Here's part of how it was mortgaged for power:Alongside a 38 percent increase in government spending in five years came the inevitable corruption. When vast increases in spending are at stake, they act like a homing signal for every sleazeball and lobbyist in the country. The number of registered lobbyists in Washington doubled under five years of Bush Republicanism, according to reporter Jeffrey Birnbaum. His explanation? "In the 1990s, lobbying was largely reactive. Corporations had to fend off proposals that would have restricted them or cost them money. But with pro-business officials running the executive and legislative branches, companies are also hiring well-placed lobbyists to go on the offensive and find ways to profit from the many tax breaks, loosened regulations and other government goodies that increasingly are available."
It has been a free-for-all at the trough of your tax-payer dollars. And we're supposed to believe that this is conservatism? The quote is taken from the fourth chapter of "The Conservative Soul." If you want a thorough take on how the GOP has hijacked conservatism in the pursuit of its own power and wealth, read it.