Libertarian Republican
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A libertarian Republican is a person who subscribes to libertarian philosophy while typically voting for and being involved with the United States Republican Party. Their philosophy also differs from Libertarians in many ways.
Typically, Libertarians believe in an open border policy, while libertarian Republicans support strong border control along with a guest worker program. They also tend to be more pro-defense and pro-War on Terrorism than your average Libertarian Party member. They differ from Republicans in that they tend to be secular in their thinking and support the separation of church and state. They may be pro-choice or pro-life and they also may be for or against the death penalty. They are tireless in advocating gun rights and other personal freedoms. They favor limited government involvement in all factors of life.
Prominent libertarian Republicans include: Radio talk show hosts Neal Boortz and Larry Elder, humorist P.J. O'Rourke, columnists George Will, Tucker Carlson and James Pinkerton, and musicians Ted Nugent and Gene Simmons. Prominent elected libertarian Republicans include Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, Alaska State Rep. Vic Kohring, California State Senator Tom McClintock, former former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr, New Mexico governor Gary E. Johnson, and Michigan State Representative Leon Drolet.
The Republican Liberty Caucus, founded in 1990 in Tallahassee, Florida by prominent ex-Libertarian Party member Eric Dondero Rittberg, represents the GOP's growing libertarian Republican movement. Rittberg is no longer affiliated with the RLC. Other libertarian Republican groups include: Americans for Limited Government, Americans for Tax Reform, headed by Grover Norquist, and the Club for Growth headed by Stephen Moore.
[edit] Libertarian Republicans in 109th Congress
The following members of the 109th United States Congress may be broadly classified as libertarian Republican in their philosophy. The classification is based on the following system: The member had to 1) vote for the conservative Hensarling budget substitute, vote to reduce NEA funding, vote in favor of reducing highway pork spending, AND/OR 2) Have a lifetime "libertarian" record as defined by the Republican Liberty Caucus, AND/OR 3) Vote against one or both of: USA Patriot Act renewal, Medicare prescription drug benefit.
By state:
Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake (R) Rep. John Shadegg (R) Rep. Trent Franks (R) Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R)
California Rep. Ed Royce (R) Rep. Gary Miller (R) Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R)
Colorado Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R) Rep. Tom Tancredo (R)
Florida Rep. Jeff Miller (R) Rep. Tom Feeney (R)
Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston (R) Rep. John Linder (R) Rep. Charlie Norwood (R) Rep. Nathan Deal (R)
Idaho Rep. Butch Otter (R)
Illinois Rep. Donald Manzullo (R)
Indiana Rep. Mike Pence (R)
Kansas Rep. Jim Ryun (R) Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R)
Maryland Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R)
Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra
Minnesota Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R)
Missouri Rep. Todd Akin (R)
North Carolina Rep. Sue Myrick (R)
Ohio Rep. Steve Chabot (R) Rep. John Boehner (R)
Tennessee Rep. John Duncan (R) Rep. Zach Wamp (R)
Texas Rep. John Culberson (R) Rep. Sam Johnson (R) Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R) Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R) Rep. Ron Paul (R)
Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor (R)
Washington Rep. Doc Hastings (R)
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (R)
