Reagan and the AIDS Epidemic

I find extremists on all side to be assholes, whether they be on the right or left. This is interesting however, the crazy-ass followers of Fred Phelps, the guy who hates gays so much that he has his "followers" hold up signs saying 'Roast in Hell' at AIDS sufferers funerals, held up signs against Reagan along the parade route. Phelps also has a website called GodHatesFags.com but I can't even bring myself to link to it.

Their view is that Reagan allowed homosexuality to flourish under his administration. Every article you read written by some mainstream hack says that Reagan didn't do enough to help gays, especially gay people who were HIV positive.

If Reagan was such a right-wing zealot, how come the actual right-wing zealots hated him? Reagan was not an extremist, just as George W. Bush is not, they shared very clear concise views on the course of America and our place in the world.

As for the Reagan policy on HIV; the idea of throwing a ton of money at a new disease that is 100% preventable was ludicrous. HIV did not even begin to take root until 1983-84, the CDC was looking into treatment earlier than that. The problem wasn't that Reagan wasn't spending money to find a cure, it's that he didn't spend enough money in the eyes of groups like ACT UP. Is curing AIDS more important than curing childhood cancer? Diabetes? Alzheimer's? None of those are preventable like HIV.