John Whitehead's Commentary
Political Consultants Siphon Off Presidential Campaign Contributions
races decided, the winds of political change have stopped blowing. The two
establishment candidates are left standing - and that's literally about all they've been doing for quite some time now.
But scurrying around behind the scenes like rats in a restaurant dumpster are the political consultants. So, as the electoral races drift along, this
is a good time to take a closer look at the men and women who call themselves kingmakers. In other words, when you give money to a presidential candidate, whose pocket does it end up in?
These political professionals are making incredible amounts of money. Mike
Murphy, a top GOP consultant, drives an Audi and a Porsche, and when he's not at his house in Georgetown, he may be spending time at his condo on Florida's Fisher Island, where his neighbors are Mel Brooks and Oprah Winfrey.
This year alone, politicians will spend over $3 billion trying to get elected. That's 50 % more than they spent on campaigns in 1996, and a huge chunk of that figure will go in the bank accounts of political consultants.
The Washington Post recently reported that Steve Forbes paid his top
consultant over $200,000 - in just one month. According to the Post, top
consultants in each party earn over $1 million per year.
How do they make this kind of money? Commissions on television ads take up
much of it. Consultant Dick Morris once charged President Clinton a 15 percent
commission on any ads he bought. Since campaigns spend millions of dollars
on TV ads - a recent candidate for governor in California spent $25 million
and only got 13% of the primary vote - consultants make huge dollars off such commissions.
The system practically begs to be taken advantage of. Since political
consultants are paid by how much air time they purchase, they obviously want
to buy as much as possible. Closely working with TV moguls who also benefit
financially, the consultants flood the airwaves with 30-second, poll-tested
ads that generally lack any substance at all.
There has been extensive media coverage on the obscene amounts of money being poured into political campaigns in modern America. But the truth about
political consultants adds a new dimension to that coverage.
It reveals that corporations aren't the only ones to blame for our contaminated political system. John McCain attacked the big money players - but he never mentioned the consultants because he was paying them, too. His "different" campaign spent $1.5 million just on accountants to process his
fundraising.
The system is corrupt to its core. The very people who decide the message
lip-synched by our elected officials are the ones sucking up the cash. No
wonder serious discussion about campaign reform never gets off the ground.
Vice President Gore has tried to assume the mantle of reformer - but he also
spent $10.3 million on media and consulting during his minimally contested primary.
Amazingly, many consultants don't even attempt to cloak their financial
bias. A recent American University survey revealed that 25% of the
consultants are only in business for the money.
Thus, after 225 years of the greatest political experiment in history, this
is what our republic has come to - consultants selling politicians and
messages like soap and used cars. Consultants demand exorbitant fees and
convince novice candidates that winning means pouring cash down the throat
of democracy. And we, the taxpayers and contributors, are paying for it.
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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