The splintering of the right began in the Reagan administration, when the Neocons split from the mainstream Conservative movement. Luckily, at the time, Reagan kept them at arm's length, and Bush's father, as VP, referred to them as "the crazies in the basement". When Bush Jr. won the presidency, he let the crazies in.
The problem for Conservatives is the image the Neocons gave us, but the Neocons were never Conservative to begin with. In the aftermath of the crash and burn of the Republican party, one of our first priorities has to be restoring the image of Conservatism, and redefining Conservatism to the public as Conservatism, not Neoconservatism. Until we do that, we are in for some tough times. The kicking to the curb of the Neocons, and their repudiation, by the GOP, was a good first step. Now lets finish the job. Until we do finish the job, people are going to stay away from us because they still think the false idea that Neoconservatism is Conservatism. It's NOT. It is a bastardized form of Liberalism on steroids.
Bottom line is that the Democrats never had to divide and conquer the Conservative movement. We did it all to ourselves, and now we are paying for it.