Gallup is out with an interesting new survey showing where the Republican Party has lost the most ground over the past eight years, and conservatives aren't going to like what it reveals.

The narrative spun by the Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hannitys and Dick Cheneys of the world is that the GOP's problem is that it hasn't been conservative enough, and that rather than moderate its policies, the GOP should focus its rebuilding efforts on the party's conservative base.

But the Gallup survey tells a completely different story. According to Gallup, only 1 percent of self-described conservatives have left the Republican Party over the past eight years. In fact, the only group more loyal to Republicans were those who attend church weekly. Meanwhile, even as Republicans held their conservative base together, 9% of moderates and 8% of liberals left the party.

What this means is that virtually all of the GOP's losses have come from liberals and moderates fleeing the party, leaving behind a party that is even more conservative than it was before.

It may please them to hear Cheney or Limbaugh say that turning right is the way out of the political wilderness, but sooner or later, they will realize that the only way back into the political mainstream is to jettison the extreme conservatism espoused by growing numbers of Republicans.

For now, however, they are stuck on conservatism, with party leaders like Michael Steele buying into the idea that all Republicans need to do is be more conservative. They need look no further this Gallup survey to realize the foolishness of their approach.