“When you allow people to choose between the corrupt and the stupid, they will go for the corrupt” was said by Arthur J. Finkelstein, the New York-born political consultant, about the 2003 Israeli elections. The saying means that the electorate will tolerate political corruption—perhaps believing that there will always be political corruption—but it won’t tolerate incompetence and stupidity.
     
 
Wikipedia: Arthur J. Finkelstein
Arthur J. Finkelstein (born 1945) is a New York-based Republican Party (GOP) consultant who has worked for conservative candidates in the United States, Canada, Israel and Eastern Europe over the past four decades. With his brother he runs a political consulting and lobbying firm based in Irvington, New York. Finkelstein’s specialties are polling, strategy, message, media, ad placement, and advising on general campaign management.
 
Finkelstein grew up in a lower-middle-class Jewish family, living in Brooklyn until age 11, then in Levittown, New York, and later Queens. He and his two brothers attended local public schools. Their father worked as a cabdriver and did various jobs in the garment trade. While a student at Columbia University, Finkelstein interviewed and helped produce radio programs for author/philosopher Ayn Rand, and was a volunteer at the New York headquarters of the Draft Goldwater Committee in 1963–64 (the famous “Suite 3505”). He eventually earned a Bachelor’s degree from Queens College and pursued (but never finished) a Master’s degree.
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Quotes
“When you allow people to choose between the corrupt and the stupid, they will go for the corrupt.” (Said in reference to a 2003 Israeli campaign)
   
Haaretz Daily Newspaper
Published 00:00 02.08.05
Latest update 00:00 02.08.05
His mother said so
Will Ariel Sharon be elected for a third and final term in office, or will his historical role end with the withdrawal from Gush Katif?
By Aluf Benn
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When the 2003 campaign ran into trouble, consultant Arthur Finkelstein had the following to say in this regard: “When you allow people to choose between the corrupt and the stupid, they will go for the corrupt.” It worked against Amram Mitzna; the question is will it work in 2006, too?
   
Kokhaviv Publications
Is Sharon In Legal Trouble?
2006-01-04
[IMRA: When Channel 10 revealed the story tonight the reporters speculated that it would not have an impact of Prime Minister Sharon’s prospects of getting elected. One reporter noted that a recent poll found 70% of the Israeli public thinks Sharon is corrupt - but the same poll found great support for Sharon - “the public doesn’t care if Sharon is corrupt”, the reporter concluded. Another reporter noted that when charges of corruption surfaced against Sharon in the last elections his American political consultant, Arthur Finkelstein, said it would not matter because “the public would rather have a corrupt leader than a stupid one.”]
 
RushLimbaugh.com
Obama is Just in Over His Head?
January 12, 2012
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RUSH: I just had somebody send me a political theory, a political philosophy as articulated by a famous Reagan consultant named Arthur Finkelstein. Here it is. You remember Arthur Finkelstein. Arthur Finkelstein is credited with saying, “When you allow people…” He’s talking about voters. “When you allow people to choose between the corrupt and the stupid within they will go for the corrupt.” So maybe, maybe Romney thinks that they’re going to cast him as corrupt so he can beat the stupid. Maybe he’s trying to cast Obama as stupid rather than corrupt, because this Reagan consultant says people will choose corrupt people over idiots every day of the week. So Romney doesn’t want to appear to be corrupt. He does want to appear to be corrupt instead of stupid. He’ll have Obama cast as stupid. “He’s stupid! He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s in over his head.” So that might explain it, according to the theory here of Finkelstein, that might explain it. It’s a stretch, I know, but it may be the case here to explain what Romney’s doing.