This is VERY ineresting. Not only is Arthur Finkelstein a big GOP political consultant. Not only is he gay. But Finkelstein is notorious for working for some pretty nasty Republicans. He helped out on Jesse Helms' campaign, that's how bad we're talking. So for Finkelstein now to come out and blast Bush and the religious right for their gay-baiting, among other things, that's big and laudable.
Yes, he's still working with Republicans (though Pataki, his current client, is certainly better than the previous ones). BUT. This is a man once worked for the bad guys and now gets it, AND is willingly to come out publicly and SAY IT. That is a big deal. And it's a big step for him. And it's evidence that all was not lost on Novemeber 2. From the moderate Republicans who abandoned Bush to the conservative gays who took a walk, Bush hardly solidified his support in this election. He may have shored up his evangelical base, but he also may very well have ignited a civil war in the party.
From Pam's House Blend:
Gov. Pataki's top political adviser has trashed President Bush, attacked the "Christian right," and said Bush's re-election means Pataki can't become president in 2008.
The shocking comments by Arthur Finkelstein appeared in the Israeli daily newspaper Maariv, which also quoted the nationally known GOP consultant as saying that in the presidential election, "the Republican Party became the Christian right, the most radical in modern history ever."
Finkelstein, the one-time political guru to former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, is also described by Maariv writer Boaz Gaon as "hating" Bush.
In the story, which ran last Friday, Finkelstein accused Bush of trying to "dictate to America how to live and what to believe in."
Finkelstein, who has helped run several Israeli elections, is also described as claiming Bush is more interested in banning abortion than he is in winning the war in Iraq.
And Finkelstein, who told a Boston newspaper several years ago that he is homosexual, described Bush's campaign strategy as being more interested in banning gay marriages than in improving the American economy....
"Bush's victory not only establishes the power of the American Christian right in this candidacy, but in fact established its power to elect the next Republican president."
