Governing is not easy when you've never done it. He was more a product of the eastern establishment than of Texas. His son has a much different background, I am told by conservatives who have met him. The Contract with America, which produced the historic capture of Congress in 1994. A neoconservative accepts the concept of a modified welfare state while a conservative resists it.
Government tends to be the first thing a neocon reaches for in a crisis.
As T.S. Eliot said, there are no permanent victories or defeats in life and therefore in politics. Conservatives have to keep fighting the good fight. If parties don't learn how to use the internet, they will be superceded by it. Most Americans depend upon TV for their political news and information. Therefore, conservatives have to become ever more involved in all aspects of mass media.