“I dare say any candidate who gets this group’s support should be targeted for destruction by the conservative movement,”
This is what’s going to happen. We will know not to support any candidate they endorse unless is it also endorsed by some other, more reliably conservative group (like when both the Tea Party and the Establishment got behind Ron Johnson and Jeff Flake, both victors).
I think Rove has brought this issue out in the open, early and with enough time to resolve it once and for all.
Now.
Bring it Rove. In the end you will either be out, or control the GOP against a new and energetic rival : The Tea Party.
Your move.