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Thread ID: 17795 | Posts: 16 | Started: 2005-04-09
2005-04-09 14:22 | User Profile
[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/09/politics/09finkelstein.html?ex=1270699200&en=ca95af744bb6439b&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland[/url]
pith for the knee jerk brain dead
2005-04-09 19:14 | User Profile
G.O.P. Consultant Weds His Male Partner By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: April 9, 2005
WASHINGTON, April 8 - Arthur J. Finkelstein, a prominent Republican consultant who has directed a series of hard-edged political campaigns to elect conservatives in the United States and Israel over the last 25 years, said Friday that he had married his male partner in a civil ceremony at his home in Massachusetts.
Mr. Finkelstein, 59, who has made a practice of defeating Democrats by trying to demonize them as liberal, said in a brief interview that he had married his partner of 40 years to ensure that the couple had the same benefits available to married heterosexual couples. Republican family values in action.
2005-04-09 22:18 | User Profile
I thought you might be talking about the good (Norman)Finklestein.
2005-04-15 15:03 | User Profile
[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/09/politics/09finkelstein.html?ex=1270699200&en=ca95af744bb6439b&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland[/url]
G.O.P. Consultant Weds His Male Partner By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: April 9, 2005
WASHINGTON, April 8 - Arthur J. Finkelstein, a prominent Republican consultant who has directed a series of hard-edged political campaigns to elect conservatives in the United States and Israel over the last 25 years, said Friday that he had married his male partner in a civil ceremony at his home in Massachusetts.
Mr. Finkelstein, 59, who has made a practice of defeating Democrats by trying to demonize them as liberal, said in a brief interview that he had married his partner of 40 years to ensure that the couple had the same benefits available to married heterosexual couples. "I believe that visitation rights, health care benefits and other human relationship contracts that are taken for granted by all married people should be available to partners," he said.
He declined further comment on the wedding, which was in December. Some of Mr. Finkelstein's associates said they were startled to learn that this prominent American conservative had married a man, given his history with the party, especially at a time when many Republican leaders, including President Bush, have campaigned against same-sex marriage and proposed amending the Constitution to ban it. Mr. Finkelstein has been allied over the years with Republicans who have fiercely opposed gay rights measures, including former Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, and has been the subject of attacks by gay rights activists who have accused him of hypocrisy. He was identified as gay in a Boston Magazine article in 1996. One of Mr. Finkelstein's associates, who declined to speak on the record, citing Mr. Finkelstein's desire for privacy, said Mr. Finkelstein did not view his marriage as a political statement and had specifically decided to have a civil ceremony rather than a religious one. This associate argued that over the past 20 years, Mr. Finkelstein had identified himself as a libertarian and an opponent of big government, distancing himself from social conservatives as they have gained political muscle and dominance in the party.
Mr. Finkelstein's associates declined to provide his spouse's name. He was married at his home by a gay state official, whose name and office were not released. The ceremony was attended by relatives of both men, a few friends and a state legislator, an attendee said.
None of Mr. Finkelstein's better-known political clients, among them Gov. George E. Pataki of New York and former Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato of New York, attended, that person said. Several of Mr. Finkelstein's long-term political associates said that he had not told them about the wedding, and that they had learned about it from a reporter. The wedding was disclosed by an associate of Mr. Finkelstein's, and he confirmed it in the interview.
Mr. Finkelstein has frequently come under criticism by gay rights groups for representing politicians who have been ardent foes of gay rights. He helped create the template for a line of attack he repeatedly invoked against Democrats, including Mario M. Cuomo of New York, describing them as liberal. In Israel, Mr. Finkelstein used similar attacks against the Labor Party as an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and as a consultant to the winning and losing campaigns of Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister.
Mr. Finkelstein has regularly described himself as a libertarian who supports same-sex marriage and abortion rights while opposing big government. In an interview with Maariv, an Israeli newspaper, after the American elections last year, he criticized the Republican Party as growing too close to evangelical Christians, warning it could cause long-term damage to the party. Details of Mr. Finkelstein's relationship have appeared in regular news accounts over the years, as they did in the Boston Magazine article, which reported that Mr. Finkelstein lived with his partner and two children in Ipswich, Mass.
Still, some conservative friends said Mr. Finkelstein's marriage would roil conservatives and highlight divisions among them over the importance of social issues to their movement. "In recent years, Arthur hasn't pretended to be a social conservative," said one longtime conservative associate, who cited Mr. Finkelstein's aversion to publicity in declining to be identified. "But this is the same man who was the architect of Jesse Helms's political rise."
2005-04-15 15:08 | User Profile
Arthur Finkelstein: Out Of Sight But In Control By Jonathan Karl/CNN
NEW YORK (AllPolitics, Oct. 10) -- He is the stuff of Hollywood: A man who can topple even the most powerful foes, yet so secretive that few have ever seen him. As actor Kevin Spacey said in "The Usual Suspects," "I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Kaiser Sose."
Republican strategist Arthur Finkelstein's style has been compared to Hollywood's villainous character, Sose, who was so secretive that some doubted whether he really existed. There has only been one photo of Finkelstein to surface during 20 years of consulting Republican candidates. Even his Westchester County, N.Y., office doesn't bear his name.
Says Stephen Rodrick of Philadelphia Magazine, "It's almost to the point of whether or not he really exists. He has all this impact, but no one has ever seen him."
Sen. Al D'Amato (R-N.Y.) is one who has seen Finkelstein. D'Amato has tapped the mystery man for what may be Finklestein's biggest challenge yet: helping direct Republican strategy in the 33 Senate races this year.
"Arthur Finkelstein is probably one of the brightest, cutting-edge political scientists I've ever met," said D'Amato.
Scientist, strategist or mystery man, Finkelstein has orchestrated stunning upset victories for many of his clients including Sens. D'Amato and Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), and New York's Republican Gov. George Pataki. His unseen hand also helped Benjamin Netanyahu oust Shimon Perez in the Israeli elections earlier this year.
[IMG]http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/news/9610/10/karl.finkelstein/finkelstein.jpg[/IMG]
Finkelstein's signature style emerges through the ads he creates. Two recent adds brand Democrats as liberals: "Call liberal Paul Wellstone. Tell him it's wrong to spend billions more on welfare," one ad states.
"That's liberal," says another. "That's Jack Reed. That's wrong. Call liberal Jack Reed and tell him his record on welfare is just too liberal for you."
"That's the Finkelstein formula: just brand somebody a liberal, use the word over and over again, engage in that kind of name-calling," said Democratic consultant Mark Mellman.
The August issue of Boston Magazine revealed something that might have surprised some of Finkelstein's more conservative clients: he's homosexual. In his Massachusetts mansion, he lives with his long-time partner and their two adopted children. Stephen Rodrick, now with Philadelphia Magazine, wrote the article.
"As recently as September 10th, four of Finkelstein's clients voted against the anti-gay discrimination bill -- Lauch Faircloth (R-N.C.), Jesse Helms (R-N.C), Don Nickles (R-Okla.) and Sen. (Bob) Smith (R) of New Hampshire," said Rodrick.
"Homosexuality is wrong, it's immoral and it shouldn't be condoned and it certainly shouldn't be elevated to a special protected status by the federal government," declared Nickles (R-Okla.) in a Senate speech.
"I think it's clear that there is an element of hypocrisy where he lives this kind of sedate, gay lifestyle while making millions of dollars off of candidates who bash gays," Rodrick added.
Finkelstein and his anti-gay clients would not comment, but D'Amato, who supports homosexual rights, did. "I don't think a person's sexual orientation, his private life -- a person's private life should be brought up and I think the question is offensive, it's wrong. He's a wonderful, decent person and whatever his sexual orientation is, that's his business," stated D'Amato.
Finkelstein may be the Republicans' invisible man, but his campaign ads painting Democrats as liberals will bombard television sets across the country from now until Nov. 5th.
This story originally appeared on CNN's "Inside Politics."
Related Stories:
TIME: The Mystery Man Who Inspired Dole's Latest Strategy -- Oct. 07, 1996 TIME: The Baiting Game -- Oct. 14, 1996
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2005-04-15 15:15 | User Profile
[QUOTE=weisbrot] WASHINGTON, April 8 - Arthur J. Finkelstein, a prominent Republican consultant who has directed a series of hard-edged political campaigns to elect conservatives in the United States and Israel over the last 25 years, said Friday that he had married his male partner in a civil ceremony at his home in Massachusetts.[/QUOTE] I can't quite figure out this guy's background. Southern Baptist, maybe? :wink:
2005-04-15 17:34 | User Profile
Publicizing the marriage of Arthur J. Finkelstein to his male partner is a good thing. This event is extremely illustrative and should cause the so called conservatives to wake-up to what has happened to their once great party. These modern day Republicans are not principled leaders... but merely political operatives. They do not possess traditional American values nor do they have any loyalty to the United States of America. Their selection of advisers should demonstrate this point.
Mr. Finkelstein is an outstanding example of what is happening to America before our very eyes. He is an irreligious sodomite who has spent his life directing social agendas and political movements all over the world. Another diaspora Jew who has no loyalty to anything but the destruction of Nationalism and the acquisition of personal wealth. Where I come from... people who possess these personal characteristics are called ââ¬Åscumbags.ââ¬Â In our contemporary society they're called leaders.
:caiphas: :thumbd:
2005-04-15 17:38 | User Profile
An excellent summation of Jews in general.
[QUOTE=Phantasm]Another diaspora Jew who has no loyalty to anything but the destruction of Nationalism and the acquisition of personal wealth... :caiphas: :thumbd:[/QUOTE]
2005-04-15 19:24 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Quantrill]I can't quite figure out this guy's background. Southern Baptist, maybe? :wink:[/QUOTE]
Yes, that must be it. I meet Southern Babtists all the time with that last name. The only name more frequent is Goldstein...
2005-04-16 04:16 | User Profile
Makes you wonder if the stuff Todd posted is all true.
:eek:
I all can say is
Lev. 20 13
2005-04-16 05:40 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Faust]... I all can say is
Lev. 20 13[/QUOTE] And Romans Chapter 1, Verses 26 thru 28.
:yucky:
2005-04-16 07:10 | User Profile
Well, Bush, Rove and this "kingmaker" guy have been doing to Americans what they do to each other. Our whole political life is just a cynical game played by people who have no morals.
I knew, like most political people in New Jersey, that Governor McGreevy was a rump wrangler and when the scandal broke most of the guys at the local bar were amazed at my prophesy.
Probably about half of the politicians in the country are bi-sexual or homosexual. I have my doubts about Bush. Laura is just the kind of dopey society matron that would be happy to serve as a "beard." This is yet another indication that our political system is rotten to the core.
2005-04-16 07:16 | User Profile
Arthur J. Finkelstein, a prominent Republican consultant who has directed a series of hard-edged political campaigns to elect conservatives in the United States and Israel over the last 25 years, said Friday that he had married his male partner in a civil ceremony at his home in Massachusetts. The faggot was busy supporting the right wing in Israel, all the while calling himself a "libertarian." The only liberty he cares about is the liberty of Jews to push their agenda unopposed.
Mr. Finkelstein, 59, who has made a practice of defeating Democrats by trying to demonize them as liberal, said in a brief interview that he had married his partner of 40 years to ensure that the couple had the same benefits available to married heterosexual couples. Democrats are liberal. Unfortunately, so are 99% of Republicans, including Jew Finkelstein.
2005-04-16 15:47 | User Profile
I now pronounce you "man" and "wife". You may now touch tools.
2005-04-16 15:55 | User Profile
[QUOTE=il ragno]I now pronounce you "man" and "wife". You may now touch tools.[/QUOTE]
...consecrated by tool to stool conjoinment.
2005-04-18 06:02 | User Profile
[url]http://www.homocon.com/archives/2005/04/the_revenge_of.html[/url]
They really like Rove, too.