views may also differ from Libertarian Party members.

1 Principles
2 Organizations
3 Politicians and media personalities
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Principles

Libertarian Republicans represent a political wing of the Republican party, but do not have a unified code of principles. They claim to be stronger believers in the traditional Republican principle of libertarianism that was advocated by past leaders such as Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan - as opposed to the more religious and socially conservative principles that dominate the Republican Party today^{[citation needed]}. People who self identify as Libertarian Republicans do not necessarily share the same political beliefs across the spectrum, though there do seem to be several issues that bind them together.

The most common belief libertarian Republicans share is fiscal conservatism - specifically advocating for drastically lower taxes at every level of government, a massive reduction in the level of spending in the federal budget, easing the burden of federal regulations on business interests, the reform of the entitlement system, and ending or making significant cuts to the welfare state. Additionally, they are revolted by budget deficits and deficit spending and wish to minimize it as much as possible. Libertarian Republicans tend to support more extreme fiscal conservatism than their mainstream counterparts in the party, and are much less willing to abandon these principles for political expediency.

Something else that tends to set Libertarian Republicans apart from traditional Republicans is their insistence on protection of civil liberties.^{[citation needed]} Unlike many social conservative Republicans, this branch of the party tends to be very hesitant to use an activist federal government as a vehicle for social change. It is uncomfortable with the religious wing of the Republican party, and see the religious right's views as an encroachment on personal privacy and individual liberties.^{[citation needed]} Libertarian Republicans are also extremely uncomfortable with the activities of mainstream Republicans with regard to civil liberties since the events of September 11, 2001, opposing many provisions of the Patriot Act and President Bush's domestic intelligence program.^{[citation needed]}

What sets them apart from the Libertarian Party is that they are unwilling to go as far in the name of libertarianism. Libertarian Republicans do believe that the government has some role, and they tend to be very supportive of a strong national defense, even if they are less hawkish about the application of military force. They rarely mention some of the staples of libertarianism, such as legalization of drugs and prostitution - they may support those issues in theory, but they do not publicly advocate those positions. In many ways they tend to pick their battles and do not advocate for the full libertarian agenda, but rather a somewhat hybrid philosophy between libertarianism and mainstream Republicanism.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Organizations

The Republican Liberty Caucus, founded in 1990 in Tallahassee, Florida by ex-Libertarian Party member Eric Dondero Rittberg, claims to represent the GOP's libertarian Republican movement.

Americans for Limited Government is another Libertarian Republican organization.

[edit] Politicians and media personalities

Prominent libertarian Republicans include the Former Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, the late economist Milton Friedman,^[1] radio talk show hosts Neal Boortz and Larry Elder, humorist P.J. O'Rourke, and television personalities Tucker Carlson and Dennis Miller.

Prominent elected libertarian or libertarian-leaning Republicans include Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, Georgia Congressman Paul Broun, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr, former New Mexico Governor Gary E. Johnson, Michigan State Representative Leon Drolet, and former Arizona Senator Barry M. Goldwater.^{[citation needed]}