Translation of excerpts from Robert Heinlein’s book, Take Your Government Back - part 7

Chapter 4: The Art of Practical Politics: Local Party Organizations and Political Clubs

This chapter could have another name, for example: “How to iron on the head of children” or “How to win friends and influence voters”

Here I will try to describe the art of practical politics as impassively as the car repair is described, and just as aloof from all political trends as the spring breeze. I will try not to impose my moral values ​​on you, but I will not advise illegal or dishonorable acts.
Politics is not a science, but an art. The art is imperfect and unsmoiled, just as chaotic as the floor of a storeroom littered with things. His description can start with anything, and end with anything. And I will not be able to describe everything exhaustively, but I will confine myself to placing only a few guiding signs in the maze of politics, indicating the places where you can get bogged down.
The first and foremost rule - always remember that your goal is to win elections, not disputes. If you will be guided by this principle, you will not be greatly distracted from the right path.
Secondly, the elections are won with the help of votes, and these votes are not collected in political and financial circles, political clubs, or at rallies, but at polling stations.
The third thing to keep in mind is that a vote in your favor will never become a reality unless a voter with the right to vote arrives at the polling station and votes. This rule, you need to mentally type in large red letters, provide flashing lights, and always keep in front of you.
Fourth - do not waste time arguing with those who have established, different from your opinion. During the years I spent in politics, I can’t remember a single case when I managed to convince someone who had already formed an opinion on the issue or a candidate to vote not in the way he intended. And nevertheless, I know for sure that I influenced the result of the elections, and sometimes I even changed it with my actions.
How did I do it? By purposeful efforts based on the first three rules to keep in mind the policy, and observing the prohibition set forth in the fourth one. During the very first election campaign in which I participated, I was sure that the work of the agitator consisted in going to the people and trying to convince everyone and everyone to vote for their candidate. I took down many pairs of shoes, met many interesting people, and learned a lot. However, I did not bring any benefit to our candidate, but rather even took some of the votes from him. Hopefully there were no more than a dozen.
The fact is that the voter to whom you came to agitate, as a rule, has already decided for whom he will vote - long before you came to him. This citizen, if only he is not the rarest exception, made up his opinion on the elections, shuffling his set of prejudices and stereotypes. Oddly enough, he calls this process “decision making”. Now he has his own opinion based on stereotypes and emotions. If you try to refute this opinion of his, then this will most likely cause the voter to become angry. And to annoy a voter is the best way to ensure his voter turnout, in order to vote against you.
By the way, some elections were brilliantly won by a similar trick - the party of opponents was supplied with volunteers of the “wrong sort” who were ready to campaign, they did not bring votes to the candidate for whom they worked, but lost them because they were agitating aggressively and annoyingly. This is a dishonest reception, but it remarkably illustrates the old adage, which says: “to make a pig go forward, you have to drag it back by the tail”

How to bypass voters

You should be dressed cleanly and neatly, friendly, and smiling. In one of the pockets you have propaganda materials. You are standing in front of a closed door, according to the voter list, Mr. and Mrs. Redking live behind her, both of them belong to your party. Ring the doorbell. After a seemingly endless pause, the door finally opens, you see Mrs. Redking. She is clearly not happy about your visit: a baby is screaming behind her, and smells from the kitchen tell you that cooking dinner is in full swing. You are confused and upset, because it is very easy to be embarrassed in such a situation, but quickly regain your business attitude. Then you say, “Sorry, Mrs. Redking, I think I chose the wrong time to visit, sorry again,” and start to move away from the door. If she is a normal person, then at least she will ask, “What do you need?”. Do not take it as an invitation to throw a long campaign speech. No woman wants to talk to you for a long time when potatoes are about to burn in her pan. Say: “I am Fred Glutz, representing the local political club of the Eastern Branch of the Democratic Party. We are conducting a survey, and we want to know your opinion about the upcoming elections. But I do not want to impose on your head at such an inconvenient time for you. Maybe I should leave you our materials and leave? ”You put your campaign materials in her hands and continue to move backwards. It is very likely that she will apologize for her current employment, and will ask you to come sometime in the evening when her husband is at home. If she suggested it, then rather appoint an evening to which you will pay a visit. If she hesitates, say that you can come in the evening of the next day. If this does not suit her, ask if they can call and schedule a visit. In case of her consent, do so. If she does not want your further visits, leave at once, and hope that you will not annoy her.

Let's try to go to the next house. Judging by the voters list, the Alcoholic family lives in it. You ring the doorbell, and the door opens. A little dog runs out and starts spinning around your legs. You crouch, scratching her ear, and then you smile at his mistress.
"What is his name" - you ask?
“Friend. Go to the house, Friend, do not bother my uncle! ”
“Yes, he does not bother me. I myself had a dog very similar to him, but last year he was moved by a car ”(tell only the truth, for sure there is something you can talk about with the owner of the dog). Dialogue in this spirit continues until she asks why you came. You repeat to her the same thing you said to her neighbor. It turns out that her last name is not Alkogolikova, but Nadezhdina.
"In my opinion, people with such a name lived here before, but they moved somewhere."
You attacked the gold mine! Now - act neater! Find out what party it is. If you can't figure out any suggestive questions, ask her directly. If she is not in your party, turn off the conversation, leave her propaganda materials, if only she takes them, and, without arguing with her, leave. Just before that, do not forget to thank her for her time, and pat her friend, and then leave. If she is in your party, tell her that your political club is glad to see them in these places. Ask her if they have already registered with the local election commission; it often turns out that they have not yet done so. Then offer her your help in this matter, you will contact the commission yourself and ask to be registered.
And then you do this:
First, invite her to a meeting of the political club, and make sure that they send an invitation to her by mail. After that, ask if you need to help her look after the child while she is voting. And also, is it not necessary to send a car for her to deliver to the polling station. Even if she replies that she does not need it, anyway, on election day, prepare such an opportunity so that on this day, if there are a few hours left before the polling stations close, and she has not voted yet, you can bring her vote. Until she shows signs of boredom, continue the conversation with her. Discuss various political issues if she doesn't mind, respectfully listening to what she says. Do not argue with her point of view. Let your similarity of opinions outweigh the differences in them. However, as soon as she begins to look impatiently at her watch, after two minutes of conversation, or after half an hour, say goodbye and leave.
And before you call the next door, do not forget to write down on the card for your card file all that you have learned about your new voter, and the next steps that will need to be done in relation to him.
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Just now you almost certainly got one, and maybe even two or three freshly baked votes for your candidate in the elections. And if this is a primary, then the likelihood that you have increased the share of your candidate’s votes is even greater.
If you are lucky, you will find in the person of Mrs. Nadezhdina a new member of your political club. Perhaps a little later, she herself will begin to bypass the voters, we will not think ahead. But gold is the one who searches for it. Perhaps her husband would be one of those wonderful people willing to help a political organization by participating in paying the cost of printing newspapers, or renting a room, even if he himself would not bypass the voters. He may be the owner of a gas station, a hairdresser, or some other professional who has access to different sectors of society for political work. But all this is ahead. All that you have received now is a possible pair of votes for your candidate. And you should not sniff dismissively: the Great Wall of China is built of separate bricks. By the way, do not forget to write in your card file everything that you learned about voters, including the nickname of their dog. When you send the typewriter invitation to the political club meeting to the Nadezhdins couple, write down “How is my friend there? Still enjoying all the guests? ”

Now you have the next door in line. Behind her, as it is written on the list of voters, live Mrs. Basis, her son, and her daughter-in-law. Well, so it is, they have not moved anywhere, they live in this house. They are already on your side: your filing cabinet shows that they usually come to vote even for the primaries. Here your task is simple, you could not come - you think.
However, do not be so complacent. Even if voters are aware of the importance of voting, it is highly likely that one of these three holders of votes will not vote for the primaries, if you don’t follow this, and don’t send him a car when necessary. In addition, it is possible that in their face you will find new members and new agitators for your club. So, behind this door - new members and new agitators! So you should definitely ring the doorbell!

These are the main types of voters you may encounter, although the variations are endless. You may stumble upon mad people, lonely people who are ready to talk with you endlessly, thoughtful people who are ready to exchange opinions with you. Some voters will take you to the living room, and tea with cupcakes, others will treat you with suspicion, and will not let go beyond the threshold of your house. Surely, one day you will stumble upon undisguised rudeness, with which you will be shocked, and from which there will be sediment in your soul, and fear of another such abrupt and boorish refusal. Do not allow yourself in such a situation to helplessly give up and go home to lick spiritual wounds. Go to the cafe, drink a milkshake, read humorous comics, in a word - get distracted. Then go back and call the next door. Surely, behind her are much more friendly people, because most Americans are like that.
In the process of working at the polling station, you will know your fellow citizens well, and this knowledge will instill in you faith in democracy, pride in the fact that you are an American, and belong to human civilization.
All this will warm your soul and give confidence in the future of your country.

Part 1, where there are links to all other parts
Part 8