The Four Mistakes of Conservatives

Victor Davis Hanson says that conservatives made four key mistakes that got them "into this mess:"

1) increase of federal spending from 2001-05 (that gave mendacious Democrats room to fabricate that the tax cuts had caused the red ink),
2) the sordid scandals of 2005-7,
3) the tentativeness in the war (cf. the 1st pull-back from Fallujah, the reprieve to Sadr, the retreat to compounds in 2006, etc), and
4) the complete unwillingness to close the border.

Hanson misses one key point: he confuses the word Republican and conservative - conservatives were not responsible for them. The real mistake was running as squishy, ashamed Republicans rather than "bold, pastel" conservatives.