GOP splitter strategy

[Steve Cobb]

Is it plausible that the GOP establishment would calculatingly promote specific splitter candidates to maximize Jeb Bush's nomination chances?

http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2015/08/22/tripwire-alert-evidence-now-exists-to-show-benefit-of-gope-road-mapped-splitter-strategy

Talk about gaming the vote... "Run, Ralph, run" to a new degree.

A cardinal voting system would of course make such shenanigans impossible.

[Thomas Ruen]

Wow, that looks like a standard "exhaustive runoff" strategy discussion, trying to manuever an elimination strategy that gets your strongest competitors out early.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exhaustive_ballot

I've seen attempts at such manuevering in live endorsement runoffs, although its more about games of bored people than any probability of success, and a national election would seem too chaotic to really believe such games mean anything.

 

You could argue that offensive strategy suggests a benefit for an "approval" vote for endorsement runoffs, but actually that power within runoff rounds magnifies the "bait and switch" strategy where you can feign support (with no risk to a favorite) falsely encouraging candidates without breadth of support, until your stronger rivals to drop out and then focusing your final vote on your real favorite.

Even when I suggest using "approval polling" for debate inclusion, it offers mischief, where you can vote for a favorite, and and his "wingman" who doesn't intend to win, but can say all the mean things he likes to help the top guy not have to sounds mean.

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From: 'Steve Cobb' via The Center for Election Science <electio...@googlegroups.com>
To: The Center for Election Science <electio...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 23, 2015 4:42 PM
Subject: [CES #12318] GOP splitter strategy

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[Warren D Smith]

Because it is now ok to make huge donations anonymously,
anybody who has lots of $, e.g. Trump or Bush or the Koch's,
can simply donate to their rivals in order to keep them (a) active and
(b) split.
I think the RNC is likely to have less money than either of those 3,
so the clown
doing this conspiracy theory is probably being an idiot and missing
the real story, like always.



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Warren D. Smith
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