Especially in the last 20 years, people on the right (especially "Tea Party" types) seem to think Libertarian beliefs are interchangeable with conservative beliefs. If someone promotes limited government and free markets, they're automatically touted as a conservative savior.
The result is we end up with "conservative" leaders like Rand Paul, who get into power and then announce we need to give felons the right to vote, welcome "gay marriage folks" in the GOP and support a "path to citizenship" for illegal aliens.
We need to stop pretending a libertarian philosophy makes someone a Reagan Republican.
Amen.
I’ve always summed up conservatives as libertarians with a Bible. IOW - freedom under God, not from God.
They are not. Libertarians beliefs all devolve to "everyone smoke dope."
“We need to stop pretending a libertarian philosophy makes someone a Reagan Republican.”
It doesn’t, but we do have some common ground in the area of classical liberalism (or “little l” libertarianism as some call it) that provides a foundation for both philosophies.
Once you go beyond that common ground, we are pretty far apart on everything else.