Wikipedia

Libertarian Republican

In American politics, aLibertarian Republicanis a politician orRepublican Partymember who has advocatedlibertarianpolicies while typically voting for and being involved with the Republican Party.

Beliefs and size

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See also:Factions in the Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party has historically been divided into factions. In 2012, the libertarian branch of the party was described as smaller than other branches, includingTea Partyvoters (the "populist,Pro-limited government Tea Party wing "of the party), pragmatic" Main Street "Republicans, andevangelicalChristian conservatives.[1] According to a 2012New York Timesanalysis, libertarian Republicans have a variety of motivating issues. On economic and domestic policy, they favorderegulationand tax cuts, repeal of theAffordable Care Act,and protectinggun rights.[1]On social issues, they favor privacy and oppose theUSA Patriot Actand oppose theWar on Drugs.[1]On foreign and defense policy, libertarian Republicans arenon-interventionists.[1]Some libertarians favor abortion rights, while other libertarian Republicans oppose abortion.[1]Two-thirds of libertarian Republicans are males.[1]

In a 2014Pew Research Centersurvey on political typology and polarization, 12% of Republicans described themselves as libertarian.[2]In a 2023New York Timespoll of the Republican coalition, 14% of Republicans were considered Libertarian conservatives. As of August 2023, 38% support providing additional support toUkraine,34% support cuttingcorporate taxesover raisingtariffs,19% consider themselves very conservative, 45% believeabortionshould be mostly or always legal, 51% are against comprehensive immigration reform, 73% say they favor the "protection of individual freedom over traditional values", and 13% want a candidate who would "fight corporations that promote woke left ideology." In the2024 Republican Party presidential primaries,43% would vote forDonald Trumpand 12% would vote forRon DeSantis.[3]

Organizations

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TheRepublican Liberty Caucus,which describes itself as "the oldest continuously operating organization in the Liberty Republican movement with state charters nationwide," was founded in 1991.[4]In the 1990s the group's chairs includedChuck Muth,Roger MacBride,and CongressmanRon Paul;in the 2000s, the group's chairs includedDave Nalle.[4]The group's statement of principles affirms "the principle that individual rights and liberties are unlimited" and calls forfree trade;the "privatizationof all government assets "; the abolition of manyfederal agencies;the repeal of most current federal taxes in favor of a singleflat income taxornational sales tax;and the phase-out of "compulsory government retirement, disability, and health programs."[5]

TheHouse Liberty Caucusis acongressional caucusformed byLibertarianRepresentativeJustin Amashof Michigan, at the time a Republican. In 2014, the group "consisted of about 30 libertarian-inclined Republicans (and occasional Democratic visitors likeJared Polis). "[6]In February 2019,Politicoreported that the House Liberty Caucus had eight members.[7]The list of congressional member organizations (CMOs) for the 118th Congress indicates thatWarren Davidsonis the leader of the Congressional Liberty Caucus.[8]

Public figures

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Thomas Massie
Ron Paul
Rand Paul
Mike Lee
William Weld

Cabinet-level officials

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Representatives

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  • RepresentativeThomas MassieofKentucky– described as "a Northern Kentucky Republican with libertarian leanings,"[10]Massie is a "self-styled libertarian"[11]who has received libertarian support, although he has also described himself as a "'constitutional conservative' within the Republican Party."[12]
  • RepresentativeMatt GaetzofFlorida– self-describes as a "libertarianpopulist"and described by media as having a" strong libertarian streak ".[13][14]
  • RepresentativeTom McClintockofCalifornia– described as "libertarian leaning" byReasonmagazine.[15]
  • RepresentativeNancy MaceofSouth Carolina- Described to have a "fusion" of Libertarian views[16]

Former representatives

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Senators

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  • Rand Paul,U.S. SenatorfromKentucky(2011–present) – is sometimes regarded as libertarian-leaning,[28]and has on multiple occasions described himself as such when discussing matters like the national debt and other economic issues, domestic surveillance, foreign military intervention, and the war on drugs. However,David Boazof theCato Institutenotes that "Paul doesn't claim to be a libertarian, and he takes positions that many libertarians disagree with."[29]
  • Mike Lee,U.S. SenatorfromUtah(2011–present) – described as an economic and civil libertarian.[30]Has often partnered with Rand Paul in the Senate on several libertarian-conservative issues.[31]
  • Cynthia Lummis,U.S. SenatorfromWyoming(2021–present) – self-describes as a "libertarian-leaning Republican".[32]

Former senators

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State governors

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Former governors

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  • Gary Johnson,29thGovernor of New Mexico(1995–2003) – served two terms as governor as a Republican and ran for President as a Republican in 2011,[37]but switched from the Republican Party to the Libertarian Party later that year,[38]serving as the Libertarian nominee for president in2012and2016and running for the U.S. Senate as a Libertarian in 2018.
  • Mark Sanford,115thGovernor of South Carolina(2003–2011) (also a former Representative from that state) – a Republican, he's often described as holding libertarian views;[39]claimed to have turned down an offer fromLibertarian Partypresidential nominee Gary Johnson to be his vice presidentialrunning matein the2016 election.[40]During his prior years as a representative on Capitol Hill, he was often identified as an ally of libertarian/conservativeRon Paulwhile they served in the House together.[41]
  • William Weld,68thGovernor of Massachusetts(1991–1997) – As a Republican governor of Massachusetts, Weld self-identified as a libertarian Republican.[42]Later, he drifted toward the Libertarian Party and in 2006, unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for New York governor; he gained the Libertarian Party endorsement that year before dropping out of the race.[43]In 2016, Weld joined the Libertarian Party to run for vice president as the running mate ofGary Johnson.[44]In 2019, he rejoined the Republican Party to launch a primary challenge to PresidentDonald Trump.[45]

State legislators

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Former

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Authors and scholars

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Others

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See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdef"A New Guide to the Republican Herd".
  2. ^"In search of libertarians".25 August 2014.
  3. ^Cohn, Nate (17 August 2023)."The 6 Kinds of Republican Voters".The New York Times.
  4. ^ab[]https://rlc.org/history-of-the-rlc/]
  5. ^"Statement of Principles & Positions".Republican Liberty Caucus. 25 May 2013.Retrieved2019-10-30.
  6. ^Robert Drape,Has the 'Libertarian Moment' Finally Arrived?,New York Times Magazine(August 7, 2016).
  7. ^Ferris, Sarah (February 26, 2019)."House votes to block Trump's national emergency declaration".POLITICO.
  8. ^"118th Congress Congressional Member Organizations (CMOs)"(PDF).cha.house.gov.RetrievedNovember 8,2023.
  9. ^"The End of the Libertarian Dream?".Politico.8 May 2020.
  10. ^Deirdre Shesgreen,Ryan wins speaker's job without Massie, as Ohio Dem considers bid to oust Pelosi,USA Today(November 15, 2016).
  11. ^Emma Dumain,Snowden Has a Few Defenders on the Hill,Roll Call(June 10, 2013).
  12. ^Jeffrey Mervis,Meet Representative Thomas Massie: A Constitutional Conservative With an MIT Pedigree,Science(November 21, 2012).
  13. ^Tracy, Abigail (March 3, 2020).""The President's Big Into Buddy Checks": In the MAGA Circus with Matt Gaetz, Trump's Ultimate Protégé ".Vanity Fair.
  14. ^"Matt Gaetz Is Having a Bad Hair Day".Rolling Stone.February 13, 2020.Gaetz has a strong libertarian streak and (at times) has expressed support for legalized marijuana and LGBTQ rights
  15. ^"How Not to Build a Transpartisan Coalition for Police Reform".12 June 2020.
  16. ^"Nancy Mace fights to keep fusionism in Congress".13 June 2022.
  17. ^Garrett Quinn (2012-05-30)."Justin Amash Defends Congress' Only Libertarian Seat: Democrats (and at least one moderate Republican) are taking aim at the" next Ron Paul. "".Reason.com.Retrieved2013-06-24.
  18. ^"Former Rep. Justin Amash enters Michigan's jumbled GOP Senate primary".NBC News.2024-02-29.Retrieved2024-03-25.
  19. ^"Republicans are trying to unseat their own congressperson because he officiated a same-sex wedding".12 May 2020.
  20. ^"The earliest libertarian to gain standing within the Republican Party was Dana Rohrabacher".Archived fromthe originalon June 26, 2012.
  21. ^"Rising Star Ted Yoho, 'Republican with Libertarian Slant'".17 August 2012.
  22. ^"Bob Barr, Civil Libertarian".Reason.com. December 2003.Retrieved2013-06-24.
  23. ^Melanie Starkey (November 7, 2012)."113th Congress: Kerry Bentivolio, R-Mich. (11th District)".CQ Today.Congressional Quarterly.The libertarian-leaning Kerry Bentivolio secured his first elected position by running as an outsider...
  24. ^Adam C. Smith & Alex Leary,Maverick Connie Mack keeps GOP Senate field waiting on 2012 runArchived2016-08-27 at theWayback Machine,Tampa Bay Times(February 18, 2011).
  25. ^John Harwood,Libertarian Legion Stands Ready to Accept Torch From Paul,New York Times(August 25, 2012).
  26. ^Brian Doherty,After Ron Paul, Then What?,New York Times(February 9, 2013).
  27. ^Green, Joshua (August 5, 2011)."The Tea Party's Brain".The Atlantic.Archivedfrom the original on October 23, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 19,2024.
  28. ^Robert Draper,Has the 'Libertarian Moment' Finally Arrived?,New York Times Magazine(August 7, 2014).
  29. ^David Boaz,Is Rand Paul a Real Libertarian?,Newsweek(April 6, 2015).
  30. ^Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry,[1],The Week(January 13, 2016).
  31. ^Nick Gillespie,GOP Should Side with Civil Libertarians Rand Paul and Mike Lee, Not Mitch McConnell and Tom Cotton, on Patriot Act Provisions,Reason(May 20, 2015).
  32. ^"Senate Democrats split over legalizing weed".Politico.April 20, 2021.Libertarians like Republican Sens. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Rand Paul of Kentucky signaled openness to descheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act
  33. ^Fools GoldwaterArchivedMarch 4, 2011, at theWayback Machine.National Review, 7-30-2006. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  34. ^Rothbard, Murray N. (February 25, 1972)."Exclusive Interview With Murray Rothbard".The New Banner: A Fortnightly Libertarian Journal.
  35. ^"'This fever will break': Republican Jeff Flake on the slow fade of Trumpism | Republicans | the Guardian ".
  36. ^"Chris Sununu on the Issues".www.ontheissues.org.Retrieved2018-12-18.
  37. ^"Johnson said he's open to running as a Republican again".New Mexico Telegram. 12 June 2013. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013.Retrieved16 June2013.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  38. ^Kelly David Burke,Gary Johnson Switches to Libertarian Party,Fox News (December 28, 2011).
  39. ^Josh Goodman,South Carolina's "Libertarian" GovernorArchived2016-09-16 at theWayback Machine,Governing(August 4, 2008).
  40. ^Emma Dumain,Mark Sanford turned down offer to run for Libertarian Party VP,The Post and Courier(June 16, 2016).
  41. ^Blake, Aaron (April 25, 2013)."Ron Paul endorses Mark Sanford".The Washington Post.RetrievedSeptember 20,2024.
  42. ^"A Libertarian Ticket Sane Republicans Can Get Behind | Cato Institute".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-05-21.
  43. ^Bill Weld Drops out of New York Gubernatorial Race,Associated Press (June 6, 2006).
  44. ^"Libertarian Gary Johnson picks former Mass. governor for VP".The Hill.May 18, 2019.
  45. ^"Bill Weld officially announces he is challenging Trump for GOP nomination in 2020".CNN.April 16, 2019.
  46. ^"Delegate Joins Senate Race to Challenge Tim Kaine".U.S. News & World Report.Associated Press.Retrieved11 December2017.
  47. ^Scott Powers (July 16, 2021)."Stephanie Murphy collects $800K as Republicans stake CD 7 challenges".Florida Politics.
  48. ^Moretto, Mario; Staff, B. D. N. (11 August 2013)."Libertarian group commends 10 GOP lawmakers, calls 21 Democrats 'constitutional threats'".The Bangor Daily News.Retrieved2017-07-30.
  49. ^Garrett Quinn,Libertarian(ish) Candidates: If you want to find a few liberty-loving politicos, look lower on the ballot,Reason(November 2012).
  50. ^Milton Friedman on the Charlie Rose ShowArchivedFebruary 4, 2011, at theWayback Machine.PBS, November 2005. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  51. ^"Glenn Jacobs, expected to be elected mayor is a libertarian. What that means for Knox County".Knoxville News Sentinel.Retrieved2018-09-13.
  52. ^McKirdy, Euan."WWE wrestler Kane wins bid for Knox County mayor".CNN.Retrieved2018-09-13.
  53. ^Grove, Lloyd. "Lisa Kennedy Montgomery on Her Path From MTV to Fox Business."The Daily Beast.2013-12-09. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  54. ^Hunter, Jack (November 30, 2012)."In Defense of Grover Norquist".The American Conservative.
  55. ^Jonathan Chait,Should Liberals Be More Grateful to Grover Norquist?,New Republic(February 28, 2011): "[L]ibertarianism has many variations. Grover Norquist is a libertarian, and he has also decided to work entirely through the Republican Party and the conservative movement...The Kochs, like Norquist, define libertarianism primarily in economic terms. And they define economic libertarianism as support for supply-side economics and skepticism about climate science."
  56. ^PJ O'Rourke, Satirist and Journalist(interview with Matt Wordsworth),LatelineABC News (Australia)(July 28, 2016): "What drives a libertarian Republican to endorse a big government Democrat?"
  57. ^P.J. O'Rourke on why Trump will collapse, Ann Coulter's a fraud, and how National Lampoon created modern comedy,Salon(interview with Andrew O'Hehir) (September 24, 2015): "Since at least the mid-'80s, O'Rourke has tried to stake out a zone on the libertarian-conservative wing of the Republican Party."
  58. ^"Exclusive: Libertarian Activist Austin Petersen Is Running for U.S. Senate...as a Republican! [Reason Podcast]".July 4, 2017.RetrievedJuly 30,2017.
  59. ^Quinn, Garrett (September 14, 2012)."An Exit Interview With Wayne Allyn Root".Reason.RetrievedSeptember 14,2012.
  60. ^Jason Brennan,Libertarianism: What Everyone Needs to KnowOxford University Press,pp. 35, 169.
  61. ^Brian Doherty,Peter Schiff Losing GOP Senate Primary in Connecticut,Reason(August 10, 2010).
  62. ^Bradley, Richard (December 1, 2014)."The Goat Whisperer".Worth.Archived fromthe originalon December 18, 2014.
  63. ^Christine Mai-Duc,Silicon Valley tech mogul Peter Thiel to make history as he declares he's proud to be gay on the RNC stage,Los Angeles Times(July 22, 2016).
  64. ^Ben Smith (September 14, 2012)."They're gay, conservative and proud".Politico.Thiel... [is] a prominent supporter of libertarian causes.
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