Former Virginia Governor and failed GOP presidential candidate Jim Gilmore—also known as failed Democratic presidential candidate Jim Webb, a similarly tragic and square-faced man for whom I nearly always confuse him—assumed, incorrectly, that he would be selected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. Please join me in being absolutely devastated on his behalf.
According to the Washington Post, Gilmore said he had been “informally assured” that he would be a delegate—failing, as ever, to take into account the radical populist upheaval that has marked this election at literally every turn. When delegates were chosen at Virginia’s state convention this past weekend, Gilmore, who has not endorsed a candidate, was forced out by what he referred to as “strong-arm tactics”:
The nominations committee largely tossed out the tradition of rewarding old guard statesmen such as Gilmore and instead paid deference to grass-roots activists who have steadily taken over party leadership in Virginia, observers said.
Cruz “is trying to take a state where the people went and voted in an open primary for Donald Trump and convert that into a Ted Cruz state,” Gilmore added. “It was a very ruthless display.”
Gilmore, who dropped out of the GOP primary in February, for some reason noted to the Post that “technically, I’m still a candidate for president.” Although, The Hill reports, he has appeared to make peace with the fact that absolutely no one would ever consider him, or perhaps even remember to consider him, in a contested convention:
“I don’t expect to be the nominee,” he said last month on CNN. “But I do hope that I have a chance to go to Cleveland with the Virginia delegation so that I can play a constructive role.”
My entire body aches in sorrow. A moment of silence, please, for Jim Gilmore’s shattered, extremely achievable dreams.
Image via Associated Press.
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