“Conservatives don’t favor big government.”
Who here favors big government??? No one I’ve seen.
Geeeeeeeez - is anyone who has a problem with RP’s ideas on foreign policy or purist Libertarian beliefs a Leftist, Marxist, Nanny State, NeoCon Warmonger in your eyes?
And yes, one can indeed be a Conservative Republican or Republican Conservative, take your pick. Although way too many Republicans have strayed far afield of the party’s original, founding principles, a lot of us are making at least one last-ditch effort to get things back on track and restore the party back to what it was meant to be. It may be that many Tea Partiers agree, by not rushing to form a third party.
A lot of folks here are more than happy to look the other way at initiatives that favor big government, as long as the man in the White House has an 'R' by his name. The Bushes are the first example that comes to mind... good men, certainly better than anyone the Dems had to offer, but not advocates for limited government by any means.
But to bring the discussion back home... what is it exactly that we stand for here at FR? Not the Republican brand alone, certainly, except inasmuch as it represents something we can believe in, namely the set of principles that secure and preserve our God-given liberties. Ron Paul will never be president, and that doesn't bother me at all; I don't think he would have made a very good one. But I'm glad Ron Paul exists, because he helps us to keep our eye on the ball.