I think Buckley was puzzled by Reagan who went outside the box so to speak. Buckley didn’t seem to get that the problem was the unconstitutional 80% portion of the federal government which Reagan declared was the PROBLEM, not the solution.
So called conservatives seem to have a hard time with the Reagans and Trumps of the world who step outside the box and rather Drain the Swamp (the Establishment) to which many of theses “conservatives” have annealed.
I used to devour NR back in the Reagan years and I just don’t remember anything along that line.
Buckley wasn’t unrealistic... he was a political realist when it came to Reagan’s ability to deliver- Reagan had to deal with a Democratic House and the usual band of GOP princes in the Senate. Most NR writers were of that sort, not expecting the impossible.
One complaint that I do recall was Reagan not closing down Carter’s Department of Education, one of his campaign goals. I don’t remember why he didn’t pull that off but it may have been because some GOP Senators wanted to keep it. Or it may have been a trade-off with Tip O’Neill for some goal Reagan knew was more important.
In the Reagan years we didn’t yet suffer from the plague of Celebrity Media Conservatives who have no real jobs other than promoting themselves. Most of the writers back then were doing it as a sideline. Will might have been a sign of things to come.