Reagan, himself, would not be a conservative according these self-professed conservatives.
Reagan, as Kali governor, singed into law the most permissive abortion law. Heck, Reagan supported the amnesty of 3 million illegal aliens.
I know. I listened to the same people telling me in 1979 to not vote for Reagan. He was a liberal. He had been a Democrat.
It sounded just like it does now, except then we only had the big 3 tv stations, radio, and newspapers. If we had the internet back then, they would have driven Reagan out.