I'm no authority, but this is my take on it:

neo means new. It's like the new Republican party because they have control of Congress and the Whitehouse again. They felt that everything the Democrats did was wrong, so the pendelum swings the other way in retaliation, so to speak.

Quote:
An intellectual and political movement in favor of political, economic, and social conservatism that arose in opposition to the perceived liberalism of the 1960s: “The neo-conservatism of the 1980s is a replay of the New Conservatism of the 1950s, which was itself a replay of the New Era philosophy of the 1920s” (Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.).
It's come to mean ultraconservative in the last couple of years. Since the Congress became Republican dominated, and the administration is filled with hawks, the overall direction of the Republican party has shifted somewhat to the far right.

By the way, I'm impressed that you have enough interest to even ask such a question, Curtis.
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Tent makers for Christie, 2016.