I've always wondered why so many conservatives have no objections to the not so veiled liberalism of neoconservatives on many issues, but who think that libertarians are beyond the pale.
Can’t blame libertarians when the GOPe for many years shut them out of the process entirely. The treatment of Ron Paul in 2008/2012 was an especially shameful chapter in the history of GOP politics.
I think there's a significant difference between the (lower case) libertarianism of Ron and Rand Paul, who are Constitutional conservatives (i.e. minarchists) vs. the essential anarchism of the capital-L Libertarian Party.
Yeah the Libertarian Party is infested with an-coms and wingnuts. It’s the nature of any group that gets pushed to the fringe, you end up being a magnet for others on the fringe.
But the small-l version, which I believe has been best articulated as it applies to the modern day in the Ron Paul 2008/12 platforms, is one of the key pillars of Reaganism. Of course it belongs in the GOP. The faction that hated Reagan also hated the libertarians.
The same can be said of Rand Pauls treatment of Donald Trump!!!