This campaign season has made it clearer than ever that in presidential elections, you simply can’t draw a straight line between the most money and the most votes. Especially when most of the dough is spent on television ads, which have been proven to be ineffective. So what is the money really for?
In Harper's Magazine earlier this year, Washington editor Andrew Cockburn explained how the ads really serve to line the pockets of campaign consultants. He talks to Brooke about the commissions that come from broadcasters, how Super PACs have made the problem worse, and why television media are complicit in the 'election-industrial complex'.