“Romney wants to be parachuted in a brokered convention as the unity candidate.”
That’s exactly it. Hugh Hewitt has been telegraphing the GOPe plan for months, back to January when it became obvious that Jeb! couldn’t deliver for them.
The party insiders have absolutely no intention of letting primary voters decide who the candidate will be. The only chance is for Trump or Cruz to have 1237 delegates on the first ballot.
Failing this the GOPe will choose the candidate. They have the convention rules on their side, and they will enforce them. Anyone who doubts this has no idea what sort of people are in control of the GOP.
I would have supported Trump running as a third party candidate if the GOPee stole this from Trump, but Trump’s threat of running as an independent will no longer work as it’s clear the GOPee does not care about winning. The GOPee’s survival depends on stopping Trump. If Trump runs as an independent, Hillary wins, and the GOPee wins, and they will celebrate together on election night. That’s what this has come down to.