Here's what Reagan said. You can claim he was not being honest and was just fishing for votes if you want, I think much more of the man.
If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals–if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.
Now, I can’t say that I will agree with all the things that the present group who call themselves Libertarians in the sense of a party say, because I think that like in any political movement there are shades, and there are libertarians who are almost over at the point of wanting no government at all or anarchy. I believe there are legitimate government functions. There is a legitimate need in an orderly society for some government to maintain freedom or we will have tyranny by individuals. The strongest man on the block will run the neighborhood. We have government to insure that we don’t each one of us have to carry a club to defend ourselves. But again, I stand on my statement that I think that libertarianism and conservatism are travelling the same path.
One interview to a Libertarian Party magazine, during a public and political career spanning six decades, does not make someone a Libertarian. The last paragraph of Reagan's speech at the 2nd Annual CPAC Convention on March 1, 1975, "Let Them Go Their Way", sounded very similiar:
"I do not believe I have proposed anything that is contrary to what has been considered Republican principle. It is at the same time the very basis of conservatism. It is time to reassert that principle and raise it to full view. And if there are those who cannot subscribe to these principles, then let them go their way."
This is just one example of the Reagan's use of rhetoric he employed in almost all his concept speeches from his 1970`s post Governorship. Reagan was always linking conservatism to the GOP. Why? Reagan was building a new majority coalition that he understood was needed to beat the Democrats. But Libertarianism was not any part that coalition or of Reagan's overall agenda.
Read ALL of Reagan's major speeches from back then --- City Upon A Hill 1974, Let Them Go Their Way 1975, To Restore America 1976, The New Republican Party 1977 and America's World Purpose 1978 --- and you won't find any mention of libertarianism or of the Libertarian Party either and for good reason. Reagan had no affinity for libertarianism or the LP. Reagan was a conservative, first and foremost.
And lets not forget that Libertarians from Murry Rothbard, the Godfather of modern libertarianism, to Ron Paul and Lew Rockwell, ALL had/have a strong dislike or a pure hatred for what Ronald Reagan stood for.
First, I think the libertine liberals of today would not recognize the liberals of the Revolution.
While watching Paul/Johnson in the debate, I couldn’t help but think about the similarities to the “fake”Tea Party candidates that ran on GOP ballots last year. The point wasn’t get get their candidate elected, but to siphon votes away from from legitimate GOP candidates.
Paul and Johnson, and yes, even Trump will have the same effect with their already-doomed campaigns. Trump especially could do irreparable harm to a legitimate candidate if he seriously got into this race. He could spend millions on opposition research on the other GOP candidates and when he loses the nomination, we’ll be left with the only candidate who hasn’t cheated on his wife (in the last week). Let’s hope that guy isn’t Gary Johnson!
FWIW, the GOP does have a rather detailed platform that outlines what the party stands for and hopes to accomplish. Maybe someone should vet these guys before they are allowed to participate in the debates. They’ve got to agree with (and agree to defend and promote... say...90% of the policies or they’re out of the debate.
Leadership Institute’s Morton Blackwell did something similar in 2008 for GOP Chair election. He sent out lengthy questionnaires to all the candidates for the position including questions about whether or not they agreed with the GOP platform, how they would raise money, how they would win the Reagan Democrats back, and how big of a tent the GOP should be. 37 questions in all http://bit.ly/kjWBLp
How much better would this primary season be if we could just start with something like this? Get them to commit early instead of wasting everyone’s time and money with endless evasive sound bites and a dozens of “debates” that are not actually debates.