Vinnie Vitalis's courting of the extremists in the Tea Party was enough to alienate the moderates who could have (and by almost any measuarable metric WOULD have elected him).
Tea Party candidates are only viable on a very localized basis and where there is a high concentration of homogenous (re: wasp) voters.
On the bigger stage extremist loses. Moderation wins. period.
Pretend whatever you need to in order to massage your ego. But if you're willing to admit the truth, there's a chance you can learn and grow as a human being.
you can't expect mainstream people to vote for someone who supports a senate candidate who thinks pregnancy by rape is "G-d's will".
you can't expect mainstream people to vote for someone who says the answer to our immigration problem is for illegals to "self-deport"... instead of seeking moderate, realistic solutions;
you can't expect mainstream people to vote for someone who says he supports "personhood laws";
you can't expect mainstream people to vote for someone who denies his singular accomplishment and thinks he can 'etch-a-sketch' his way into the whitehouse.
like mccain, had romney run as his earlier incarnation. the guy who was able to govern a blue state and was so proud of his healthcare plan that he included it in his official portrait, and picked someone who wasn't a radical like paul ryan to further assuage the wingnuts... he'd have won.