You know what the big social issues we're talking about here. Primarily abortion and gay marriage. The social conservative wing of the party wants the Federal government to do everything in it's power to limit or stop those things. That is more than just opposing Roe or fighting for a Marriage amendment to the constitution. There is a lot of stuff that government agencies can do administratively and the executive branch can do through EO's to fight these 2 battles. They aren't make or break but they are little battles in the overall war. And there are other social issues, many social conservatives would like far more done about online obscenity (porn), restrictions on games/movies/music for certain age groups, etc. Heck just listen to the Huckabee/Santorum wing of the party and you'll know where a sizable chunk of conservatives stand. For these people, the social issues are their primary thing. They think winning the culture war IS the primary battle.
There is a big division right now among conservatives. I think it is clear that the younger generations are far more libertine and the future of the Republican party is probably to jettison some social issues and public order laws from the forefront, but I just want to be real clear about what we're talking about. Socon's aren't stupid, when they hear Rand and others talking about a more "libertarian" Republican party, they know what that means - and they are going to fight about it. And at least right now, the right in this country can't win without them - so tread carefully.
The libertarian wing is going to have to give ground too. This isolationist foreign/defense policy just isn't going to sell among most conservatives. Abandoning Israel isn't acceptable to most of the base. And this loony talk that comes from the Ron Paul wing isn't going to fly either. We don't want truthers, people who think Bradley Manning is a hero and patriot, and assorted crazies that Paul would never disown.
I know Rand is trying to thread the needle and be more of a compromise candidate, we'll have to see if he is successful. I am certainly open to supporting Rand and compromising with libertarianish conservatives to form a unified opposition. But I have to tell you, I am suspicious Rand is more like his father than he lets on and I think Ron Paul is loon on many issues.
“I think it is clear that the younger generations are far more libertine and the future of the Republican party is probably to jettison some social issues”
The problem in a nutshell. A party that does not believe in it’s own platform.