Ron Paul used to spout off all time how he was the “most conservative” person on the debate platform. Guess it depends on how you define conservatism. If you define conservative as wanting to legalize drugs, say that any state has the right to define marriage any way they feel like it, and say that Roe v. Wade is the “settled law” of the land I guess Ron Paul was “conservative”. His son takes the EXACT same positions. But the old man had character and principles. He would tell you that we needed to bring all US forces home from overseas and start letting countries protect themselves. Of course he would be blasted by the other GOP contenders. Rand Paul has the exact same position but tries to hid it. Ron Paul voted to allow sodomites in the US military and said more than one time that it is no one’s business who someone else marries (and of course leave it up to the states). Same position for his son, though once again he would tap dance around any question of real marriage. Both want to legalize drugs.
But in the minds of some on FR the Paul’s are “conservative” because they want to cut the size and scope of government.
Call Rand Paul for what he is. A fiscal conservative and a a social liberal, just as liberal as any democrat.
He will never get the GOP nomination. RINOs can’t win elections.
To me conservative means one who wishes to restrict the federal government to the limits placed on it in the Constitution, with other powers to the states and the people. This means predominantly, limiting the size and scope of the federal government. This means that many social issues, not mentioned in the Constitution, should not be decided by the federal government except by amendment, but left to the states. Roe vs. Wade (which by the way Rand does crusade against) is the reason why you don’t want these issues in the federal purview; once that happens, as a Christian, I have nowhere to go to escape this modern Sodom and Gomorroh unless I overturn Roe vs. Wade. If it were at the state level, most states would ban or severely restrict abortion and fewer children would be murdered. There is a huge distinction between Constitutional Conservatives like myself and Rand Paul and liberals; we want the federal government to not have the power to curtail our religious freedoms and God given rights, the liberals advocate using the federal government to guarantee them every kind of perversion and debauchary while permenantly revoking the rights of Christians and other persecuted classes. A world of difference.