Could just be sunk cost. They think they wont look stupid if they 'win', so are willing to look a lot more stupid yet in the hope they can do someone for someth

Could just be sunk cost. They think they wont look stupid if they 'win', so are willing to look a lot more stupid yet in the hope they can do someone for something, as otherwise the whole affair is a huge waste of time and money and they can't have that.