More from Arthur J. Finkelstein, the gay Republican operative who recently married his male partner in Massachussets. It seems he&#82 [...]

The story, which I profoundly disagree with Chris about the relevance and importance of, is that a man who has made a killing from politicians promoting prejudice against one type of family wants to be protected from that prejudice in his personal life. Yet he helped to promote the paths of senators who led bigots in their home states to make such protections impossible for their constituents.

I can’t safely drive through Oklahoma anymore, after the success Don Nickles had in leading with hate, and he expects his privilege to be off the table? Oh, grow up, Arthur. Some people in this country like to shine a bright light on hypocrisy and some hypocrites don’t like it. End of story.

Arthur Finkelstein has always kept a low profile, but he’s made his fortune working for anti-gay pols. When Boston magazine outed him in 1996, it was shocking. Not because the magazine outed him, but because a man living with another man with whom he was raising children would actually make his money this way. I couldn’t find the Boston mag piece online, but here’s a relevant snippet from a GLAAD press release touting the Boston mag article in 1996:

September 20, 1996

The October Boston Magazine includes an article about high-ranking GOP political consultant Arthur J. Finkelstein that notes the apparent dissonance between his orchestrated victories for archconservative anti-gay politicians and his “semi-out status” as a gay man with a partner and two adopted children. Journalist Stephen Rodrick draws a careful portrait of Finkelstein, a media-shy operative that prefers to work from the shadows in masterminding his own “ruthless brand of political warfare.” “He has become a millionaire by working for politicians whose policies attack a very important and intimate part of his life,” Rodrick writes, “Specifically, four of Finkelstein’s clients in the Senate-Jesse Helms of North Carolina, Bob Smith of New Hampshire, Don Nickles of Oklahoma and North Carolina’s Lauch Faircloth-form the core opposition to nearly all gay issues before Congress.” On September 18, the Washington Post noted that Finklestein is still working for Smith, who opposes gay adoption, but that Smith “did not return calls seeking comment on Finkelstein as the adoptive father of a 9-year-old girl.” While confirming that he is gay, Finklestein formally issued a statement that “I keep my private life separate from my business life-something my friends and clients understand, appreciate and respect.” Despite that comment, Newsweek and the New York Daily News also found his sexual orientation relevant to the larger story of his politics and business.