The Republican party is a total mess. They've got RINOs from some of those Yankee states that are nearly as far left as the worst Dems. They've got so many long-term, embedded politicians that are just in it for themselves that they can't (or won't) bother to listen to their constituents. The media keeps them in disarray out of fear of looking "partisan" by taking a side on an issue. The Tea Party folks have the only decent candidates, but they don't have the money machines to push out all the dead wood.