… No single development has altered the workings of American democracy in the last century so much as political consulting, an industry unknown before Campaigns, Inc. In the middle decades of the twentieth century, political consultants replaced party bosses as the wielders of political power gained not by votes but by money. …
“A wall goes up,” [Clem] Whitaker warned, “when you try to make Mr. and Mrs. Average American Citizen work or think.” Fan flames. “We need more partisanship in this country,” Whitaker said. Never shy from controversy; instead, win the controversy.
“The average American doesn’t want to be educated; he doesn’t want to improve his mind; he doesn’t even want to work, consciously, at being a good citizen,” Whitaker advised. [cont.]
Jill Lepore, The New Yorker