Republicans use to stand form small government, low taxes, limited regulation,free enterprise and traditional social values. Thy were suspicious of an interventionist foreign policy and favored a strong national defense designed to protect US National Security interests. They were proudly “American 1sters” who were suspicious of any internationalist tendencies in foreign, or trade, policy. They had a firm believe in the rule of law.
All that went out the window when the neoconservative cabal wormed their way to power.