The ones who love to call themselves 'the true conservatives' don't understand that sitting back and allowing Democrats to win won't accomplish what they had hoped. It will force the Republicans to move more to the left to garner more independent/democratic votes. The only ones learning a lesson in that scenario would be the ones calling themselves 'the true conservatives' - that is, if they aren't too smug to learn it.
The extreme right is scaring the moderates in the way the extreme left is. We will be better off to let the extreme right sit this one out. If we include them, we become guilty by association.