The GOP lost its way when they ran Bob Dole in 1996 and undermined the congressional freshman class of 1994. It’s been a party of moderates for 15 years now. Rick Perry is much further to the right of Dole, W. Bush, and McLame, yet even he isn’t pure enough for some. Hell, the Bush family even tried to primary him in Texas last year.
Romney is THE establishment candidate ... PERIOD. Any of the other candidates would be something new, fresh, and much more conservative than the previous DC insiders that we’ve run.
Just as he was in 2008.