Has no one read Terry Pratchett? In his Discworld series, there is an iconic charater called Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, a street seller of food products of dubious origin and quality. Despite everyone knowing this, his business is thriving because he always adheres to his motto:


I think there is a lot to be learnt from him. Just substitute "money" for "votes" or whatever else you want people to give you.