The Political Consultant Racket

[Commentary] Political consultants earn fees and commissions by turning the billions of dollars given to candidates, political parties and “super PACs” -- like Jeb Bush’s Right to Rise -- into the products and services of contemporary campaigns, especially TV (and Internet) ads. More money means more ads, and more ads means more money. However, media saturation makes it more difficult to grab our attention, requiring more ads, and more money and contributions, to reach the electorate.

Consultants want their clients to win, but they also need their businesses to survive. Despite mounting evidence that the effects of TV on the electorate can be uncertain and often short-lived, television remains the single largest expenditure in most campaigns because candidates think they need it to win -- and because it is the most reliable source of revenue and the most lucrative part of the consulting business. The economic incentives of the consulting industry are driving up the cost of campaigns.

[Adam Sheingate is the author of “Building a Business of Politics: The Rise of Political Consulting and the Transformation of American Democracy” and the chairman of the political science department at Johns Hopkins University.]