If Romney wins the nomination, will the Tea Party rally behind him?

[porker]

I realize one shouldn't overgeneralize, but a fractured GOP could be a very serious liability for the Right.

[Liberté]

Most will, but some won't. That 'some' will include probably a majority of Paul supporters and probably a minority of those who supported Huckabee to the exclusion of any other candidate.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

I think we'll find out that the "Tea Party Movement" has some fractures of its own.  A lot of TP groups have split multiple times since the movement began in 2009 because compromise is against their beliefs so they have to keep purging anyone who disagrees on the Fair Tax, Constitutional Convention, or what color of napkins to put on the registration table.

There isn't a single candidate who will unite all of the diverse factions on the right, but most of the sane candidates, including Romney, will unite the majority of them.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

We will run our own.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

We will run our own.

Democrats are counting on you, guys!

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

We will run our own.

Democrats are counting on you, guys!

[RI]

With a little luck, the Tea Party will be dead by then.

[California8429]

Truly depends on the anti-obama sentiment. If they feel Romney is enough of a difference from Obama, they'll vote in large numbers, but won't volunteer at all which will hurt Romney since tea party members generally are the driving force of the republican GOTV. However they'll stay home if they believe they are too alike (if Healthcare is the highlight)

[feeblepizza]

Hopefully they'll just stay at home, but I wouldn't discount them doing something stupid and running their own.

[specific_name]

Some will hold their noses and vote for Romney, but I'm sure that turnout among evangelicals would be McCain-like (lackluster). Romney will have seriously liabilities with the Right of his party, no doubt about that.

However, the political climate will have to be very charged and angry to inspire a serious challenge from the Right. By serious I mean Nader in 2000, enough votes to hurt Romney, not necessarily anything close to a Perot in 92 or 96; that would be highly unlikely, only if domestic and international events move in a very bad direction and Romney pulls a Gingrich-like gaffe on some core Republican issue. Otherwise, he'll have most of the base and some indies.

[feeblepizza]

Republicans may become accustomed to nominating people with less than pristine socially conservative credentials, like McCain in 2008 and (potentially) Romney in 2012.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

I can see a tea partier running third party here, although I don't see it gaining a lot of traction, so I voted 'stay home'.

[King]

If Romney wins the nomination, it will be after a divisive and bitter primary.  Can anyone honestly see Romney giving a huge speech at the RNC to a united crowd? I can't. Hell, I don't even think any teabagger politician would even accept the VP nod from Romney.

[The Mikado]

Romney is the GOP's very well-written pre-nup that will get it out of its ill-thought-out marriage to the Tea Party.  The GOP will keep the kids and the money.

[doktorb]

If they're pragmatic, the Tea Party will support him.

I can't imagine them running their own candidate, it would so far more damage to them than it would damage either Obama or the GOP candidate.

[Liberté]

If they're pragmatic, the Tea Party will support him.

I can't imagine them running their own candidate, it would so far more damage to them than it would damage either Obama or the GOP candidate.

I'm not sure why that's necessarily the case. If the Tea Party pulls it off and Romney the 'establishment' nominee goes down, they have the keys to the kingdom come 2016.

[NHI]

The Tea Party should support him, otherwise Obama will have an easier reelection.

[Person Man]

Republicans may become accustomed to nominating people with less than pristine socially conservative credentials, like McCain in 2008 and (potentially) Romney in 2012.

ummm....haven't all succesful GOP candidates in the modern party system been "last than pristine" socially?

Ronald Reagan signed a pre-Roe abortion bill in California in the 60s.
George H.W. Bush was known to be a closet case pro-choicer who had confirmed both a pro-choicer and pro-lifer to the SCOTUS.
George W. Bush seems to be on the record about not caring about abortion in his first congressional run in 1978.


....and uh, the video seems to be down, but there's Reagan's "missle pact".

"Well, you could say that. There was a missile and something definitely got packed."

[Person Man]

Just look at my sig.

[King]

The biggest problem I have with nominating Mitt is that it's another election cycle where the "Republicans would have won if they nominated a more conservative candidate" myth gets to be advanced.  I think it's important the GOP nominates a real conservative and gets smashed.

[Lincoln Republican]

By far most will fall in lline, after moaning and groaning for awhile.

But hey, we don't care about their moaning and groaning, as long as we get their votes.