Who exactly is the 'Republican establishment'?

"Mitt Romney is the establishment candidate in the Republican presidential field," say Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake at The Washington Post. "Everyone knows it." What nobody seems to agree on, though, is who exactly the Republican establishment is. Here, six takes on who, if anyone, is calling the shots among today's GOP elite:

1. Top GOP lawmakers

The "major establishment figures in the party" are influential GOP governors and the Republican leaders in Congress, say Cillizza and Blake. House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who recently endorsed Romney, are among today's major "party poobahs." Party leaders like Republican National Commiittee Chairman Reince Priebus are part of the "Beltway Republican establishment," too, says Townhall's Guy Benson.

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2. Retired GOP bigshots

Don't forget "the establishment GOP of old (think Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush)," says Patrick Caldwell at The American Prospect. The GOP's 1996 nominee and the nation's 41st president have both endorsed Romney. Yes, "nearly all retired Republican national office holders" are part of the Republican establishment, certainly, says Steve McCann at American Thinker.

3. Media organizations and think tanks

The establishment extends beyond elected office, says McCann. It also includes "the majority of the conservative media," both in print and on TV. "Pundits, editors, writers, and television news personalities based in Washington and New York" know their "proximity to power" is "vital" to their livelihoods. Similarly, Beltway think-tank types are constantly "waiting to latch on to the next Republican administration for employment and ego-gratification."

4. Donors and consultants

Of course, says McCann, the establishment also includes the "reliable deep pocket political contributors and political consultants" who make the "political machinery of the party" work. They want to maintain power by backing the winning horse and then controlling "the government purse-strings."

5. Foreign policy neocons

The Republican establishment isn't just about domestic policy, says Justin Logan at Cato@Liberty. And when it comes to foreign policy, the hawkish neoconservative "counter-establishment... has essentially become the establishment." Think of Bush-era strategists like Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie. Those neocons are now as establishment as it gets.

6. Actually, there is no GOP establishment

"Who the heck are the Republican brokers?" says Dick Polman at NewsWorks. "There aren't any. Not anymore." Up until the 1960s, there was a "sane, pragmatic party 'establishment'" — "old money types with moderately conservative beliefs... Wall Street bankers and corporate executives who worked behind the scenes" to keep the party centered. Today? Grassroots conservatives don't even like their party leaders — they're certainly not willing to take orders from them. "Nobody can even spell Reince Priebus." Really, "the closest thing to a traditional establishment is a loose coalition of elected leaders and backstage players who couldn't bring order to a Boy Scout jamboree."