The Tea Party movement will be doomed if it attempts to become a top down political party, so your point about a candidate in 2016 is moot.
I don't think so - I was talking about a primary challenger to Romney in 2016, not a third-party general election run. Any such challenger will be criticized by the Romney administration or the GOP-e as just helping the Democrat in the general election by undermining the GOP incumbent. Kennedy's 1980 challenge to Carter and Buchanan's challenge of Bush in 1992 will cited as "proof."
If Romney wins in 2012, (which is not a given especially since there are a lot of purists who would rather have no pie at all rather than not having 100% of it), then why not a Tea Party challenger in 2016 IF Romney is not carrying through on conservative principles. It would keep the heat on him to stay to the right.
I have heard people of the ilk of Larry Kudlow, whom I like and respect a lot, say that Romney has the potential to be another Ronald Reagan. Kudlow’s been on the political and economic scene forever and has known Romney a long time. His opinion should bear some weight.
Dubya made an enormous contribution toward the conservative cause by appointing two OUTSTANDING SCOTUS justices. If elected, Romney will have the opportunity to chart the direction of the SCOTUS for decades to come. That’s something that’s little mentioned or considered and it’s extremely important.