Rob Lowe Comes Out As A ‘Libertarian’ On Bill O’Reilly

Rob Lowe decided to come out on the Bill O’Reilly show on Fox News last night – as a possible Libertarian. Lowe was on the top rated news show to discuss his new book, Love Life. Bill O’Reilly, being Bill O’Reilly wanted to delve into the most intriguing and juicy portions of the book, the actor’s decidedly un-Hollywood approach to politics.

When Lowe first started discussing his political views, I tensed up a bit. I was fearful that yet another actor/actress I enjoyed watching in the movie would begin spewing beliefs that were so vastly different than my own, and appear to indicate a lack of comprehension of the Constitution, that I would become too disgruntled with the individual to buy a ticket to watch their flicks anymore. My concerns about a cringe-worthy moment were perhaps a bit more intense since I had magazine photos of the Dayton native all over my own Ohio bedroom as a middle school girl.

A group of my seventh grade gal pals and I had an Outsiders fan club going. We each had our favorite cast member, would gather and read the S. E. Hinton’s book, clip articles for our scrapbooks, do sleepovers to watch the movie over and over, and spent our allowances on a lot of tape. Rob Lowe was my movie idol, I could recite facts about him on command, just as my friends could about their chosen actor – garnering such information was not as easy to compile before the Internet age.

The actor told O’Reilly that while he thinks equality for everyone is a wonderful concept, he just subscribes to a different belief than most of his Hollywood peers as to how to accomplish such a task. “I just think that individuals usually do a better job than collective government,” Lowe said.

After discussing the several “big ticket items” the government is needed to accomplish, Bill O’Reilly told the actor that he sounded like a Libertarian. When O’Reilly asked Lowe is he wanted less government intrusion, the actor quickly agreed with the statement.

Lowe jokingly had this to say about being deemed a follower of the Thomas Jefferson philosophy:

“I’m a Hollywood pinhead, Bill. I don’t know about political labels. I spent all this time shedding the dogma of political labels, and now you’re telling me I have to go back to living under a political label?”

One of Jefferson’s most memorable quotes which clearly depicts the Libertarian mindset reads, “If it does not break my leg or pick my pocket, what business is it of mine?” The small government, states’ rights, and fiscal conservative platforms of Libertarianism works easily alongside a hands-off, none of my business type thought process on social issues.

A Libertarian who may not personally believe in some of the most controversial of social issues such as gay marriage, marijuana decriminalization, or abortion still has no desire to impose their will on other consenting adults. Perhaps the willingness to respect the rights of others to keep the government out of their personal lives while focusing on matters the Founding Fathers specifically designated the government to oversee, with due respect being given to states’ rights is the reason the Libertarian faction of the Republican Party is growing both in numbers and in strength.

[Image Via: s_bukley/Shutterstock.com]