I can't say that I know who the American Conservative Union is.
I don't know if we are exactly a socialist nation, but we certainly are in many ways, even the most fundamental one - we seem to have adopted the concept that a central authority such as the federal government should shape and arrange society in the interests of the common good. Our president himself is a follower of that concept as far as I can tell. So, I believe, is most of the nation, conservative or liberal alike...this indicates to me a general lack of actual undelying guiding principles, which the citizenry should be using, but aren't, as reference for deciding what role of government should play in whatever current issues compete for attention. But given that, no wonder they expect some authority to decide everything.
Interestingly, I have heard my socialist friend (retired college prof, of course) refer to himself as a "closet Republican," - he's a supporter of RKBA, an opponent of affirmative action, and thinks we ought to "nuke the terrorists." OTOH, he usually follows the Dem Party line, although he thought Clinton should have resigned.
Conversely, I am also friends with an elderly couple who escaped from a Warsaw Pact nation many years ago and made their way to the US. They explicitly refer to Bush as a socialist. I relayed that comment to my socialist friend, who enjoys discussing politics with me - after some relflection, I think even he is ready to agree.