The GOPe will do anything to win conservative votes except govern like conservatives.
I believe the GOPe thought they would pick up a new wider sphere by attacking the conservatives.
But having run a business for many years, it is far easier to hang on to the clients one has - like the conservative base - than it is to get new clients such as trying to capture votes from the democrat party by moving to the left.
Rove’s bad politics can equate to bad business practices Hang on to what you have is the best policy always.