That's true but it's not a valid excuse for running a terrible campaign, that's something almost every Republican has to deal with. Bush didn't have a friendly media to beat Gore and Kerry but he appealed to people and won. Coons was a slouch candidate and Castle would've had a better than even chance against him but he got a free pass getting to face a complete spanner.
Hell yes, they would.
Pay attention, here.
There a lot of people in Washington D.C. making a killing off the status quo, including at least a few 'country club' Republicans. Power is worth something.
The TEA party movement is a very real threat to that situation, and they will work quietly but surely to undercut it at every turn. If that means they 'advise' badly, underfund, leak details of a candidate's history, etc, well, that figures in as 'acceptable losses'--especially if it preserves their personal power base.
The Republican Party has consistently thrown Conservatives under the bus, especially the day after the election results are in.
Just watch, they're going to do it again if they can.
Miller, Angle, and O'Donnell are the type of candidates who could get people riled up, and had to be cut from the herd because to the establishment GOP they are loose cannons on a tilting deck. After all, they might unload on some errant RINO, and the Party can't be having such.
Recall, if you will, the comments about co-opting TEA party candidates as soon as they get to DC, and it all fits, because the most vocal will get media slammed hardest to shut them up, so the same ol' same ol' can keep running us down the rails to Global Socialism while a few stash it away.