[Mr. Brightside]

The problems is not that moderates hijacked the party.

The problem was that conservatives split their vote between Thompson, Romney, Huckabee and Hunter.

[snarkybob]

“The problem was that conservatives split their vote between Thompson, Romney, Huckabee and Hunter.”

I believe that you are correct. The GOP leadership was pushing a more moderate candidate, but the failure of the grassroots to settle on one candidate was really the final nail in the coffin IMO. I don’t think the primaries were hijacked. Instead the party was so splintered that the largest small group set the pace.

[pissant]

And the other problem is that out of those 4, only two are conservatives.

[JaneNC]

Yes, the conservative base is fractured...and not too savvy. A vote for Huck is a vote for Juan.
The base should be behind Mitt.

[frithguild]

The problem was that conservatives split their vote between Thompson, Romney, Huckabee and Hunter.

Bingo

[cake_crumb]

"The problem was that conservatives split their vote between Thompson, Romney, Huckabee and Hunter."

Exactly.

[norton]

"The problems is not that moderates hijacked the party.
The problem was that conservatives split their vote between Thompson, Romney, Huckabee and Hunter. "

The problem is that Huckabee and Paul brought nothing to the table but misdirection & packs of true (?) believers , that Hunter thought he'd be speaking to adlults and on somewhat equal grounds, and that Fred is apparently content to add "former candidaate" to his resume.

Oh, yeah, and that (defining today's moderate republican as "just like the other guys") moderates highjacked the party.

[RobbyS]

I agree. If the 2000 vote had been similarly divided, McCain would have won then, too.