Did the conservative infighting in 2012 allow Romney to become the nominee?

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Interesting question/theory, do you think the Santorum-Gingrich fighting in the early states allowed Romney to pull ahead and become the eventual nominee?

Just a question I'd like to propose.

[TJ in Oregon]

Not really. It was the lack of a viable alternative, except possibly Santorum, and it was too late for him to unseat Romney.

[CountryClassSF]

Romney's antipathy towards conservatives was his number one reason for running. He had no desire to beat Obama

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

I don't think that Santorum was ever considered really a credible alternative. Recently I was flipping through "Double Down" at Barnes and Noble and it was referenced that if he had won the Michigan primary there had been talk within the GOP establishment of nominating a "white knight" candidate like Paul Ryan (Daniels refused) to enter late primary states and try to win the nomination.

[buritobr]

I though Romney was a conservative

[TJ in Oregon]

I though Romney was a conservative

It depends on what he's running for. If he had started off his career with the views he supposedly had during his presidential campaign, people would consider him to be a conservative. But no one really knew which set of his views were his actual views.

[bobloblaw]

Possibly. There is a real purity demand on the far right. Only Cruz or Palin is good enough for them