Duuuuuhhhh..............
The R leadership is NOT, repeat—N O T !!!!—conservative.
Let’s dump ‘em and deal with it.
Correction...there is not “the Tea Party”. There are lots of Tea Party groups and people, some large, some small. You could even say there is a Tea Party movement. Small point, but important.
“What they really wanted is for real conservatives to turn out to vote but certainly not run”
Somebody finally nailed it!
The Republican Party has treated conservative voters like the Democrat Party has treated minority voters, with contempt.