You need to get beyond simplistic, Stage 1 thinking. Politics is a chess game. The Democrat elected in 2016 if Romney wins will have a Democrat Congress and be able to inflict terrible damage on the country, full single-payer health care, massive tax hikes, etc. Obama has been mostly neutered because he's been gridlocked, which is likely to continue if he's reelected. We actually made him extend the Bush tax cuts.
Does conservative policy matter or not to you? If it does, then why would you think Romney would have a successful term? He'll be voted out like he would've been in Massachusetts if he ran and like Bush, Sr. was.
The left has worked very hard to weed the moderates out of the Democrat party and they are likely to continue down this path, creating a powerful institution to promote their values. The number one focus of the right should be to do the same thing to the Republicans. Helping them elect a liberal isn't part of any plan that can help conservatives AT ALL. It would destroy us. Disenfranchising conservatives from having a party at all would destroy this country. I don't know whether Obama or Romney being elected will destroy the country. We may be too far down a path now to save it. With either of them, there's an equal chance for either destruction or a slow enough decline that it could be turned around later. But if Romney is elected, we can't turn things around until 2020. We would be far better off turning them around in 2016 by electing a conservative.
“But if Romney is elected, we can’t turn things around until 2020. We would be far better off turning them around in 2016 by electing a conservative.”
You’re wrong. If Romney loses the election, the republican party will move even further to the left in 2016.
Four years ago many folks also said that it would be better if McCain lost as it would give conservatives a chance to “turn things around” this year. How did that work out?
Both parties move to the center when they lose. Your strategy ignores this basic historical fact.
The best hope for conservatives is that Romney picks a conservative VP who becomes influential in the administration and then succeeds him as president.