“Well, I gather Romney is not particularly liked here”
I don’t think anyone is particularly well liked here.
You should check out some of the threads from the 2012 primary. It was brutal. Bachman, Perry, Santorum, Gingrich, Palin, Romney, Huntman, they were all pretty much portrayed as the spawn of Satan here.
I remember those threads. But even more odd, I remember the threads during the 2012 elections, when Mitt Romney was running. He gave some good speeches and many, if not most, on FR suddenly loved him.