"In other words, Limbaugh (and many other conservative radio talkshow hosts) didn't have as much influence with the voters as they thought they did."
Conservative voters voted their values. Abortion, Gay Marriage, eminent domain, illegal immigration. They voted for Conservative candidates.
Republicans are no longer Conservatives. They are Liberals with a political party attached to their name so they can get elected. That paradigm no longer applies.
Spot on. And it was via that very dynamic that we wound up with Foley. That moron ran as a Democrat for years and then switched parties when he figured out that Democrats weren't winning. That's how we got saddled with the ass-end of that "big tent" stupidity.