The Liberty Movement in KY has been a reaction within the Republican Party, both nationally and at the state level, against the status quo of establishment politicians who claim to be conservative representatives of the people at election time, then more often than not fail to defend their constituents’ values & rights, conserve little, and instead represent the powerful. It tends to blend influences in the Republican Party critical of that establishment, from Rand Paul to Donald Trump.

On the whole, the Liberty Movement is more critical of government debt spending, corporate handouts, the influence of money and lobbyists in politics, and intrusion upon the rights of individuals than the establishment. It also is more vocal about & willing to use government influence to protect children and families from negative cultural influences, incl. in public schools, strengthen traditional societal institutions, and to promote economic opportunity and legal fairness for the poor than Republicans are typically seen to be.

There is no universal mold for a Liberty Candidate, it ranges from more Libertarian-influenced (eg Maddox) to more religious, socially conservative-influenced (eg Calloway) with most falling somewhere between. A common element is a politics of integrity. The Liberty Movement sees itself as representative of a more authentic, and vocally unapologetic, conservatism than establishment Republicans on at least 3 fronts:

Constitutionally, they believe that government should have a limited set of priorities and do those well. Above all else, they want to make sure that the government protects the constitutional rights (eg freedom of religion, free speech, gun possession, rolling back the surveillance state, due process…) of its citizens from those who would violate them, including from its own agents.

Fiscally, they see government as too big, too involved in our lives, and putting its thumb on the economic scale far too much. They want to dramatically eliminate government spending and debt, reduce taxes, and decrease picking economic winners and losers, including being very skeptical of selective corporate handouts or regulations.

Socially, they see a culture influencing young people that is antagonistic to traditional (often Christian) values and is systematically undermining societal institutions and consensus: from the church, to marriage and traditional family development, to concepts as basic as meritocracy, equal protection under the law & classical liberalism. Even more frustrating, this societal transformation is often financed with taxpayer dollars, from activism in public schools & universities, to mental health professionals, to subsidized media coverage. The Liberty movement tends to be very vocal in opposing these cultural trends, protecting children from them, and mitigating the societal damage from them to the extent reasonable under the law.

Finally, they tend to be very skeptical of the corrupting influence of money in politics. Many do not take business & industry linked PAC money, and promote the elimination of taxpayer-funded lobbying.

Most liberty candidates feel their viewpoints on these topics are representative of a majority of their constituents, but systematically suppressed by many members of current Republican leadership, which view actual conservative values on other topics as a distraction too controversial, or not cosmopolitan enough, for their true business consistency. Their view is born out by their greater grassroots activist engagement and continuing ability to win difficult elections despite being massively outspent 3+ to 1, and having the party apparatus and paid operatives working against them.