Yeah, listen. I hear people now claiming that Mitt Romney isn’t the establishment’s chosen candidate. That’s the latest spin from his supporters. But there are a few problems with that.

Namely, why are so many members of Congress backing him if that’s not the case? Why does he enjoy broad support in Washington while other candidates are attacked and/or mocked in the halls of power? Why did so many establishment governors and power brokers line up behind Romney? Why have the grassroots folks flocked to every Not-Romney to come along?

And if the establishment isn’t backing Romney, then how is it they’re considering no longer backing him if he loses Florida? If they’re not backing him now then surely they can’t stop backing him later. Something’s wrong with that logic.

“I talked to a top Romney adviser tonight who said, ‘Look, if Mitt Romney can not win here in Florida then we’re going to have to try to reinvent the smoke-filled room which has been democratized by all these primaries. And we’re going to have try to come with someone as an alternative to Newt Gingrich who could be Jeb Bush, Mitch Daniels, someone.’ Because there is such a desperation by the so-called party elites, but that’s exactly what Gingrich is playing against.”

That’s from Andrew Mitchell of NBC News.

(Scoff if you will, but we’re talking about the establishment’s feelings here. The establishment’s as likely to go to her as they are to Fox or CNN. They may even prefer her. She doesn’t like those rabble-rousing grassroots folk any more than they do.)

The idea here is that the establishment will have to start pushing another candidate if Romney can’t compete. But see, they’re not pushing another candidate now. They’re fine with Romney winning the nomination. They’ll only start panicking when someone other than him takes the lead, be it Santorum or Gingrich. They’re only okay with Romney. They’re good with him.

That seems to shatter the emerging narrative that they don’t like Flip Flop Mitt. That he’s really the preference of ordinary voters while the establishment dislikes him. Instead, the establishment is just fine with him as the nominee and in fact won’t accept anyone else in the field. Meanwhile, ordinary voters have been willing to try every Not-Romney to come along.