Reply #51: REPORT ON RESULTS

[Iverson]

Here's most of the letter from P.P.Pundit Associates, edited for clarity.

"All right, (Iverson), your check cleared. Here's what it all means.

The pluriality in your scenario would vote Democratic, but 42% is not a majority. Taking into account the 4% who would discontinue voting Democratic, that's a net positive of approximately 38%, kind of a Regis Philbin Effect. If you want a Kerry/Nader ticket to win in November, you're going to need something else. We recommend a reality tv show.

Other was a deceptively strong 19%, but upon close examination we found a split between those who want to think about the weather in hell and those more concerned with the circumstances of pork anus. We think that this cohort may stay home on election day.

A strong third place finish, at 17%, was breaking into the liquor cabinet. This is the Hockey Night in Canada demographic, and we think that your ticket could make serious inroads here, possibly enough to push it over the 50% mark. Distributing the liquor beforehand is your best bet. Nevverthelss, you may still need to attract swing voters in other categories.

Matrix renters, tied for 4th at 7%, might be appealed to by distributing copies of The Matrix at the polling site, or else by accepting their copies of Matrix Reloaded.

Lit-crit zombies (hermenuetics of indeterminacy), also tied for 4th at 7%, could cast their ballots for Kerry/Nader if they could be persuaded that their dissertation committee wanted them to. These people will only be influenced on an individual basis, so proceed if your organization has lots of human capital.

The other groups are almost statistically insignificant. We note with interest the net loss of money to the DNC/DLC. Our research tells us that the dancers will dance regardless and are not open to influence. Appealing to them is a waste of your resources.

Our conclusion: you need instant runoff voting (IRV).

Sincerely,
P.P. Pundit
President, P.P.Pundit Associates"