In the same way that Google Maps suggests a short cut around a traffic jam and thus causes more traffic on the alternate route, voters who chase the most popular candidate end up having unforeseen effects on political races.,
How to Game the Popularity Voter Whores
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "The Stringer."
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Sanders could win all three of the first three contests. This has never been done by a nonincumbent of either party since as far back as when the process went national. It’s possible that such a feat will shift a substantial number of voters. I doubt he can win South Carolina, but Biden won’t win it by as much as predicted.
If His Hairness (aka “Trump”) buys a polling company, that will also fail to prove his unique depravity, as pollsters for some time (with surprising honesty) have given “Rep” or “Dem” credentials as part of their IDs.
That was the point at which polls became indisputably useless, only the strong suspicion of which being available prior.
Now polls serve only to distract potential voters from the fact that their electoral choices, all too often, are between “money-serving shitbag #1” and “money-serving shitbag #2.”
This time, of course, a moderately palatable presidential candidate is running, may win the vast majority of the primary delegates available …. but still, may, AGAIN, “legally” be prevented from appearing on the ballot.
Polls will follow immediately exhibiting what a high proportion of people are upset about that!
His Hairness will settle into term 2, with the clear mandate to creatively expand the “depravity envelope” of the murder-for-profit empire.
The reasons why people vote, and who they vote for, are mostly rather peculiar and often have very little to do with any rational consideration of the quality of the candidates, or indeed, even the voter’s manifest material self-interest. See Louis Menand’s essay ‘Man, the Unpolitical Animal’ (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/08/30/the-unpolitical-animal).
To Anarcissie:
Interesting article.
It would have been instructive to learn how political scientists classify the 50+% of eligible voters who do not vote. A case could be made that they are the only true political animals in the electoral zoo.
Reading Professor Menand’s essay and more recently Gilens and Page’s work, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the real «democracy» is little more than an excuse for the US to invade or «sanction» other countries….
Surprise, surprise !…
Henri
The DNC made sure St Hillary won the primary in ’16, and this year it’s Joe’s turn. All his top opponents are stuck in the Senate and cannot campaign, and Iowa and New Hampshire vote for whoever shakes hands the bestest and the mostest.
Note that they delayed handing over the Articles until it was time for Iowa and New Hampshire. And the Senate Democrats thought they could drag the Impeachment out until after Joe had won the primary, since they can make unlimited Amendments, and the rules say that each each Amendment gets 2 hours debate before the vote, but instead of debating the Amendments and then voting on them, they’re just voting, without debate, to table all the Amendments (one by one).
Not clear how long the Democrats can drag this out now. Bernie and Elizabeth might be allowed to campaign after all.
https://www.blackagendareport.com/no-he-did-ant-call-her-pocahontas-did-he