The reason I support Rand is because he's a Libertarian in Republican clothing. He follows in the footsteps of his father Ron with a slight few differences. Both of them are socially liberal outside of Abortion which is more or less where I am at as well. Not here to discuss that matter specifically though.
It would seem based off your post that you care. Yes the establishment on both sides are relatively interchangeable despite their labels of 'Republican and Democrat' the biggest reason I've stop using said labels at all. Conservative Liberal, and Moderate are far more telling. The reason it is narrow is because the establishment on both sides wants it that way. The big money in these lanes is fed to their campaigns because they'll keep fueling the policies big companies want and hence those pulling the strings don't want someone who would challenge their ways. Gary Johnson the Libertarian nomination is irate at those who are organizing the debates because only the 'Republicans' and 'Democrats' are permitted a seat at the table. There's a good chance MANY voters would sway in the ways of the Libertarian and Green parties respectively in this day and age if they were given a fair seat at the table. Can't have that now. I support Capitalism, not Facism and Statism, two principles that have started to run amok over the past 25-30 years.
And yeah, I'll be frank. The POTUS shouldn't deliberately go out of their way to cause troubles for other nations, but the US comes first. Their duty is to their country before the rest of the world. Hence why I am a proponent of backing out of NATO should other countries not start funding a more significant portion.