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The political arena is often characterized by left wing and right wing, originally derived from discourse after the French Revolution between fans or foes of the monarch. Fans sat on the right side of the French Assembly and foes sat on the left side. Over the years various labels have been attributed to these sides, with conservatives, reactionaries, and fascists on the right and progressives, socialists, communists, and radicals on the left. In the libertarian view, they all represent high degrees of governmental control for varying purposes.

In American politics, the Republican Party is associated with the right wing and the Democratic Party with the left wing. Until the year 2000, the color red used to be associated with the left wing because of red flag symbolism of the Communist Party and the Red Guard. Then the color red was redefined by the media as associated with rural American states, rednecks, and Republican party politics. The color blue became associated with the Democrats.

The word liberal originated as a libertarian term advocating all forms of freedom, as it is still used in Europe today as classical liberal. But in the U.S., the word liberal came to be associated with the left wing in the 20th Century. As the term became unpopular with voters, the left wing abandoned it for the progressive, a term that took root in the early 20th Century under the Progressive Party of Sen. Robert LaFollett and President Theodore Roosevelt.

Libertarians are neither right nor left, though they might occasionally identify with either side on particular issues. For instance, the right wing sometimes, though not consistently, favors less government control over business and the economy with lower taxes and less commercial regulation. The left wing frequently favors more government control and taxes on business and commercial regulation.

On the other hand, the left wing sometimes, though not consistently, favors less government control over personal lifestyle decisions. Conversely, the right wing frequently favors the imposition of more government controls on personal lifestyle behavior such as sex, drugs, and gambling.

In the absence of principle to guide their behavior, right-wing and left-wing advocates can be found vacillating on important issues. For instance, in the 19th Century gun control was opposed by many on the left and favored by many on the right. Then in the 20th Century, their relative positions on gun control flipped. Libertarians are consistent on the issue of self-defense by applying the NAP.

The right wing and left wing have both favored aggressive military interventions abroad. Most American wars in the 20th Century have begun under Democratic administrations while Republicans have enthusiastically supported them. The reverse occurred in 2001 with recent wars in the Middle East. Libertarians tend to support only strictly defensive military action and prefer behavior that keeps the nation out of foreign affairs.

Peace,commerceand honestfriendshipwithallnations, entangling alliances with none.Thomas Jefferson

By subscribing to the nonaggression principle (NAP), libertarians remain consistent in championing all forms of personal freedom, at home and abroad, at any given time or with any particular issue.

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What Is a Libertarian? | The Advocates for Self-Government

Its one of the questions we get most often: What is a Libertarian?Someone who believes you own yourself. Someone who believes using violence against peaceful people is wrong, even if youve got a badge. Someone willing to stand up for your civil rights, because they are also his own.

Individuality is kind of our thing, and people have different priorities and values. Libertarians are often most passionate about the violence and damage caused by government actions, because theyve realized, deep down, that its just wrong.

A libertarian who has experienced the brutality of war, or buried a child in a flag-draped coffin, will tell you first that Libertarians are anti-war.

A libertarian whose civil rights were trampled will say Libertarians believe everyones civil liberties must be protected. All of them. Every time.

A libertarian who saw his family or community gutted by the racist, violent War on Drugs will tell you Libertarians believe peaceful people should be left alone. No victim? No crime.

A libertarian whose family business was destroyed by ever-higher taxes, licensing, and lobbyist regulations will tell you Libertarians oppose taxes, and government deciding what customers can buy.

A libertarian whose home was seized by the city and sold to a powerful developer will tell you Libertarians believe in property rights, and due process before search or seizure.

So what do libertarians really believe? To know what we all (mostly) agree on, you can check out our national party platform.

But libertarian policy positions are just practical extensions of our core philosophy.

Libertarians believe:

People own themselves. Its wrong to use violence against peaceful people. Human interactions should be voluntary: if consenting adults agree, its no one elses business. Moral government is limited to protecting people from force and fraud by others.

Most people, even people who dont think of themselves as libertarians, go about their daily lives treating other people well and staying out of other peoples business. But non-libertarians will draw a box around government police, politicians, regulators and assume that the force government uses must be different, and somehowokay.

A libertarian believes all people, even ones with badges, Senate seats, or powdered wigs, have the same responsibility to leave peaceful people alone.

Police abuse is increasingly caught on video. Unjust wars abroad drag on. Regulators and tax collectors, aided by lobbyists, find ever more ways to limit how Americans can use their own property and earn a living.

Libertarians believe that as more people notice the way power is abused, theyll stop drawing that box of moral exemption around government actors. A badge doesnt give you special rights, and it doesnt grant permission to violate someone elses rights. If you believe that, you might already be a libertarian.

Libertarians have some overlap with both the political left and the political right, and we are happy to work with allies of all stripes to defend our shared values. We are allies of the right when we oppose high taxes, advocate for school choice, and support the second amendment rights of each peaceful person to defend himself. We are allies of the left when we oppose war, defend everyones civil rights from abuse by government, and fight to decriminalize peaceful adult choices like sex work and drug use. Were not a centrist party, nor are we extremists. Were just honest about what we stand for, and were willing to stand alongside others who share some, if rarely all, of our core beliefs.

Libertarians are the party of peace, people, and principles. And if you believe in these principles too, wed love to count you no matter who you are among our ranks. Join us today?

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What is a Libertarian? - Libertarian Party of Georgia

UBET, WIThe United States of America will never be unified by the Republican and Democratic parties, said Jake VandenPlas, the Libertarian Congressional candidate in Wisconsins 8thUS House District. If they could, they would have done it by now. VandenPlas has steadily gained voter support with his messages of more individual liberty and freedom and less government coercion via force in his challenge to unseat the Republican incumbent, Michael Gallagher of Green Bay.

With adherence to the Libertarian Party principles of non-aggression and consent, we can focus on unity and self-governance, continued VandenPlas in a statement released this week.

In that statement, VandenPlas, who also chairs the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin (LPWI), reflected on the unstable discord in the country around the intense, and useless, partisanship of the other two parties. That division has, in effect, produced no effective action to address an endless number of issues facing the country and Wisconsin, from domestic policy to foreign policy. Furthermore, the two-party partisanship has damaged essential rights to, and protections for, individual property, free speech, and personal choices, all rights which the LPWI wants to restore and strengthen.

Based on two guiding rules of conductfirst, do no harm to others; and then, do not steal from anyoneLibertarians in Wisconsin in a separate statement this week called on the public to unite with them to work peacefully for a prosperous future, and solve the dismay of division nation-wide, for a better future for all.

For more info on the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, visitwww.lpwi.org.

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Libertarian Party of Wisconsin: Libertarians offer unity with them - WisPolitics.com

Democratic and Republican candidates for statewide office in Pennsylvania garner nearly all the attention, especially this year, but there are minor-party candidates angling for those seats, too.

The Libertarian, Green and Keystone parties have candidates on the general election ballot for U.S. Senate, governor and lieutenant governor.

If the Keystone Party doesnt sound familiar, dont feel bad.

The party just had its first convention on a small farm in York County in April after some members became disenchanted and left the Libertarian Party because they felt it was tilting too far right, particularly on social issues.

Gus Tatlas, the chairman of the Keystone Party of Pennsylvania, said members consider themselves a coalition of independents. The former Libertarians, he said, did not like hateful rhetoric coming from some Libertarian leaders.

In good conscience, they said they could no longer be affiliated with an organization that doesnt renounce that type of rhetoric, Tatlas said.

So far, Tatlas said the Keystone Party is getting a lot of great feedback and quickly managed to gather enough signatures to field statewide candidates.

Keystones website lists its party platform as government reform, including a part-time Legislature and term limits, an independent redistricting commission, open primaries, ranked choice voting, and school choice.

First, lets take a look at the candidates for U.S. Senate.

Libertarian

Erik Gerhardt, a Montgomery County resident who owns a carpentry business, is the Libertarian candidate for the open seat left by the retirement of Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.

On his campaign website, Gerhardt details a platform focused on jobs and the economy, social injustice, police reform, and ending the war on drugs.

Gerhardt, who sports a Philadelphia Phillies cap in his photo on the website, says, Most taxes are nothing short of theft. He supports cutting taxes to their absolute minimum, implementing a flat tax on sales and eliminating property taxes, though thats a state, not a federal, tax.

With fewer taxes, more of the money you work for will stay in your pocket, Gerhardt says.

Gerhardt agrees that police reform is needed, but opposes defunding the police, saying it hurts communities.

Instead, he said reform should begin with police recruits training, such as teaching them jujitsu to subdue suspects and avoid deadly force, and completing community service before graduating from the academy.

Gerhardt says he wants to end the war on drugs, beginning with decriminalizing marijuana, which Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, the states lieutenant governor, also supports.

However, Gerhardt also backs legalizing many other non-addictive drugs, and insisted decriminalization would also stop smuggling across the countrys southern border.

Green Party

Allegheny County resident Richard Weiss, an attorney, is the Green Party candidate for Senate. He ran for attorney general in 2020.

Weiss recently released a statement outlining a platform aimed at ending fracking, passing universal health care, pursuing peaceful resolutions in Ukraine and in other global conflicts, protecting abortion rights, legalizing marijuana and implementing police reform.

Fracking is ruining the water and health of Pennsylvania, Weiss said of the process to extract natural gas.

Weiss supports a just transition to renewable energy, which, he said, offers more jobs than the fossil fuel industry, protection for the environment and cheaper energy for consumers.

Universal healthcare is vital to help Americans as COVID-19 continues and victims experience prolonged medical problems.

Current health insurance has too many deductibles, co-pays and limitations on coverage, Weiss said. Employers who provide healthcare will benefit from Medicare-for-All by having costs reduced. Employers who do not provide healthcare will benefit from Medicare-for-All by having healthier workers. Medicare-for-All costs less for better care.

Keystone Party

Keystone candidate Daniel Wassmer is a Pike County resident who ran for attorney general in 2020 under the Libertarian banner. Wassmer finished third in that race just ahead of Weiss.

According to Ballotpedia.com, Wassmer said in 2020 that he worked as an adjunct professor, attorney and business owner.

Now, lets meet the minor party candidates running for governor and lieutenant governor.

Libertarian

Matt Hackenburg of Northampton County is the Libertarian candidate for governor. He described himself as a computer engineer and former National Guardsman in his Twitter account bio.

Hackenburgs issues on his website include repealing all gun control laws, allowing parents to decide how to educate their children, ending the theft of taxation and opposing the action of the Wolf administration during the height of the COVID pandemic.

Timothy McMaster of York County is the Libertarian candidate for lieutenant governor. An auditor, McMaster ran unsuccessfully in a special election for the 48th Senatorial District seat last year.

Keystone Party

Keystone gubernatorial candidate Joseph Soloski of Centre County ran for state treasurer in 2020 as a Libertarian. He is a certified public accountant and owned his own firm near Pittsburgh for 30 years before moving to Centre County in 2013.

Soloskis lieutenant governor running mate is Nicole Shultz of York County. She and her husband own a small business selling jams and other items.

Green Party

Christine PK DiGiulio of Chester County is the Green candidate for governor. She is a former analytical chemist for the U.S. Department of Defense and co-founded the Watchdogs of South-Eastern Pennsylvania and the Better Path Coalition.

DiGiulio opposes the Mariner East pipeline and the fossil fuel industry and supports abortion rights.

Earlier this year, DiGiulio told cityandstatepa.com, Its time to focus on the people 100 percent. We need basic human rights. There are people without clean water in 2022 in Pennsylvania. Thats pretty pathetic.

In an interview with The Daily Local of West Chester in April, DiGiulio said abortion access is part of womens general healthcare and made the case that the country should move away from fossil fuels.

Michael Bagdes-Canning, a Butler County resident, is the Green candidate for lieutenant governor. A teacher, Bagdes-Canning has served as vice president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and was a founding member of the Better Path Coalition.

Our economy is set up to keep us fighting against each other rather than for each other, he said in a Labor Day statement. The same forces keeping us as wage slaves are also destroying the very climate we depend on for survival, pitting us against each other, using race, gender, immigration status, and our ZIP codes to divide us. When we in the working class unite, that will all change.

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Major party candidates get the attention, but Pa. voters have third party options, too - Williamsport Sun-Gazette

Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Harris abruptly switched gears Wednesday, pulling out of an October debate with Democratic challenger Heather Mizeur over his insistence that the Libertarian Party candidate be included.

The campaign of Harris, a conservative seeking a seventh term in the 1st Congressional District, had released a statement earlier in the day to The Baltimore Sun, saying he wont pull out if a third-party candidate cant attend, but he will nonetheless insist on them being invited to debates.

But Harris withdrew from the debate in an afternoon text from campaign official Walter Smoloski to Doug Donley, executive director of Cecil Public Media, also known as Cecil TV, host of the event.

Based on the decision to disinvite the Libertarian candidate for the debate, Congressman Harris will be pulling out, the text said, according to Donley. If you guys change your mind, please let us know. Thank you.

Harris and Mizeur had agreed to participate, Donley said Monday. However, Harris had followed up with a request to include Libertarian Daniel Thibeault. Donley said he initially reached out to Thibeault to include him, but ultimately decided against it because he isnt raising money or actively campaigning.

Heather Mizeur and Andy Harris are running in the 1st Congressional District. (Kenneth K. Lam & Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)

By the end of the day Wednesday, Harris issued a news release saying: I have always insisted all candidates for the First Congressional District be invited to any debates, and I stand by that policy. Thats the way democracy works.

The debate was scheduled for Oct. 26 at Cecil College and was to be streamed on the Cecil TV website.

Mizeur accused Harris of trying to duck the debate.

If I had Andy Harris record, I wouldnt want to face the voters either, she said in a written statement. We already knew Harris was a traitor who plotted to overturn a free and fair election. Now its clear hes also a coward.

No other debates have been scheduled in the contest pitting Harris, 65, who is loyal to Republican former President Donald Trump against Mizeur, 49, a former state delegate and 2014 gubernatorial candidate who has been endorsed by national progressive groups.

The district covers the Eastern Shore, Harford County and a piece of Baltimore County.

Rep. Andy Harris at a news conference. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

Harris said in Wednesdays statement that he is excited to share the stage with the other invited candidates at an unspecified League of Women Voters forum. His campaign headlined the release: Harris Agrees to Debate in First District Race. It said details will be released to the media when available.

Mike Cross-Barnet, Mizeurs spokesman, said there is no date or location established for that forum.

Thibeault, 30, is a former truck driver who lives in Elkton and is working as a security guard while studying engineering at Cecil College.

Donley said he originally sought to accommodate Harris request by informally inviting Thibeault on Tuesday to join the debate. The invitation was withdrawn the same day, Donley said, because it was decided upon further review that Thibeault wasnt eligible.

He has no social media, spending or financial support, Donley said.

Thibeault said in an interview that he had hoped to participate. He acknowledged that his job and studies leaves him little time to campaign. He is not required to file finance reports with the Federal Election Commission because he hasnt raised or spent at least $5,000.

In 2018, Libertarian Party candidate Jenica Martin appeared with Harris and Democratic candidate Jesse Colvin in a Cecil TV debate.

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I believe she ran more of a campaign, Donley said of Martin. He [Thibeault] is running what I would call a passive campaign.

Heather Mizeur, the Democratic Party challenger to incumbent Andy Harris (R), meets July 28, 2022, with potential voters at the Cecil County Fair. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)

Harris was reelected handily in 2018 and 2020. Cecil TV didnt stage a debate in 2020 because of health concerns related to the coronavirus.

Mizeur (pronounced miz-EER) says she got into the 2022 race because of the actions of Harris. She was living with her wife, Deborah, on their Kent County herb and chicken farm, when she heard Harris was among 147 lawmakers who opposed formal certification of President Joe Bidens Electoral College win as Congress met on Jan. 6, 2021.

She has called Harris positions extreme and out of touch.

While Republicans have a voter registration advantage in the district, Mizeur is hoping for a sizable turnout of abortion rights supporters motivated by the U.S. Supreme Courts June ruling effectively overturning the Roe v. Wade decision that had protected a right to an abortion under the U.S. Constitution.

Harris campaign website and Twitter page barely mention Mizeur, focusing much more on inflation and his opposition to Bidens policies.

Harris said in a July statement that he is emphasizing bringing down the price of gas and groceries and securing our communities against violent crime.

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Republican Rep. Andy Harris pulls out of debate with Democrat Heather Mizeur after insisting organizers include third candidate - Baltimore Sun