ABC News’ Jonathan Karl Reports: Remember Arthur Finkelstein? He was once one of the most feared Republican political strategists in the country, the mastermind behind a series of ruthless, hard-hitting and high-profile campaigns during the 1980s and 1990s — Helms v. Gantt, D’Amato v. Javits, Mack v. McKay, Pataki v. Cuomo.
Finkelstein has re-emerged in an unlikely place: a local election in the tiny village of Lynbrook, New York (population 19,911).
Finkelstein’s influence isn’t hard to spot. A full-page ad in this week’s Lynbrook Herald savages two members of the Lynbrook Village Board, dubbing them “The Tax Twins of Lynbrook.” The ad declares: “It’s shocking but true, the Tax Twins Dave Penso and Tom Miccio recklessly raised taxes, created record debt and mortgaged our families’ futures. Call Village Hall for their Disgraceful Record. DON’T BE FOOLED!”
That’s tough stuff for a small-town election, but it’s vintage Finkelstein. Over the years, his campaigns attacked opponents as “recklessly liberal”, “embarrassingly liberal”, “hopelessly liberal”, “foolishly liberal” and “too liberal for too long.”
In this case, Finkelstein is not working for a Republican candidate with deep pockets. The Lynbrook village ad is paid for by a group called The New Vision Party, which is running two candidates against those evil tax twins. Campaign finance records show the party has paid Mr. Finkelstein $12,000 for “polling.”
Asked why they hired a once high-profile national political strategist for small local election, Leslie Rothschild of the New Vision Party told ABC News, “I’ve known Arthur for years. He’s the best in the business.”
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