“Rand’s slump in the polls just underscores questions about the efficacy of his whole campaign’s strategy: what’s the point of trying to inch a party in a more libertarian direction if, in the process, you’re tarring the trending libertarian label by association with a diminished GOP brand and its unpopular and un-libertarian positions on social issues and immigration?” said John Vaught LaBeaume, a Libertarian campaign strategist who served as an adviser to Gov. Gary Johnson’s 2012 presidential bid…

The move to build a broader base by mainstreaming the movement simply hasn’t worked, said Drew Ivers, Ron Paul’s 2012 Iowa presidential campaign chairman said.

“Ron, from the beginning, did not attempt – his strategy did not include moving to the middle and attempting to attract from both directions. From the very beginning, that was not his strategy. Whereas from the beginning of Rand’s campaign strategy, it was,” Ivers said. “A huge foundational, initial, fundamental strategic difference.”

The elder Paul, Ivers said, would never give ground on his small government beliefs just to win over Republican support.