Sadly a lot of what you state could probably explain a good bit of Ron Paul’s popularity. People know he’s nutty but they also find at least some agreement with him. Unfortunately the GOP has adopted a slash and burn strategy of simply calling him and pretty much everyone who agrees with him even a little, wrong.
I think the GOP would do well to tone down our global involvements a bit. Use our own oil, surround Israel with a defensive ring of steel and screw the mideast.
Unfortunately Republican Conservatism w/o a strong Libertarian content is not attractive to a lot of Constitutional Conservatives. Thanks to Wilsonian Republicans like GWB & McCain the party is viewed as full of crony statist. The last attempt to save the party was the 2010 election but the Establishment & Senate Republicans never joined the fight. RP may or may not be a candidate for President but the way the Republican Party has treated him and the other Conservatives is shameful and indicates to many the Republican Party is not much of a lesser evil of the 2 parties. Nominating Mitt will be the last straw for many.