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Sunday, June 7, 2026

2026 06 Rules for Politicians

 I ran for an elected office three times. I won once, lost once, and then won again. I learned a lot. This was in the 80s, for our city council. It felt like a big deal at the time. There are a lot of published studies on how to do this election campaign business. You can even hire a professional consultant to run your campaign. It looks like they know what they are doing, but I think they are missing a few things. This set of rules is my simplistic wisdom. There area references below.

 I am a rank amateur in this, so take them with a grain of salt. AND a little humor as well. I have written some  other “RULES” which you can find, if you want. 


The World Has Changed

In the last few  years, my view of politics has totally changed. It is possible that the world has not actually changed that much, but my understanding of how it works is totally different. It feels like we now have only two domains in human affairs - “science” and “everything else.” When done well, science will persist and discover the REAL facts about the world, or at least the best theories that explain how the world works to a RATIONAL mind. But the problem is the audience - we humans.


AI Insight into Politics

I spend a fair amount of time puzzling about all of this and reading stuff. My wife says, “You are driving yourself crazy. There is very little you can do about it. Go read a good novel or something.” But I can’t. When I look at a clock or a computer, I just have to know how that works. My “personality type” is analytical. When I see people do things, I keep thinking there has to be some other reason for what they are doing, because it looks crazy to me.


Gemini AI

SO - I asked Google’s AI, Gemini, if anyone is researching this stuff. AND  . . . they are. Big time. I held a lengthy dialogue with this LLM (Large Language Model), and it did a decent explanation. I saved a copy of that on my website, and you can find a link to it in the References. But it is pretty long, so I asked it to give me a short summary, which is included here. (Summary)


It turns out that scientists have been researching this odd human behavior for decades. Something about World War II generated a lot of interest. We have discovered that humans are rarely rational. We are creatures of habit, of emotion, of motivated reasoning. We follow our tribe, our group, our beliefs. Rational decision making of the scientific type is rare. And for a large percentage of us, this is driven by a genetic propensity that we struggle to manage. It’s not locked in, but we tend to lean one way or the other from birth. (Hibbing). 


Gemini AI Summary Extract

The full Gemini summary is below. This is my short version of the key points.


Some people are tuned by their genetics, their upbringing and their group to be “conservative.” Others have the same tuning and propensity to be “progressive.” For “conservative” their fear factor influences them to support authoritarian leaders, hierarchy, tradition, strict rules, and father figures who project an image of power and strength, and use simple statements. They are so driven by fear that they will condone illegal or dangerous actions done in the name of safety. 


I am sure progressives suffer from similar problems, but that is for another day. I am, after all, a member of that group, for good or ill.


Short Hand Rules For Politicians

Since most of us do NOT read, here is a short version to introduce it. You are welcome.


1 - SMILE! As Danny Kahneman pointed out, more elections go to the candidate with the confident smile! (Kahnemann)


2-  IGNORE the craziness on the other side. Responding or attacking just gets them more publicity and "likes." Never debate or argue with them. Pointing out lies and misleading information is a waste of time. This is verified by experiments. Do not talk about politics. (Lubrano).


3 - DO NOT DEMONIZE the other side or their supporters - they really are well intentioned - no matter how crazy they seem to you. To them you seem just as far out. Treat them with care and respect. Just imagine this person is your son or your mom! Trust me on that. This is also based on solid science. (Clinton)


4 - Treat everyone with respect. This is the positive side of the negative rule above. Most of us can innately sense what you are feeling about us. To exude respect, do a little mind game all the time - “wish them well.” It is extremely powerful.

5 - ASK QUESTIONS. You may learn something, and they may as well. Invoking curiosity about anything is the very best way to open minds. Ask for information. Ask what problems they face. Ask what suggestions they have for solving the problems. See the next point. 


6 - LISTEN.  When you ask for their view, their problems, really listen. Reflect back what you hear. Visibly write it down! Do not argue or debate or criticize (Rule #2)


7 - Focus on the POSITIVE.  Be uplifting, talk about ennobling values, a vision for better times, for a better world, etc. It engages people, it speaks to their values and emotions. (Haidt)
This also addresses their FEAR - which is what the other side is pushing. State the ideal - we are working toward a world with less poverty, no hungry children, universal healthcare, the right to education and a meaningful job. You are convinced that this is possible, but you know  it is a long road, and you need their help.  


8 - Do NOT focus on FEAR - Fear is the weapon that kills thinking. Hope and EMPATHY are just as powerful. Fear drives mindless responses.

9 - TELL STORIES. Stories pick people up and move them. Fictional ones work, but real ones are even better. Programs and facts and legislation are for governing - not for getting elected. Sharing personal stories is one of the most powerful tools we have. My mom always said,  . . .  (Storr)


10 - Be REAL. You just cannot fake it. If your heart is not in it, help someone else get elected!


11 - GET OUT THE VOTE. This is the most effective way to win any election. Voter participation is abysmal. Get your side to vote, and as many as the middle as you can. Ignore the other side - Rule #2,

12 - PRAISE A NARCISSIST.  In the presence of a narcissist, you MUST offer praise. Find something, anything they excel at and repeatedly tell them how good they are at it. They are addicted to praise, and you will become their best friend in short order. It overrides everything else in their brain. You can also criticize them, and even call them names - but not in their presence. This is important.

Longer Version

If you have the appetite for it, here is a bit more on each of those, and some sources of the research.


  1. SMILE!
    As Danny Kahneman pointed out, more elections go to the candidate with the confident smile!
    The book is Thinking Fast and Slow. It is one of the most informative books I have ever read. Kahneman was a psychologist, who won the Nobel Prize for Economics, based on his understanding of how humans actually deal with markets. The reference here is to experiments cited in the book. They showed pictures of candidates for a political office to people, and asked them to guess who won that election just by looking at the pictures. People correctly named the winner of that election 70% of the time. The key factor seemed to be a confident smile. So  . . . SMILE. And mean it. (Kahnemann)
    His research created the whole field of Behavioral Economics. Prior to this economics was NOT a science.
    People vote for the smile, for the face, for the “presence” of the candidate - not for their ideas and programs. Those are almost unimportant. Look at one major party has accomplished with a candidate that is as dumb as a box of rocks. Oops. Should not have said that.

  2. IGNORE the craziness on the other side.
    Responding or attacking just gets them more publicity and "likes." Social media is not your friend here. Just ignore the opponents especially in that realm. Never debate or argue with someone. It gives them more visibility.
    Pointing out lies and misleading information just serves to remind people about the very thing you are trying to correct. For someone deeply committed to a belief system, any information that denies that belief is an attack on their personal integrity. It will make them even more committed to their position. It’s called “motivated reasoning,” or “confirmation bias.”  There is a lot of research on this, going back decades.

    People who are even made slightly uncomfortable with something they have done or said, will actually change their memory of a past event to conform to their values.

    Debates change no one’s mind - ever.  People with heightened numerical evaluation skills are even more likely than others to interpret data in favor of their personal values.

    The book is Don't Talk About Politics, by Sarah Stein Lubrano. You can find a couple of podcasts with the author that can give you a quick flavor of how this works. (Lubrano)

  3. DO NOT DEMONIZE the other side or their supporters,
    They really are well intentioned - no matter how crazy they seem to you. To them you seem just as far out.
    You are trying to win them over, or at least to not offend them. Treat them with care and respect. Just imagine this person is your son or your mom!

    Just mentioning their ideas or tactics or goals, brings them right back to the forefront of their attention. Many of our fellow citizens are deeply committed to these values, so they hear that as a criticism of themselves. You want them to hear your message, not be repelled by your negativity. 

    Never even speak the name of an opposing candidate, or criticize what they say or how they say it. Their supporters already know it, and your supporters know it as well. If you want the attention of the independent voters in the middle, you want your message and vision in their mind, not the other one. Do not even mention them or their ideas. (Clinton)

  4. Treat everyone with respect.
    This is the positive side of the negative rule above. Most of us can innately sense what you are feeling about us. To exude respect, do a little mind game all the time - “wish them well.” It is extremely powerful. I have written more about that elsewhere. It took me several decades to discover this. https://carlscheider.blogspot.com/2017/09/i-wish-you-well.html

  5. ASK QUESTIONS.
    You may learn something, and they may as well. And invoking their curiosity about anything is the very best way to open minds. Ask for information. Ask what problems they face. Ask what suggestions they have for solving the problems

    Research shows that a curious mind is a more open mind. Ask them to explain the rationale behind their thinking. Do not argue with their explanation, let them explore it and explain it to you.That is literally the only way to get them to examine it carefully. There is a technique which does change minds, it is called “deep canvassing.” But it takes time and training. (Homrich-Knieling)


  1.  LISTEN.
    When you ask for their view, their problems, really listen. Reflect back what you hear. Visibly write it down! Do not argue or debate or criticize
    Understanding their priorities is the highest form of respect. Make it clear that you are interested, and that you want to understand their view more clearly. Do not offer any counter argument. Do not approve any distorted values, but do not criticize them either. See Rule #2.


  1. Focus on the POSITIVE. 
    Be uplifting, talk about ennobling values, a vision for better times, for a better world, etc. It engages people, it talks to their emotions. (Haidt)
    Present a positive, compelling vision of the possible world. People do not generally ponder ideas and issues. They have feelings, fears, needs, beliefs. They vote with their gut, not their brain. Thinking is a rare event in the best of times.

    For example, a detailed explanation of the benefits of a newly revised and enlightened immigration program is not going to move them. The economic impact of massive tax cuts is way out there in the future, and may never impact them personally. Who cares? Just showing that you recognize we have a problem, and you are ready to work on it is what most people want to hear.

    They need a moving, empathic vision of a CARING community for “all of us.” We are social people, we depend on each other, we need each other. We want to build a supportive community for all - everyone in our country, and fundamentally for the whole planet. Love and caring is another of our strong emotions. How can you generate that in your audience?

    We do this by investing in the technology and programs and education that will build our caring community. This is not taxing. We do not “tax and spend.” We ask YOU to invest. We tax those that are not paying their fair share, and we invest in all of us with education, health care, and support in troubled times. We dp this because It benefits all of us.

    The key problem is Social / Economic Inequality. Some of our most creative and energetic people are never going to get a chance to contribute. We want to give everyone the opportunity to learn and grow so they can help all of us confront problems and invent the future.

    Our income disparity is simply incredible. I know this is a useless fact, but the top 1% have taken more than 47 to 79 trillion dollars from the rest of us in the last 20 years. There’s a RAND study to that effect. With that kind of money we could really do something. (Rand)

    The supporters of the other side have a view of our nation that has two layers - ME on top, and THOSE OTHERS on the bottom. It’s a kind of model in their head, not a specific agenda. If programs support those on the bottom, it puts my status at risk. They see a win / lose game. We want to create a win / win game for all of us. We are all in this together, and I’m pulling for you (Red Green). For more on this see: https://carlscheider.blogspot.com/2021/04/finally-i-understand-what-is-wrong-with.html 


  1. Do NOT focus on FEAR.
    Fear is their weapon and dit kills thinking. Hope and EMPATHY are just as powerful. Making people fear the other side just draws more attention to them. Anyone on your side already knows the scope of the problem. Those in the middle are not going to be moved by fear. Let it go. 


  1. TELL STORIES.
    Stories pick people up and move them. Fictional ones work, but real ones are even better. Programs and facts and legislation are for governing - not for getting elected. Sharing personal stories is one of the most powerful tools we have. My mom always said,  . . .    (Reich, Storr).


  1. Be REAL. You just cannot fake it. If your heart is not in it, help someone else get elected! I don’t exactly know what this is, but I know it when I see it - and you do too. It’s called charisma or some hard to identify personality trait. Smile, yes. But be real, listen, pay attention, be honest and sincere.

  2. GET OUT THE VOTE.
    This is the most effective way to win any election. Voter participation is abysmal. Get your side to vote, and as many as the middle as you can. The most recent elections were decided with a margin that was much smaller than the number of people who simply did not vote. There are good techniques for this, look it up. You need volunteers, and a reminder and transport mechanism.
    Voting is a Verb. Do not focus on issues and complicated ideas. Focus on the FREEDOM to vote, and your power in doing that. Democracy is too complicated these days - it is about exercising the FREEDOM to vote to enable all of the other possibilities that we can accomplish together


  1. PRAISE A NARCISSIST. 
    This is not about being elected, but about how to avoid a personality cult that is running wild. In the presence of a narcissist, you MUST offer praise. Find something, anything they excel at and repeatedly tell them how good they are at it. They are addicted to praise, and you will become their best friend in short order. It overrides everything else in their brain. You can also criticize them, and even call them names - but not in their presence. This is important.

Gemini AI Summary:

Why We Follow: The Psychology of the Authoritarian Appeal

Why are certain people deeply drawn to commanding, "strongman" political leaders? Decades of social science and psychological research reveal that this dynamic isn't random—it is heavily driven by distinct personality traits, biological wiring, and environmental triggers.

1. The Two Personality Profiles

Research points to two specific psychological profiles that are uniquely susceptible to commanding leaders:

  • Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA): Individuals who possess a deep psychological need for order, predictability, and safety. They are drawn to leaders who project absolute certainty because it reduces the anxiety caused by a complex, rapidly changing world.

  • Social Dominance Orientation (SDO): Individuals who view the world as a fierce, dog-eat-dog competition. They respect raw power and dominance, and are persuaded by leaders who promise to aggressively keep their specific group "on top" of the social ladder.

2. The Genetic and Biological Blueprint

Modern behavioral genetics (supported by frameworks like Robert Sapolsky’s Determined) shows that these tendencies are 30% to 50% heritable.

  • People do not inherit specific political opinions. Instead, they inherit a nervous system and an amygdala (the brain's threat-detection center) that is highly sensitive to uncertainty, chaos, or outside groups.

  • When a leader uses absolute, fear-based rhetoric ("Us vs. Them"), it directly activates this highly sensitive biological alarm system.

3. How Society Can Lower the Temperature

Because these responses are deeply rooted in biology and fear, lecturing, fact-checking, or intellectual scolding completely backfires—the brain treats it as an attack, which only deepens dogmatism. Instead, the research points to structural solutions:

  • Lowering the Threat Baseline: Building robust social safety nets (economic security, reliable healthcare) satisfies the brain's baseline need for survival, keeping the psychological "alarm system" from triggering.

  • Accountability from Within: Authoritarian voters ignore criticism from political opponents. However, pushback from trusted leaders within their own party provides a safe psychological permission structure to step away from a norm-breaking candidate.

  • Early Cognitive Training: School-based mindfulness and emotional learning programs train children's brains in cognitive flexibility. By lowering the amygdala's reactivity and boosting the prefrontal cortex, mindfulness helps the brain process differences and unfamiliar ideas with curiosity rather than automatic fear.

The Takeaway: A certain percentage of any population is naturally wired to crave order, hierarchy, and strong leadership. The goal of a healthy society isn't to change human biology, but to maintain a secure, stable environment where those individuals never feel threatened or desperate enough to hand absolute power to a tyrant.

For the detailed Gemini response, see this link:
https://sites.google.com/view/carlscheider/carls-papers/gemini-on-politics-and-personality 

References


Clinton, Hillary, A Basket of Deplorables. Our first female candidate for president from a major party, really put her foot in her mouth with this one. It angered everyone. Clinton herself admitted that this was a singularly DUMB idea.

Kahneman, Daniel, Thinking Fast and Slow. His research showed that candidates with a strong smile had a much higher percentage of wins. Go Figure.

Haidt, Jonathan, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.
Lots of scientific research on how most of us operate on 5 values. There is good evidence that conservatives and progressives have a distinct biological leaning toward one or the other side. The key thing to realize is that we are all self righteous hypocrites. We are not rational beings in any way shape or form. Our gut instinct makes our moral decisions, and our thinking self spends all of its energy working to justify those. It is what kept us safe in evolutionary history. He uses an analogy of a rider on an elephant. Our brain is the rider - we think we are in charge of where the elephant is going. Our gut is the elephant. It goes where it will and persuades us that is the direction we really want. For my review of this, see:
https://carlscheider.blogspot.com/2017/08/jonathan-haidt-righteous-minds-update.html 


Hibbing, John R, Kevin B Smith, John R Alford, 
Predisposed: The Left, The Right, and the Biology of Political Differences
Renowned social scientists and experts in biopolitics, John R. Hibbing, Kevin B. Smith, and John R. Alford present overwhelming evidence that political opinion is shaped not just by cultural background or information bias but is rather the result of diverse psychological, physiological, and genetic traits. This new edition shifts the emphasis from differences between the political left and the right (liberals and conservatives) as they have traditionally been understood and explores specific brands of liberalism and conservatism such as ardent supporters of politicians such as Donald Trump.

Homrich-Knieling, Caitlin  Commons Librarian, The Commons https://commonslibrary.org/deep-canvassing-to-shift-hearts-mind-and-votes/
This is a decent explanation of how deep canvassing works. It is the only technique that I am aware of that actually can change someone’s mind. It is backed by lots of experience and research, but . . . it takes time and work.


Lubrano, Sarah Stein,  Don't Talk About Politics,
This is a well researched work on how people actually function in the belief or political realm. Get a copy - you will learn a lot.
There are a couple of podcasts with the author that will give you a quick flavor of how this works.
There are a few proven techniques for changing people’s minds - but they are hard to do, take a fairly long time and a lot of effort. Deep Canvassing is one. Asking questions is another, provided the other party sincerely wants to explain their reasoning.

Rand Corporation: https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA516-1.html
This RAND Corporation study, found that between 1975 and 2023, nearly $80 trillion in wealth was redistributed from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%, with amounts estimated around $50 trillion by 2020, representing lost wages due to rising inequality where top earners' incomes grew vastly faster than the rest, even as worker productivity increased. This means the majority of Americans are financially worse off than they would have been if income growth had mirrored economic output, with significant impacts across demographics.

Reich, Robert  America’s Four Stories
Our former secretary of labor, Reich is a frequent and pithy commentator on our sorry political state. The stories he cites here are kind of embedded in our brains - but we generally have two versions of them. This is a reminder of their power. The first two stories are about hope, the second two are about fear. We kind of carry them with us all the time - they are our emotional baggage.

Saposky, Robert, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst.
This is an examination of the research that indicates that the propensities in our genome affect a lot more of our life than we think. The research came from twin studies, and more recently from DNA pattern matching. We know that height is a highly inheritable characteristic. Certain smells are as well. Some of us love cilantro, others think it “stinks.” Oddly enough the genetic propensity to like cilantro correlates highly with certain personality types.
This is the “summary” from Amazon, and I agree with every word. This is an amazing collection of information.
“Behave is one of the most dazzling tours d’horizon of the science of human behavior ever attempted. Moving across a range of disciplines, Sapolsky—a neuroscientist and primatologist—uncovers the hidden story of our actions. Undertaking some of our thorniest questions relating to tribalism and xenophobia, hierarchy and competition, and war and peace, Behave is a towering achievement—a majestic synthesis of cutting-edge research and a heroic exploration of why we ultimately do the things we do . . . for good and for ill.”

Saposky, Robert, Determined,
This continues Saposky’s research and discussion, with a lot more detail, but is quite polemical - argumentative. If you are seriously interested in how genetics affects behavior, this would be a good resource.

Storr, Will, The Science of Storytelling.
Stories are the most powerful communications that we know of. And we love them. Disney’s whole business is based on telling stories. Novels, movies, etc. A good one, one motivated by uplifting values can change hearts and minds.


OTHER STUFF - I guess we need a few more rules.

  • Voting is a Verb. Do not focus on issues and complicated ideas. Focus on the FREEDOM to vote, and your power in doing that. Even democracy is too complicated these days - it is about exercising the FREEDOM to vote to enable all of the other possibilities that we can accomplish together.

  • Don’t Push Back. Call for action to move forward. The right says that the election was a fraud - if we just say “there was no fraud”, “no fraud”, we are relating their message. We need to say: This was the most fair election in US history, as testified to by scores and scores of election officials from both parties. Joe Biden won the largest majority of the popular vote ever recorded. He carried more counties and cities than any other candidate in history.

  • Don’t ASK - TELL. Don’t ask what we can do to get young people to vote - that just sends the message to young people that they do not vote. Instead, tell them they have the power to change things. More young people voted in this last election than have ever participated in history. YOU have the power to change things. YOU are in charge with your FREEDOM to vote. YOU are going to change the world. Predict it - don’t ask for it.

  • Define the Moment. We are at a critical crossroads, a pivotal point. YOUR vote will make the difference in the freedom we all enjoy in the future.

  • Don’t do Negative - Spur Defiance. NOT: They are trying to silence our voices - so you should vote. RATHER: We delivered the goods in 2020, if anyone thinks they are going to silence our voices, they have another think coming. We will show up, we will fight to elect real leaders to vote in our name.

  • Use First Person Plural - These are OUR problems, This is what WE need.

  • Speak about what we can do - not the dangers of doing nothing.

  • What You Fight You Feed: Progressive messages often lead with "no" and "don't." That is relying on fear and anger — reactive emotions. To sustain long-term movements, we must shift from cataloging what we're resisting to painting a desirable portrait of the world we seek. Hope and empathy.

  • Engage The Base, Persuade The Middle If your words don't spread, by definition, they don't work. To break a signal through the incessant political noise requires constant repetition. That's why your messages must persuade the middle while also energizing the base.
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