Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe—who called Romney “mushy” during the primary and endorsed Rick Perry, whom he called by contrast “a conservative at heart”—now frames his support for Romney as a matter of beating Obama, which he calls “the best shot we’ve got to save America.” Romney has “passed the test” of working with conservatives, said Inhofe, who added that he’s “glad” that the advisers “[Romney’s] surrounding himself with aren’t mushy.”…

Doug Lamborn, a second-term Congressman from Colorado, said Romney needs “to show he’s not a waffler or a compromiser.”

“You can’t only rely on people to be excited about you because they don’t like your opponent,” said Raul Labrador, a first-term representative from Idaho. “People have to be excited about you. They have to find a reason to campaign for you, to vote for you, to knock on doors for you.” He advised Romney “over the next few months to get the base just as excited as he’ll get everybody else.”