This is false. He'll end up with quite a few votes more than McCain. They're still being counted.
And even based on counted votes so far, Romney got more votes in the "Bible Belt" (OK, TX, MO, AR, LA, KY, TN, MS, AL, GA, SC, NC) than McCain.
If the base didn't turn out then it would have been impossible for Romney to get more votes in the Bible Belt.
So, in sum, this is one of the dumbest, most ill-informed things Rush has ever said.
Out of about 20 of my close political friends, I know 3 that refused to vote for Romney: 2 Ron Paul supporters and one die-hard ‘no lessor of two evils’ type.
Point is, we - as a party - told the Paulites to go to hell. We can’t blame them for saying, in effect, “You first.”
I have no doubt this includes enough voters to close the gap. In my neck of Texas, about a third of the Tea Party were Paulite. By shutting them down, we shut out the Tea Party influence this cycle. I’m not a Paulite, but telling a few million voters to take a hike seems to have been short-sighted.
This is especially true since Paul seemed to kin some with Romney in the primaries. Not having Paul and Palin on the campaign trail, actively appealing to the respective bases, was a blown opportunity.
This is what happens when you let consultants that hold grudges make decisions for you.