The Republican Party is about two things. It's about corporate interests and it's about socially conservative values.
Often, those two groups are in conflict. For example, cheap foreign labor might be great for corporate profits but it's awful for middle class families who want to know they'll get a paycheck tomorrow.
If the Party chooses a social liberal, and the Dems always choose a social liberal, there will be no restraint on the looniness and the disintegration of our values and culture.
Remember, GWB won as a "compassionate conservative". And he has done all kinds of unacceptable things to grow government interference in education, in drug subsidies, with the Patriot Act, etc. And your saying the conservatives should just take this? WE WON !!. Republicans have the HOR, the Senate, and the Presidency. And conservatism is supposed to stand back and take it so California can have a Republican governor who doesn't represent those values?
A lot of us are very, very upset that GWB didn't immediately resolve the two versions of the "PBA" (pre-separation murder) ban, before the NOW nuts figured out how to stop it. Now, are we going to be told to "wait until after Arnold is elected, you can trust us"? Then are we going to be told to "wait until GWB is elected again"?
We (social conservatives) are being played for fools. It's a dangerous game. Remember, people didn't go to Ross Perot even though Bush I did his job. They went because of NAFTA and the lie about taxes.