Truth Bias
We want to believe the liars so that we feel more in control of our lives. Whether it’s a used car or a presidential election, it feels good to believe that we have the best deal just for us, or we’ve chosen someone that gives us the power to dictate our future. Couple with purchasing bias, there may be no remorse for choosing evil when we willingly lie to ourselves for a sense of satisfaction and reward.
Self deception is important to our health, in order to simply exist we must deceive ourselves into believing something about the complete abject poverty stricken the world, we must choose to believe that this was simply the best choice to make, lest we be second guessing everything we do, and live nothing but short morose lives. However self defeating this is on a grand scale of humanity; perhaps the death of the republic is most visible through the eyes of the man who votes for evil thinking "This is the best i’ve got".
The FP1 region of the brain called the "Chief Judge" (Right above the left eyeball) which deals with willfully ignoring evidence or stimuli, Ie: Happiness is ignorance (which is also funny to note that statistically this region of the brain is used by the population more than any other). Coupled with how social politics is, people want to believe their "friend" is president, to have some key element of their identity in a high place.
Then all politicians have to do is: "tell the lie that is most in line with someone’s self deception" (The word "Fairness" strikes a chord in liberals while the word "Sanctity" strikes a chord in conservatives http://www.moralfoundations.org/), and what you get is a mass of people voting not for what they believe is true or best but voting for what they believe will make them feel good and give their psyche some semblance of outward control.
It’s a politician’s job to tell the lie that is most in line with someone’s self deception.
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Three things come in to play on voting:
1. Moral foundations in direction of choice.
2. Purchasing bias, if one has already chosen a party line.
3. FP1 ignoring evidence or stimuli contrary to first two.
Basically, people vote to feel good subconsciously. It has nothing to do with truth or reason. To make a movement that effects, you must make it somehow religious, surreal and unique.