Conservative fears of repeating Florida 2000 helped Bush win reelection in 2004, despite the party's overall drift to the center. By now, any conservative elements in the House and Senate were in complete retreat. The moderates ruled the roost in both houses. RINO defections on the Iraq war (Mistake #28), wasteful earmarks (Mistake #29) and ethics scandals (Mistake #29) were now front and center for the GOP. The only conservative victories of 2005-06 were the confirmations of Roberts and Alito to the Supreme Court. And it took a battle to defeat Bush on his nomination of Harriet Miers to do it.
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I stand (sit, actually) corrected. I listed 44, but couldn't count them correctly.
‘Sokay. Eliminate Mistake #17 (not convicting Bubba after he was impeached) — because it would have given us President Albert Arnold Gore — and you still have 43.