This week, in a simulation of the coming July GOP convention, the tumultuous 2016 election took a theoretical new twist. At a meeting of the prestigious legal society, Inn of Court, attendees were randomly assigned to play the roles of real estate mogul Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (TX-R), Gov. John Kasich (OH-R) and The Republican National Committee.
What emerged was the jarring image of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz forming an independent Trump-Cruz ticket. The match was made when RNC players issued late-hour rulings that favored John Kasich's nomination.
True to the gridlock era, no team appeared to win. Donald Trump bolted the party he pledged to support -- and with a VP pick he has cast as a liar. Ted Cruz, a chagrined man-in-the-middle, salvaged his campaign and political career to join a high-risk third party ticket. John Kasich presumably prevailed as the GOP nominee, though only the favorite of a devastated and depleted Republican party. And while the RNC stood by its brand and principles, it could only watch as the Trump and Cruz teams ceremoniously walked out of the pretend convention.
The game, conducted at the U.S. Patent Office in Alexandria, VA, merged the time-honored four-player U.S. Department of Defense wargame format with The Standard Table of Influence, a landmark classification system of 24 unique stratagems in communication, social media, marketing, sales, politics, law and the military....
