I think you make a fascinating and very important point…and I’d like to echo and add: The genesis of the tea party movement was absolutely limited government reaction to obama care and mortgage fraud and so on… I won’t go thru the Feb 2009 santelli-rush-drudge-NBC-Robert Gibbs-obama time table here, but that’s clearly the spark that lit a huge town hall anti obama care anti government kindling pile that had been buidling for a while.
EVen if you joined without knowing that’s how it came about, that’s still how it came about.
Now, most of these people were also soc conservatives, but that was NEVER the reason for the TP in the beginning…but some TP groups have sort of been hijacked by a social focus. Some have been hijacked by a sort of anti religion hard core libtard focus (libtard NOT quite the same as legit liberty type). Some are more true to the original intent and idea. Not passing judgment here, just stating what has happened.
And of course, the GOPe hates all of it…the limited gov types, the soc cons type, and the liberty types. This civil war, or set of wars, is raging now…..
Also, being a social conservative does not preclude one from being a libertarian. I think they are the same philosophy - individual freedom and individual responsibility.