I tend to think that so called "extremists" tend to be more honest. They may be wrong or they may be right but they aren't as likely to lie in an effort to get their political enemies to agree.
I'm sick of politicians fishing to find out what I want to hear. I want politicians to speak their mind. If I agree I'll vote for them, if not I won't.
I would consider a "moderate conservative" to be more of a pragmatist, willing to compromise on some issues in order to win on others. Also, there's a matter of "tone" -- there's kind of a hard-edge to some conservatives, rhetorically, that frankly isn't conducive to discussion or real political debate (the same kind of hard-edgedness that is seen among the hard-left).
There are 3 separate issues here.
1) The goal(s).
2) Creeping to the goal or revolution.
3) Tactics, packaging the product in order to sell it.
Conservatives are worst at #3. In Nov 2006 both Chafee, McSweeney and Graff lost not because of #1 or #2, but because of #3.
But #2 is also a problem. I'd love to eliminate 6 entire cabinet departments (Education, Energy, Commerce, HUD, HHS, DHS). But that is not going to happen in my lifetime. So I need to accept that it is "moral" to cut their fingers off, and then their limbs off one by one.
We need CREEPING SMALL GOVERNMENT in the same way that my parents generation was afraid of creeping socialism.