"The only person telling you the truth in politics…

“The only person telling you the truth in politics is the one who says he is not voting for you” is a saying of unknown authorship. A person who is against you and who tells that to you—for example, a person of a different political party—can be believed. However, many people will claim to be voting for you to be polite to you, but these statements are often false.

The political saying appears to be popular in Australia. “The only person you can believe is the one who says they aren’t voting for you” was cited in the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald in 2010. In 2014, Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives were selecting a caucus majority leader. “The only people that’s going to tell you the truth is the one that looks you straight in the eye and says, ‘I’m not voting for you.’ You can put him down in the ‘no’ column,” said Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga.

Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald
Pollies could have told Lowy the score
December 7, 2010
Terry Barnes
(...)
When I tried my own hand as a preselection candidate, the best advice I got was from a former Fraser cabinet minister and Liberal Party state director. “The only person you can believe is the one who says they aren’t voting for you,” he said. “And whatever numbers you think you have, halve them and take a few more off for good measure.”

Facebook
Robert Jenkins - Candidate for San Bernardino City Council 2nd Ward
July 6, 2011 ·
Supporters and Robert have been working the phones to get out the vote! Very exciting to hear 2nd Ward residents say they are voting for Robert Jenkins!

Rick Danzey That’s always great to hear, makes us feel good but remember that the only person on the phone who is telling the truth is the one who says they are not voting for you. Thank them and politely sat “may I ask why?” The one who gathers the most information wins.
July 6, 2011 at 5:47pm

The Australian
Odds shorten on Bill as Brutus
By Niki Savva
JUNE 13, 2013 12:00AM
(...)
Earlier, she professed to accept Shorten’s pledge of loyalty although she and everyone around her knows that in all leadership battles the starting point is that you can trust the word only of people who say they aren’t voting for you.

Reuters
Factbox: Secret ballot to determine new Republican House leaders
BY JULIA EDWARDS
WASHINGTON Thu Jun 12, 2014 7:12pm EDT
(Reuters) - Republican members of the House of Representatives have less than a week to decide who will replace outgoing Congressman Eric Cantor as the caucus’ majority leader.

The party now faces a contentious battle for control of the House’s legislative priorities. The process is designed to keep votes secret, making false promises of endorsement rampant.

“The only people that are going to tell you the truth are the ones that look you straight in the eye and tell you, ‘I’m not voting for you,’” said Representative Lynn Westmoreland to reporters on Thursday.

Washington (DC) Examiner
The conservative who could be a dark horse in House leadership fight
BY DAVID M. DRUCKER | JUNE 16, 2014 | 2:09 PM
(...)
“You got a lie factor up here that you have to consider,” Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., who flirted with running for majority whip, told reporters last week. “Anybody that tells you they’re for you, you have to kind of have to put them down in a different column. The only people that’s going to tell you the truth is the one that looks you straight in the eye and says, ‘I’m not voting for you.’ You can put him down in the ‘no’ column.”

Crikey (Australia)
Thursday, 20 November 2014
Murdoch and the Saudi prince: Mayne plots the scenarios
by Stephen Mayne
There’s an old saying in politics: “The only person telling you the truth is the one who says they are not voting for you.”