Should we be hoping for a third-party candidacy (from the Tea-Party right) or against it?
The conventional wisdom usually tells us that a third party (if operating from the fringers of your opposition) can peel off enough votes from the opposition to guarantee the election for your side.
Obviously, it's too early to start counting chickens . . . but this front-page diary got me in a speculatin' mood. @Meteor Blades points out that GOP hopes for a not-Romney savior are now all but dead (barring a brokered convention, which also seems highly unlikely given Romney's war chest and Newt's shortage of crazies in places like New York, California, and Illinois). Newt's demise may lead to a great weeping and gnashing of teeth among the Tea Party crowd, and, gosh darn it, maybe even a Palin run on a Tea Party ticket.
But wouldn't we rather see that crowd get frustrated and sit this one out? If the Mitt haters don't get engaged, and don't bother showing up, Obama should be in pretty good shape anyway. Why would we want to see a third party/anti-Romney ticket motivate a bunch of people to the polls whose members are likely to vote for Republicans downticket?