I would like to blame the GOP-e for putting us in the pickle we are in, but the non-mitts failed when they needed to succeed. Perry failed, Cain failed, Newt failed, and Santorum failed. It was one big bucket of fail for the non mitts. The GOP-e certainly helped, but a good candidate could have overcome them, as Reagan did so succesfully.
I tend to view this as not so much failed but rather they were unsupported at the top and occationally sabotaged. The GOP has been taken over by moderates who refuse to look at history and see that when we run moderate candidates, the GOP loses elections.