With politics, and even more so in the US than other places, the perception of the thing usually replaces the actual thing. If he seems like someone you can get a beer with, he must be a good guy. And good guys will fight for the normal person, because that's what makes a good guy a good guy. Right? right?
As long as the economy seems to be doing okay for you, then just vote for whoever's currently in office. As long as they speak to your ideals, then how they actually vote and act don't matter. As long as a politician says they're fiscally conservative or socially responsible, then vote for them because they can't just lie about things like that. If there are any issues, then it must be the other person's fault, certainly not the one I voted for.
As long as you think a thing is true, if you're told the thing is true by an authority figure, the facts and figures hardly matter. You can cherry pick whatever supports you, because you're obviously right so why bother looking deeper into it? Your right, they're wrong. They should be putting in the effort to understand why yours is the right way, not the other way around.
There's so much talking past each other, conceptual frameworks based on biased and incorrect information, idealogically different goals, and other things in conversations like this. But the things that get me the most is when folks support a politician who actively fight against what that person believes.
tl;dr: What does being a conservative/liberal/centrist/etc mean to you? What qualities and idealogies should they show and support? What kind of laws should they pass? Why?
This is why I usually hear the word politician and think of a snake. I rarely fall for thier broken promises and outright lies. Someone who does these things and would say anything to get elected won't get my vote, unless both candidates are doing the same thing and then I'll vote for the less crooked one or not vote at all (sometimes I'll write in my cats name as he's more qualified in some instances). When I vote I look for honest policies that will help our country and environment and look for issues that would personally effect me. I rather not vote for someone that thinks I'm too dumb to make my own decisions and should then rely on them or is handing out carrots while hiding a noose behind thier back. I'll vote for less Government power and policies that help the environment and then will participate afterwards in things that limit Government power and help the environment - like owning a car and then claiming I support the environment and make excuses why I don't take any personal responsibility to change it when driving is one of the main contributors to pollution whether it's electric or not. Any excuse for not setting an example is just an excuse and you're just full of shit.