I think the Republican leadership is mostly responsible for Romney's loss. In 2010 we had landslide gains....they disappointed the electorate and they stayed home this election cycle.
I think you are on to something. I was part of the march on DC with the Tea Party. There was enormous hope that by electing Reps and gaining control over at least the House, the Rep leadership would have seriously tried to cut government spending. They did nothing and spending actually increased.
Now we have the sequestration battle that will probably involve some nefarious bookkeeping without reducing spending. Hell, if we can't cut $100 billion a year out of a $3.7 trillion dollar annual budget for the next ten years, how the Hell are we ever going to cut spending?