One interesting thought. Duncan Hunter and Rino Rudy are the only two of the pack that have any real passonate support on this board.
Romney has his supporters, but you're right that Rudy and Hunter have the most passionate followers. I think it's characteristic of the "split" between idealists and pragmatists. The idealists promote the most conservative option out there. The pragmatists want the one most likely to win, even if that person isn't the most conservative. I've observed politics long enough to know that one never gets everything they want (even Reagan fell short of the ideal, even though he was the closest we've had in my lifetime). I guess that makes me a pragmatist.