[Jack Black]

Romney was able to raise the money he needed to compete at a national level. Not too many of the other candidates seemed able to do that. And, maybe he did have a big volunteer base of Mormons. So? That's a good thing, isn't it?

Neither of those qualify as "the GOP establishment picking our candidate", which was the theory I see put forward that I just don't agree with.

[ansel12]

My observation is that “”Romney has shaped the primary field for 7 years.””, it is also clear that the establishment always fully backed him against the actual republican rank and file, who clearly were revolted by the man.

Thank God that this weirdo lefty is gone, 7 years of squatting on the primary process is enough, he cost us at one election, and arguably two, yet he himself was never really a republican, nor did he ever have any value to the party that he abandoned during the Reagan years.

Romney was just a rich Mormon Bishop who wanted to be president for some internal, personal reason, and spent 55 million dollars of his own money in the effort, to what end? For what political agenda? What are his politics? Mitt has a political identity, a political history, but the 65 year old career politician denied all of it during his campaigning for the GOP nomination.