There will never and can never be a "return" to the Clinton years. There is too much water under the bridge, many, MANY Democrats loath Hillary as much as we do and it looks like an awful lot of them have grown sour on Bill, too. IF Clinton was elected, her presidency would be short-lived and she would be extremely despised and challenged by her so-called "allies" as well as opponents. Odds are high that very little of what she proposes now would ever get the support needed to pass and she would be in for one term only.
... it’s okay to be purists during the primary, but keep your eye on the ball during the general ...
It would seem your definition of "purist" is the Republican who has finally decided to reject Republican candidates who are 90 - 95 percent tainted by liberalism. I will reject candidates in the primary AND the general who have demonstrated a wholesale -- not partial, but WHOLESALE -- embrace of surrendering my freedom and taking my money in the name of intrusive government. Those candidates include Romney, McCain, and Huckabee. The only thing I can do at this point is to use my vote to see that the best ANY candidate gets is a weak plurality. That is hardly being a purist -- it's putting the interest of my freedom and my country before the short-term interest of the Republican party, and it's also doing what I can to salvage the long-term potential of the Republican party.
Whatever your INTENT (feelings) in punishing the party or its nominee, the RESULT (an Obama or Clinton presidency) is wholly unacceptable to those of us who have lived through these kinds of dangerous fools. Either would be worse than a first Clinton presidency or even a Carter presidency. Some might say it would be a return to a Woodrow Wilson presidency, although I personally have no knowledge of how bad THAT was.
You have the power to preserve our nation and its honorable military, or you can throw these away by not doing everything you can to stop the destruction that the Democrats will bring. Yes, it IS that important. Vote, don’t vote, I don’t care. But if you assure the return of the Clintons to the WH or an insufferable, America-hating vacuum, then don’t bellyache to me about how you didn’t have a Republican perfect enough to meet your exacting specifications.