If I were Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachman, Tim Pawlenty, etc., I think I would be pretty angry right now.
Information is now pouring out about Romney, his questionble use of foreign shell companies to hide assets, his history with Bain and when he exactly left, whether he lied on corporate filings, alleged blind trusts placing investment funds with his children, the use of a loophole to fund a $100 million IRA, etc.
Where was this information 12 months ago?
Debate after debate and Romney basically said "Trust me. I am perfect. My financial dealings are legal and ethical. Give me the baton so I can cross the finish line against Obama and win the presidency."
Thousands of voters (GOP primary voters) made decisions based upon a lie. While some might argue well, the GOP competitors or the press dropped the ball and it isn't anyone's fault that Mr. Perfect now has some sizeable flaws.
I do not think so. When you run for office in a contested primary; you are entering a social contract with those voters --- here is why I am the best candidates: I share your values/views/my agenda is your agenda and I WILL WIN IN NOVEMBER. If you are for US Senate from say, Idaho or Utah and you're a Republican, the primary becomes very important because you are a strong favorite in November. Switch to New Jersey or California and the strong favorite goes away. Now you tell primary voters, my stands are in line with all voters and I support a lot of issues that we (the candidate and the voter) care about.
Neither low voter turnout nor the lack of will on the part of the GOP field to question how someone got rich is an explanation of the failure of Mitt Romney to fulfill the Social Contract with voters.
Say Rick Perry approached me and asked for my vote in Iowa. I ask him some questions and listen to his views. I look towards November and say "will this guy beat Obama? Does he have a record that might damage him with more moderate voters (preventing him from prevailing because conservatives aren't a majority in any but maybe 2 or 3 states)? Any skeletons? Can he withstand a media outcry if something is found out?
Once Rick answers yes to the second part ---- he enters a social contract with me. In Iowa he get my vote. But my continued support after the primaries are over, after the GOP convention and on Election day comes down to I know Rick, Rick has my trust, I am going to back Rick as President and support him in that office. Rick Perry agrees to be the same guy I voted for in January in November. Voting is not a static in primary voting but a social contract ---- if he is on the ballot in November, I will vote for him?
What gets me out of my end ---- An Etch a Sketch comment from a campaign official, questions about your finances that you bragged about to me (private sector experience is a key to running a country never mind that the two of decidedly dissimilar) suddenly becomes a negative, or allegations of illegal conduct (or unethical or immoral or in Mr. Romney's case "I am so far up in the 1% that we have our own tax rules that let us enrich ourselves to a degree that you 'nail salon ladies' cannot understand"
Romney is not making Social Contract with anyone but a few people we have never seen or never heard of and would never have met because in the uber rich world of Romney --- social contracts are never made with the poor and the middle class. The danger is we may be goiverned by a guy who said give me your vote when he is beholden to the people who tapped petty cvashed to yield him $100 million plus two months in a row.
And Newt and Ron and Michelle and Rick (both) and John etc should be angry.