OK, I'll explain myself. First of all, voting for a 3rd-party conservative should not be compared with voting for Perot. Perot was not a conservative, so his vote total did not have any effect on what was perceived to be the popular will. As a result, Clinton was left with a largely free hand. Voting for a conservative, by contrast, even if it causes Bush to lose, will make it clear to whoever wins that the country is conservative and demands conservative performance. And of course, if Bush wins, it'll serve as an important shot across his bow.
The other thing to keep in mind is that Bush has actually accelerated the growth of big-government socialism (even before 9/11). This is because when Republicans are in power, conservatives don't keep as sharp an eye on them as when Democrats are in power. So the difference between a D administration and an R administration is not as drastic as you may think.
And in any case, nothing good comes without risk. Playing it "safe" will get us nowhere.
Why would they care? They won! Too bad for the conservative suckers - let them eat cake.