What happens to the GOP if they fail in November?

[Fuzzy Bear]

What has done in the GOP this cycle is (A) the absence of A-list candidates in the primary process, and (B) the lack of credibility their standard bearer.  Mitt Romney will be the very last GOP candidate for the GOP that will not be a true "movement conservative".

The GOP is down in the polls due solely to the personal shortcomings of Mitt Romney.  Romney's unpopularity has little to do with his positions on issues; it has much to do with the perception that he is man with no core principles who made a Faustian bargain with conservatives that has not worked out well for movement conservatives.

If Romney loses, the conservative base will take steps to ensure that a movement conservative who is ready for prime time will be the candidate in 2016.  This probably rules out Jeb Bush, and it will probably rule out Paul Ryan, who has lost standing during this campaign.  I believe that by the end of 2013, movement conservatives will be coalescing around a particular movement conservative candidate to make sure that there are no more McCains and no more Romneys.