To be honest, I don't pay much attention to those writers and commentators who seem to just repeat the orthodoxy. The kinds of commentators I like to read or listen to are those who are of the opposing side, or those on my side who, while we don't see eye to eye on all things, they show me things I didn't know or examine things from a position I never thought of--Mark Steyn and Rush Limbaugh, for example.
So, back to the original point, I don't SEE the point in abandoning someone because he's not the "right" kind of conservative, though of course you and anyone else is perfectly free to do that. I just don't think it's a smart way to feed one's mind.
I will admit to being somewhat reticent to list exactly what a person must believe in, to be a conservative.
I do think it's a lot easier to pick a few core issues and see how people stand on them. While I wouldn't go so far as to say this eliminated them from being a conservative, I would say it does cause some circumspection about what their views on other issues would be.
This could cause me to view them as a moderate conservative which isn't much better than a moderate democrat IMO.