Incorrect. REPUBLICANS are still asking themselves why Mitt Romney lost.
CONSERVATIVES, on the other hand, already know why Mitt Romney lost.
Chavez's demonstrable confusion, on this baseline point, sums up the hopeless nature of this problem in sad, perfect miniature.
CONSERVATIVES, on the other hand, already know why Mitt Romney lost.
Do we? I'm not so sure. Maybe Romney lost because the people that voted for McCain in 2008 and stayed home this time were principled conservatives who wouldn't vote for a Massachusetts liberal. But how do you prove that theory? There are no exit polls of people who didn't show up to vote.
As for what started this discussion, there's no reason to believe that every libertarian would have voted for Romney if there were no Libertarian Party. The socially liberal ones might have voted for Obama based on abortion or gay marriage.
The conservative minor parties didn't get enough votes to make a difference.
It may be that Romney lost because he was too conservative for an increasingly liberal country, or because Wall Street's reputation is tarnished after the financial meltdown, or because Obama gives a better speech.
If there's any hard evidence favoring one theory over another I'd love to see it.