The important lesson from that election was that even with a wildly popular Republican in what was thought to be a close election, 13% of Californians voted for a true conservative candidate. This is almost as great a margin as Ronald Reagan won in 1984. Furthermore, a high level of dissatisfaction among the base opens up the possibility of an effective third party candidate who can triangulate the president and take even more votes (think Perot).
It is in the interest of all Republicans and conservatives to make sure that the Republican party doesn't loose its base. We must remember that unlike liberal voters, many conservative voters put principles and issues over party affiliation and political expediency. They simply won't vote for a public official who undermines their ideals, and beating them up about it won't will only alienate them further. Whether the Republican candidate has a better fiscal policy or whether he may or may not appoint better judges doesn't matter if they are no better on these critical issues. Nor will the idea that Republican Party just needs to compromise its principles to win now and will become more conservative later. The base is composed of voters, and like any other political demographic they can't be neglected or forfeited and expected to turn out to vote and volunteer.
The more the president moves to the center to capture undecided and swing voters, the more he will loose from his base. We all should contact the president (and other Republican candidates) to make sure that this doesn't happen.
We must remember that unlike liberal voters, many conservative voters put principles and issues over party affiliation and political expediency. They simply won't vote for a public official who undermines their ideals, and beating them up about it won't will only alienate them further.