What percent would be considered Neocons and what percent could be compared to Ron Paul?
When the neoconservatives gained control under Bush, most of the republicans followed completely. However most of the republicans are not neoconservative by tradition. When this happened, the traditional conservative found themselves sidelined. Ron Paul is the only active member of congress that I know of that stood strong against the neoconservative cabal. There is actually more
sympathy for the traditional conservative to be found in the democratic party
of today funny as that may sound. Folks like Pat Buchanan, out of government, have been the last remaining stand for true traditional conservatives. He's wrote countless articles that are really beautifully written calls on behalf of conservitives. So basically you have the original core of neoconservatives who gained control and effected immediate change and the rest have been essentially sympathizers. Enough time has gone by that many of them are official neocon converts. A big part of the problem is people not recognizing the difference. When you actually start laying out the central beliefs of neoconservitives without mentioning names or parties, you find normal republicans saying, oh hell no, I don't like that idea... So really, you have one hell of a con job by the neoconservatives. and they're working strongly at extending the con.
There's little doubt IMO that the last 8 years has very little to do with traditional conservatism.
