I can't buy that he is or ever was a conservative of any kind. He may lean somewhat towards conservative but he and allot of his devotees are as liberal as it gets. Even now I don't see the logic is supporting him for office when he's jumped ship and ran back to his senate seat and yet there are still idiots out there lose with a RP shirt or bumpersticker on their cars. The guys a loser, face it people, you'll be alot happier later.
Breaking conservativism into its three branches: fiscal, social and national defense Paul is quirky at best.
In national defense Paul would forsake the idea of peace through superior firepower and leave us as denuded as any liberal; only where liberals would count on the UN for peace Paulestinians place their hope exclusively in the 2nd Amendment...as if grandma only deserves freedom if she's willing to plant IED's on Main Street with the rest of the Wolverines.
As a social conservative he's a break-even. He's opposed abortion, obviously favors private gun ownership, public schools etc but he views matters of prostitution, drugs etc as matters the people shouldn't discuss let alone be permitted to vote-on lest they vote the "wrong" way.
Even on fiscal matters his policies favoring private ownership, low taxes etc get lost in the lunacy of multiple currencies and abolishing the Fed Reserve with a pen-stroke as if a multi-trillion dollar economy turns so easily.
Then there's the outright nuttiness of claiming bird flu would be a gateway to martial law and all matters that feed the delusions of charlatans like Alex Jones.
Why does he endure? He's not a reality or even genuine; he's simply a legend in the mind of his supporters. He can curse earmarks in the name of freedom and all they will here is the ephemeral word freedom all the while the little hypocrite proposes $400 million in one year alone so he can vote no on the bill to the cheers of his drooling throng knowing full well the bill will pass and he can take his $400 million home to his district. Even McCain for all his other faults has never proposed an earmark yet facts are lost to the Paulestians.
It's not Paul, it's the ideal of him; hence the cultic imagery we attach to his movement.