Not every conservative believes that the value of money should be tied to gold.
A conservative believes that the Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate the value of money - not whatever private or public entities manage to hoard the largest amount of a specific precious metal.
Don't you agree with these statements? Every conservative should. If you don't, you just might be a liberal.
Yawn. I don't agree with your underlying premise: that you decide who or who isn't a liberal. Especially since you seem to think that a person is a liberal if they are not a goldbug.
I don't see much point in having Departments of Education or Energy.
There is a definite useful purpose to having a Department of Homeland Security.
As far as the land that the Federal government owns in the West - the Federal government either purchased or conquered that land and it belongs to the Federal government (i.e. US citizens as a people, not the several states). I'm all for a rational plan of divestment, but the Federal government is under no obligation to divest it.
Historically, Republicans have been the sound-money party while Dems have been the fiat-money, false prosperity, we-don't-care-about-the-consequences crowd. RP caught my attention because of his stand on fiscal, trade, and monetary policies.
The dollar is in bad shape, to the point that avoiding inflation depends on keeping dollars in willing foreigners' hands. In fact, that's why I think our leaders are eager for illegal immigration, to send dollars to Mexico where they will be absorbed into the Mexican economy.