Are Political Consultants Hurting

or Helping Democracy?
Who They Are, How They Evaluate the
Process of Electing Candidates &
What They Reveal about Their Ethical Practices

In June of 1999, American University commissioned a study on the effect of paid political consultants on the Democratic process. The 28 page report is available at the link below. Some of their findings include-

• Consultants see themselves as replacing political parties in providing strategic advice, advertising, polling, direct mail, opposition research, fundraising, and get out the vote operations.
• Seventy-three percent of the consultants think unethical practices sometimes occur in their business.
• While ideology is still what motivates consultants most often today, the number who say the money involved is their main motivation has more than doubled (11% to 24%).

I believe in the free market. I have sold everything from cat litter to apple butter, so I understand the free market. I would never attempt to prevent anyone from selling anything that is legal to a potential buyer, however political consultants tend to push talented volunteers out of the decision making process in campaigns. That happens for one reason- MONEY. If a campaign volunteer can provide FREE or VALUE PRICED material, labor or expertise, the consultant doesn't get their cut. The reason parties have become irrelevant in recent years is not because the level of talent at the volunteer level has deteriorated, but because consultants can't compete with free or cheap labor, so they attack it. They convince the naive candidate that without their "expert" help, they don't have a chance to win. Truth is- candidates win races, not consultants. A good solid candidate is the primary component to winning- one that will work, raise money, and engage voters. The consultant may help with material and "strategy", but the bulk of what they sell the candidate is MATERIAL, not strategy. The more material they can get a candidate to buy, the more they make. I understand that concept. I eat what I kill- I'm on commission.

Political consultants have become so prevalent in campaigns that now school board, county and municipal candidates use them. A principled consultant can provide expert knowledge of the campaign game, but an unprincipled one can spoil the whole barrel. It's critical principled consultants root out, expose and police their ranks, otherwise the vocation of political consultant will have the same respect level as a used car salesman or trial lawyer. I apologize for the rant, but when a candidate has 8 mail pieces in the last week of a race JUST TO SPEND THE MONEY SO THE CONSULTANT CAN GET HIS CUT, it hacks me off! Check out the link- the article is well worth reading.

http://spa.american.edu/ccps/getpdf.php?table=publications&ID=7