I do believe Neil Peart is a solid conservative.
During a conversation with the NME in 1977, Peart was asked about his reasons for basing Rush’s song 2112 on the work of right-wing philosopher Ayn Rand.
“I recall that NME interview very well because the conversation was great,” Peart recalls in an interview in the forthcoming new edition of Classic Rock. “And we all felt totally betrayed after, because we had a lovely time with the guy. I remember him being so courteous. It was so amicable. As far as I was concerned, we were just having an intellectual conversation. But these things are wide open to misinterpretation, and that was a classic case.”
Peart, who has since distanced himself from Rand’s writings, added: “I know where I fall politically. And I define it better now: I’m a libertarian, but a bleeding-heart libertarian.
“I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don’t want people to have to suffer. It’s as simple as that. If people are suffering and I can help, I want to. But here’s the difference between being an idealist and a realist. Idealistically, I believe that we should help people. But realistically, do I think that government will do that? No.”
http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/news/rushs-neil-peart-i-was-betrayed/