[EM] To Bill Lewis Clark re: stepping-stone

[Eric Gorr]

At 9:56 AM -0500 1/24/04, Bill Lewis Clark wrote:
>Eric Gorr wrote:
>
>>>  You have yet to show that IRV provides any benefit over Condorcet.
>
>Dave Ketchum agreed:
>
>>  AGREED.
>
>Number of potential presidential candidates supporting IRV: 2
>(Dean and Kucinich)
>
>Number of potential presidential candidates supporting Condorcet: 0

These numbers are _only_ relevant if the candidates are aware of 
Condorcet and have spent time understanding the differences. While I 
do not know, I am quite confident that the number of candidates in 
this case would also be zero.

>So far as getting some sort of new system in place, that's all the benefit
>that really matters.

IRV may offer some benefits over Plurality, but those benefits are 
easily negated by the well known extreme flaws of the system, leaving 
us with no net improvement.

>IRV is a realistic option, and Condorcet is not.

Based on what? There is no actual evidence here.