Seven years ago I sat on the floor of the Republican National Convention as the roll call of states was going forward when the teller from Louisiana asked me a question: Ron Paul or Mitt Romney?

Now unbeknownst to most people (and a national media that should know better) delegates to conventions can vote for anyone they want so long as he or she is Constitutionally qualified to serve as president.

I was elected as a delegate for Rick Santorum but the former  Pennsylvania US Senator had suspended his campaign months previously and only two active candidates remained: all but certain to be nominated Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

After huddling with a fellow Santorum delegate, we decided to insist that our votes be recorded for Santorum as to honor the support Santorum received in his best primary and by that point Romney had done nothing to convince me as to his viability.

The virtue-signalling former Massachusetts governor had waged a nasty primary fight against former Speaker Newt Gingrich and then Santorum. And I suspected that was to be the last real fight out of Romney for the remainder of the campaign as I discerned that at the end of the day Romney personally loathed conservatives more than Democrats.

I suspect it was rooted that he was envious as to the favorable media coverage they received and perhaps by carpetbombing the right in vicious negative ads, Romney would score their appreciation and just maybe their adulation.

You see, the Romney dislike for conservatives is hereditary: Mitt’s father George pulled the same stunt against Barry Goldwater in 1964, refusing to support his fellow Republican against LBJ.

There was another Governor Romney putting his country over his party, right?

Well, the opportunist Romney decided to run for president against Johnson in 1968 and conducted one of the worst campaigns ever.  Republicans remembered Romney’s antics in 1964 and repaid the favor with interest, being forced out the race before Johnson famously withdrew.

Let’s review Mitt Romney’s conduct since losing for president:

1) held a high profile media event where he hurled numerous insults at Donald Trump, going so far as to call him a fraud.

2) advocated a spoiler to run in the general purpose with the expressed purpose of electing a Democrat over Trump.

3) bragged about having not voted for Trump.

4) then lobbied President-elect Trump to appoint him to the most prestigious cabinet post, Secretary of State

5) ran for US Senator in Utah with the support of President Trump and with a committed focus on state issues.

6) before even taking office penned a public letter in a major publication criticizing Trump

7) announced that he would not be supporting Trump’s re-election.

And all of this occurred before impeachment, though his decision to vote for removal on at least one count was apparent.

The insufferable freshman senator from Utah wasn’t so much being true to his convictions in his impeachment vote to remove President Trump but was being true to form.

Romney gonna Romney.

In 2016 only one previous Republican presidential nominee supported Trump: Bob Dole.

Presidents Bush registered their contempt discreetly.

I wonder if Romney cares that tens of millions of Republicans who campaigned and voted for him and donated to him feel betrayed while Utah voters have to feel as if they were hornswoggled for their efforts and cash for what turned to be a full-time Trump critic.

And that’s a brazen abuse of trust between Romney and his supporters in Utah and the other 49 states.