Excellent summation. I don’t think the bigwigs want change either. Romney is change personified. The powers that be want to keep the same old buddy system in place. I will not show up to vote for McCain. If fact we would be better off with a Democrat.
Mitt winning is more of a threat to many Republican insiders than a loss to Hillary or Obama. Mitt, a powerful outsider, bringing in new people, would threaten the buddy system.
A Hillary win would shrink but strengthen the existing Republican buddy system. That’s why McCain is their boy. He’s an ideal front man to deal with the Democrats. Rudy is the same type. Romney is altogether different.
THe worst part is that a good number of the people who were cheering on McCain in Florida here on FR won’t actually support him — in fact if you tell them you are supporting McCain they’ll call you stupid.
There was definitely a group here who didn’t want republicans to win at all. Whether they are really conservatives who want to destroy their own cause, or they are well-placed operatives, they do their job well.