That makes no sense. While I agree with you that AS is not very conservative (i.e. a Rockeferfeller/liberal republican, if anything), you're saying you think he's actually playing Republican to get elected? If that's the strategy, wouldn't it make more sense to play the liberal Democrat he supposedly is and make it more easier on himself to get elected in a liberal democrat state?
I'll buy that. He's more likely a "Republican" as far as business-profit things are concerned and a "Democrat" for his social policies. His liberal social views don't represent a huge percentage of the Republican Party, not at all.
It is an issue for those of us who don't live in California, too. If the Party wins without considering what the social Conservatives believe in, it leaves us disenfranchised, with nowhere to go.