Last weekend’s Defending the American Dream Summit in Columbus played host to five presidential candidates: Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, and Marco Rubio. This part isn’t a surprise—the two-day event was organized by Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-funded political advocacy group that wields considerable power and influence. What was surprising was the most interesting speaker isn’t running for office. Rather, he’s mostly concerned about how someone runs a bar. His name is Jon Taffer, host of the popular series Bar Rescue on Spike.

On the show, Taffer takes on struggling bars and bar owners and almost literally whips them into shape. The native New Yorker has decades of experience in the hospitality industry—but it’s his drill sergeant persona that grabs one’s attention, translating into ever higher television ratings. (Take, for instance, his confrontation with a kitchen staffer who handles raw chicken and cooked food without washing her hands.)