The election for the presidency is now well into its second year. In the era of 24-hour news, this endless stream of “information” has enervated pundits and political junkies alike. But amidst the drone of stump speeches, calls for change and other similarly dull electioneering, there exists a man, a walking satire, who has ameliorated the monotony that has come to plague the race. That man is Willard Mitt Romney. Always an easy target, Mitt has become the face of GOP buffoonery.

A few weeks ago, his idiocy sparked an actual campaign strategy, Democrats for Mitt. Because Michigan has an open primary (a primary in which voters can cast a ballot for either party) and because Michigan Democrats broke party rules by attempting to move the primary date, thus sending no delegates, Michigan Democrats were urged to vote for Mitt Romney, who many consider an nonviable candidate. Aside from being impossibly amused, I was curious as to how often this strategy was used, so here we go…

This strategy, tactical voting, is a strategy generally reserved for political systems with proportional representation. For example, in British Parliament there are three main parties, Labour, Liberal Democrats, and the Conservative Party (the Tories). The Liberals and Labour often vote for their opponent if the other is considered a greater asset in fighting conservative legislation. This form is significantly more mild and less amusing than its use in American elections, so let’s turn our attention back home. In America, the most recent case involved Michigan, so that’s where I’ll turn for a little history in this strategy also called “raiding”.

Historically, we’ve seen the GOP employing this strategy. The 1972 Michigan presidential primary, Democrat and segregationist George Wallace was running for president. Embarrassing the Democratic Party, one-third of Michigan Republicans showed up to vote for Wallace. Again, in the 1988 race, Jesse Jackson won scores of predominately right-wing districts (can’t use this strategy on Barack, sorry GOP). The gubernatorial race of 1998 saw another large turnout among Republicans for Geoffrey Fieger, Jack Kevorkian’s attorney (who during the campaign claimed that his opponent was the product of human/animal mating). This strategy was most recently used in the California recall election for Gray Davis. Davis supporters voted for Bill Simon because he was considered less viable than former LA Mayor, Rich Riordan. DailyKos called for Democrats to return the favor a few weeks ago in Michigan by voting for Romney. While Romney won, there’s no evidence to suggest that it was the Dems that were responsible for his victory.

This strategy has yet to have a significant on the electoral process and McCain’s recent surge has discounted the possibility of this strategy being implemented on a larger scale. For now we’ll have to cherish it for what it was and is, a funny diversion.