"Responsibility??! Dude!"
No, you do not have it correct? How would someone not know at this late date that they were not getting a free ticket to the convention along with free housing and meals? They can raise money anyway they want, but they need to know that it is a personal responsibility to get there, be there, and stay there.
I know a few people that are attending as delegates and listened in on a conversation as people very much in the political know asked them, "you mean you have to pay your own way?" If you are new to the process, there are things you find out, sometimes late in the game. I think yours is an overly harsh position.
That said, on the inability to think, lack of personal responsibility of some people and the entitlement mind set, I am with you. It is shocking.