It’s a virtual certainty that Romney is the last anointed candidate of the establishment Republican Party. Even if he wins, Conservatives are sure give the nomination process serious study and changes WILL be made.
Why? Because it defies belief that a person who is as roundly disliked as he, who engenders practically no enthusiasm in most of the base, who comes off as phony and as plastic as a robot used-car salesman, can somehow waltz to the nomination.
How did he do it?
My theory is that the nomination process, and by that I mean the order in which the states hold their primaries is designed, call it gerrymandered, to give the establishment candidate the best shot. It’s not that hard to do. Certain areas of the country are more Conservative than others. Certain Republican strongholds are more supportive of the get-along-go-along philosophy that the establishment adores. By ensuring those states go first, you can set up momentum and a sense of inevitability.
Of course, there are other factors as well. The way the Republican establishment spreads around money is a big one. The way the manipulate the media is another. Getting Ann Coulter on the Romney team early in the game was a big plus. But it can’t be allowed to continue.
By the time 2016 rolls around, providing we win in November, we have to have forced reengineering on the establishment. Conservative voices will have to make damn good and sure that they are represented at every stage of the process. This has been talked about numerous times before, but somehow it never happens.
Of course, if we lose in November, it will still be the last time an establishment Republican is nominated. Our Dear Leader President For Life will outlaw the party and there will not BE an election in 2016. By then, the choice will come down to submit or go to the mattress.
How did he do it?
He did it by spenind five years and millions of dollars building a campaign machine, and getting far more votes than any other of the candidates, like it or not. If conservatives had been united behind a credible candidate with a nationwide organization, Romney would not be the nomineee. That's how the game is played. You can sit around making whine out of sour grapes, or decide which of the two alternatives is better for the country.