I had the chance to see in action Suozzo at the last Drum Major Institute's Marketplace of Ideas panel on environmental justice [1]. I have to saw in him and I really liked his straight shooting talk.
It's not only that he's fighting "the man" in environmental issues, it's that Suozzi's renegade stance toward the New York State Democratic Party's "king making" machine just calls the rebel in me :
[via Fix Albany - About Tom Suozzi [2]]:
Mr. Suozzi made history in 2001 when he overcame conventional wisdom and defeated his Republican opponent by a margin of nearly two to one in a County with more registered Republicans than any county in New York State. He is the first Democratic County Executive in over thirty years, and only the second in Nassau's history. He is also the first Democratic County Executive with a Democratic Legislature since 1917. Prior to his astonishing win which the Washington Post characterized as a "landslide victory" in the general election, Mr. Suozzi --regarded by many as the underdog-- upset his opponent to gain the Democratic nomination for County Executive.
Yeah, I know, Steve Gilliard sent him a blogger's bitch-slapping just last month.
THE NEWS BLOG | Look hard before you leap [3]
The best thing for him to do is lay low or run for Lieutenant Governor, not challenge Spitzer, who will club him over his head with his "abortion compromise". Spitzer and NARAL will run him into the ground. While abortion is a toss in New Jersey, a NARAL attack on Suozzi would doom his candidacy. Abortion rights is so important in New York, even the GOP is pro-abortion and there is a seperate Right to Life party.
But let me say this : I think that it is absolutely imperative to support this man and his message, even if the weight of the party will be well spent on Eliot Spitzer [4] --who happens to be my favorite at the moment, but you know, just as with Freddie Ferrer [5], shit can happen and I can change my mind.
True reform activists will not settle for just one guy. So Steve, baby, I get what you're saying but, YOU'RE WRONG.
We need to make sure true diversity of opinion and candidates is present in our selection process for the sake of showing the core strenghts of the progressive movement as they become represented by our candidates. If we are to distinguish ourselves from the extremist Banana Repugblicans [6] that have control of the country, we need to forster leaders in all levels of our party --and even during primary races.
So I'm going to keep my eye fixed on Suozzi. I am definitely liked what I saw --and anybody that got into the DNC after being pooh-pooh by the top brass, well, let's say I always go for the underdog.
Keep it up Suozzi.
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