If Rmoney wins the Repub nomination, what happens to the 60+% Repub's who do not

[madinmaryland]

support him?

The man won only 40% in the state that he is supposedly from and yet everyone seems to think it is a big victory.

[joshcryer]

1. They'll sit home.

[DCBob]

2. They are going to be royally pissed. Many simply cannot stand Romney.

It be interesting to see how they react. They could tear the party apart.

[jimlup]

3. Yeah - while nobody is noticing I think a wounded Romney is a good thing...

We're not home free by any stretch but Romney is about as weak a candidate as we could have hoped for. In some ways I'm relieved that Santorum didn't win as I think a weakened Romney is easier to beat than a wild card unknown that the elites might have pulled in if Romney had fallen in Michigan.

[DCBob]

5. Totaly agree. Romney is a known entity and is very beatable.

if things continue as they are now, Obama wins this.

[madinmaryland]

8. A wounded Romney is definitely a good thing, especially since much of it was self-inflicted.

You are right about Santorum, or an unspecified candidate who might be chosen by KKKRove. I think the best scenario is that Romney limps to the finish in June or July with barely enough to win the nomination.

(Especially if he relies on Massachussetts, New York, and California to push him over the top!!)

[Old and In the Way]

9. Bonus!

With a weakened Romney and a split Party, he'll still get beat in the GE. Then the conservatives are going to go full-purge mode to rid themselves of any Romney type Republican they can locate. They will 'know' their loss was because Romney wasn't a true conservative. All moderates will be viewed as heretics and driven from the Party. Perhaps they change their name to signify their break with the past - renaming itself the Free Republic Party.

[Mr.Turnip]

4. Most of them will ultimately vote for him, though maybe not happily.

The rest will sit around at home crying about how Paul/Santorum/Gingrich lost.

[gateley]

6. A man I know from work -- really Conservative, prepper, loves Palin -- that type of thing,

told me he would NOT be able to vote for any of these guys. He mentioned somebody else, and I don't know if it's someone who's running or a write it. I should have asked him about Paul. But he said he just could not bring himself to vote for Mitt, Rick or Newt -- I hope lots of people of his ilk feel the same.

[DCBob]

7. I wonder though if Romney is the nominee that might stir up third party talk.

an independent/libertarian/conservative type could get alot of votes.

[sofa king]

14. Ron Paul seems to be well positioned for that.

His national campaign structure has gown larger than ever before by nursing from the Republican teat, and if he's not thrown a bone (e.g., the recent rumors of a running-mate offer from Romney), he could easily break away.

I don't know if they can do it, but I'll bet some Libertarians are reading their party guidelines to see if they can ditch their own nominees and hire on Paul instead. Even if they can't, the Libertarians might bow out altogether and instead back an independent Paul run.

My personal guess is that no matter what else happens, if Paul breaks off, no Republican can win.

[DCBob]

15. If Ron Paul runs third party its over.

He will syphon off about 5-10% of Republican votes.

[sofa king]

16. What do you think about Newt?

Could he do it? Would he do it?

[Loudly]

10. So many personal pledges at Free Republic to sit out the general!

Which hate will win?

The hate against Mittens or the hate against the President?

[jberryhill]

11. Most, not all, will vote for him

It really depends on their level of Obama Derangement Syndrome.

For some, though, it's gonna be tough to flip a coin between a Mormon and a secret Muslim.

Oh, and, there is going to be Mormon money in this thing out the wazoo.

[DFW]

12. It makes no difference whatsoever WHO the Republican nominee is

They could nominate a ticket of Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. They could nominate a ticket of Charles Manson
and Jeffrey Dahmer. They could nominate a ticket of Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann. They could nominate
a ticket of Hitler's ghost and Mussolini's ghost. It wouldn't matter. 40% of the American voters will vote for
the Republican ticket NO MATTER WHAT, and will be egged on by Fox Noise, Newsmax, Drudge, the right
wing press, National Hate Radio, Pat Robertson and all the other so-called "Christian" political commentators.
Their ticket will be given a billion dollar subsidy by the Kochs and Karl Rove and their "uncoordinated" super PACS.

Given a level playing field, Obama could win re-election by staying in the White House residence from now til election
day and watch Simpsons reruns. But it is not a level playing field, and Obama isn't even the principal target. If he
gets defeated, it will be by stray bullet. The real Republican goal is to maintain their majority in the House and try
to take the Senate. Defeating Obama is nothing but a distraction disguised as a stated goal.

[davidpdx]

17. Those are some good pairings

Hitler's ghost and Mussolini's ghost...lol

I'd vote for Yogi and Boo Boo though.

[WI_DEM]

13. Many may still vote for him, but they may not work for him

others may not vote at all for president.

[vaberella]

18. They will grudgingly vote for him. They are not Democrats.

Democratics will sooner "teach their candidate a lesson" or stand by principles they feel they're candidate doesn't have or rejects by sitting out on a vote or voting for someone unelectable. Republicans hold no such priniciple or view point. In the end they hate Obama more and are willing to bite their tongue in order to assure a win. Dems...unlikely to do that.