ALL “think tanks” play “shadow government”. That’s the sole purpose of a “think tank”...
Um, no, its not.
I think ya got the concept a little off. Shadow government (I really do hate that name) would be better termed mirror government (but thats not the name used).
Its simple, Candidate A has someone who would be his AG, his AG actually goes on TV, and everyone knows this guy will be AG if the candidate A wins, Candidate B does the same thing, with their own guy as the wannabe AG.
It would like John Kerry using Gephardt as a designated Secretary of Labor, everyone knows he would be named, and Gephardt campaigns (to some extent) for Kerry and himself, against whomever the incumbent labor sec is or would be (whom would also be designated).
Think Tanks do nothing even remotely like that. Thats why they are think tanks and not shadow govs.