“We have no chance of winning as long as these purer-than-thou “conservatives” who have no chance of winning split the vote and hand the election to the Dems.”
The purity battles need to happen in the primaries.
I think you're right, but as soon as these guys see that they may not win the primaries (in other words, their ideas haven't convinced enough people), they pick up their marbles and go off to found or join another party. It would be just a petty sulk if it weren't for the fact that it usually hands the election to the Dems.