Ron Paul is a libertarian, not a conservative
I think he isn't a true libertarian. The 2 party system wants to force everyone to be labeled and fall in line behind a "party of men" whereas Ron Paul seems to fall in line with a different party of men (founders), not by following them directly but by following the law (Constitution) they gave us. 'Rule of men' vs 'rule of law' and we know which side Paul is on.
"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." -
Ronald Reagan, in a 1975
interview 'Inside Ronald Reagan' with Reason.
Maybe Reagan was spending too much time around Ron Paul in '75? Or maybe Paul was spending too much time with Reagan?
There is certainly a strain of libertarianism in conservatism ... and, on most domestic issues conservatives and libertarians will see eye-to-eye (with the possible exception of drug-related issues).
But you’ll never convince me that Ronald Reagan would see Ron Paul’s foreign policy stances as anything but dangerous isolationism in a time when America should be leading the world. Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy was peace through strength ... that America should be the shining city on the hill fostering the spread of freedom and democracy around the globe.
Ron Paul’s statements about Iraq, the War on Terror and 9-11 show him to be more aligned with the likes of Kucinich, Conyers, Edwards and Hillary than Reagan or Bush.
Putting our hands over our ears and yelling “LALALALALALA” is not a foreign policy - and Reagan would’ve laughed Paul off the stage in a foreign policy debate.
A