The Revenge of Arthur Finkelstein
"Arthur Finkelstein is probably one of the brightest, cutting-edge political scientists I've ever met," said New York Republican Senator Al D'Amato in an interview in 1996, regarding the reclusive consultant's personal life and habits. "I don't think a person's sexual orientation, his private life -- a person's private life shouldn't be brought up, and I think the question is offensive, it's wrong."
But former President Bill Clinton brought up just that when he publicly lashed out at Arthur Finkelstein on April 13th, outing Finkelstein to mainstream news audiences by suggesting that Finkelstein is "self-loathing" to work on behalf of the Republican Party, even though, under Bill Clinton's leadership, gay men and women enjoyed such dubious advances as the military's present Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, plus the Defense of Marriage Act, approved in 1996, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages and gives states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in other states.
According to Newseek Magazine, Bill Clinton also advised John Kerry, during Kerry's 2004 Presidential candidacy, to support the same-sex marriage bans on the ballots in 11 states, hinting that Kerry could win those states by supporting bans on gay marriage. So for Clinton to go on record as somehow "saddened" by a gay man's decision to work with the Republican Party is a great irony, indeed.
Yet aside from being part of one more tired "outrage" that drops from Bill Clinton's mouth (Thanks, Bill -- we feel your pain), Arthur Finkelstein is perhaps best known for his successful, and successfully brutal, campaigns to get conservative leaders elected. His list of past electoral endeavors include carefully orchestrated upset victories for Senators Al D'Amato, Jesse Helms, Governor George Pataki and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while also working with such Republican luminaries as Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
"There's a Finkelstein formula," complained Democratic consultant Mark Mellman. "Just brand somebody a liberal, and use the word over and over again as a kind of name-calling."
Speaking of name-calling, Finkelstein has been by tagged by liberal pundits as "another gay bashing G.O.P. consultant", "the ultra conservative Republican consultant" and "one of the Republicans' most vicious attack dogs", yet Arthur Finkelstein has led a relatively low-key existence in his Massachusetts home with his partner and their two adopted children while working as a near invisible yet well-paid political consultant for some of the most prominent names in conservative politics.
But is Finkelstein as far-right as people like to portray him? In a December, 2004 interview with Boaz Gaon of Maariv, an Israeli daily newspaper, the "ultra-conservative" Finkelstein warned, "The political centre has disappeared, and the Republican Party has become the party of the Christian right more so than in any other period in modern history." He then added, "Bush courted the evangelical vote and turned these elections, in fact, into a referendum on the religious and cultural nature of America. This is my problem."
Finkelstein has also regularly described himself as a libertarian who supports same-sex marriage and abortion rights while opposing big government. When asked his reasons for marrying his longtime partner in a Massachusetts ceremony, Finkelstein responded: "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."
Another article states, "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 . . . 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."
The significance of these statements should not be ignored.
For most leftists, especially gay leftists (and Bill Clinton), the idea that a gay man or woman can find things like international and fiscal policy more important than sexual identity is beyond their ability to fathom, so to them, Arthur Finkelstein (or Mary Cheney, or any other Republican homosexual) is a "hypocrite" of the worst sort -- the self-loathing fag!
Yet, in what can only be interpreted as direct defiance of the less moderate elements taking hold of the Republican Party, "one of the Republicans' most vicious attack dogs" quietly married his partner of 40 years in a civil ceremony in Massachusetts. So perhaps the lesson to be learned here is not that Arthur Finkelstein is a "sad" man with a confused sense of political loyalties, but rather that the Republican Party, and by extension the entire American political spectrum, is way better off with moderately conservative gay men and women in positions of influence within the modern GOP.
Arthur Finkelstein "is a wonderful, decent person, and whatever his sexual orientation is -- that's his business," said Republican Senator D'Amato. It's unfortunate that Mr. Clinton couldn't show the same respect.
Comments
You have an interesting view on people's orientation. These people who say that bringing up one's personal life is offensive often out themselves and others as heterosexuals without a blink, but ghasp when someone is outed as LGB, even if (in the case of Kerry's comment about Mary Cheney at the St. Louis Debate) that person is already very much out.
Closeted people who help facilitate a culture which discriminates against LGB people seem to feel no obligation to the LGB people before them, who helped bring attention to ignorance surrounding AIDS, high suicide rates among LGB Teens, hate crimes, and harmful queer targeted legislation. They feel comfortable benefiting from a level of cultural acceptance that allows them to act on homosexual desires, while aiding the forces that destroy that freedom.
It seems to me that if you are a LGB person who facilitates a homophobic culture, then you should only reep what you sow.
Posted by: Ben | April 25, 2005 5:49 AM
Homocon-
President Clinton seems to be on the mark with his comments that Arthur Finklestein is a self-loathing homosexual. Based on his actions in support of the National Republican Party last year and the fact that he got married. For a persons personal choices those add up to self-loathing.
To make an example of your posting about Andrew Sullivan and the Catholic Church--The Republican party doesn't want you (as a gay man). Anybody who wants to belong to a group that would then use your very identity to get votes at your expense is extremely self-loathing.
President Clinton was the first President to even talk about gay issues and made gays in the military an issue in his campaign. I was extremely upset that the compromise that came out of that dialog was "don't ask, don't tell", but at least Clinton brought the dialog up. President Clinton also had proclaimations every year of his Presidency for Gay Pride. Both Bushs would never do that. As for Defense of Marriage Act, Clinton had to sign it to maintain political viability during an Election year. That doesn't mean that he is for the policy. It's called compromise and as a politician you sometimes have to do that to keep your job. There is a HUGE difference between that and purposefully proposing an amendment to the Constitution banning Gay Marriage and coming out in favor.
You may not like Democrats, but you would never see the venom spewed at Republican conventions spoken at a Democratic convention.
I suspect you have your own level of self-loathing.
Posted by: Bryan Samolinski | April 27, 2005 11:19 PM
I wish to congratulate Arthur Finkelstein on his marriage. The fact that President Clinton attempted to out Arthur was an act of desperation on the part of the Clinton 2008 campaign.
Clinton did nothing, let me repeat nothing for the gay man during the eight years of his presidency, so don't be self righteous. Arthur's personal life is not a matter for public debate and I would advise him to stay clear of the issue and just continue what he has been doing all the while. Arthur must never make himself the issue. He knows better than that.
Shame on you Bill. You could do better than that!
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