The tv show South Park encountered this very phenomenon - where the folks involved dream up scenarios only to find out that someone else (in this case...The Simpsons) have done it already. They labeled it "Simpsons Already Did It".
So...what should we call the act of proposing something that is already in place? Here's some inspiration from Wikipedia:
"Simpsons Already Did It" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 86th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on June 26, 2002.[1] In the episode, which continues on from the events of the previous episode "Professor Chaos", Butters thinks up a series of schemes to take over the world, but realizes that each one has already been performed on The Simpsons. Meanwhile, Ms. Choksondik dies and Cartman, Kyle and Stan think that they are responsible.
The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker and is rated TV-MA in the United States.We'll take entries on the email: drop us a line: tipthetruthteam@gmail.com if you have an idea on what we should call this phenomenon in Illinois politics.
