Posted on 01/12/2006 8:31:42 AM PST by Liz
ALBANY — Republican leaders are secretly discussing endorsing Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi for governor — even as Suozzi plans to announce tomorrow that he'll challenge Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic nomination, The Post has learned.
"Suozzi is a proven vote-getter with Democrats and Republicans in the suburbs, and he could be a real threat to Spitzer running as a Democrat on the Republican ticket," said a top GOP insider. Former state GOP Executive Director Brendan Quinn said of a possible Suozzi candidacy, "An Italian Catholic Democrat from Nassau County would have real appeal to suburban voters, who are typically Republican."
Suozzi, even though he is a Democrat, is also popular with many wealthy Republican Wall Street executives, who want Spitzer defeated for what they regard as overzealous prosecution of corporate wrongdoing.
Under a little-used provision in state law, state GOP leaders have the right to authorize someone who is not a Republican to run on the Republican line.
GOP interest in backing Suozzi is dependent on whether Rochester billionaire and newly minted Republican Tom Golisano enters the governor's race later...... former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld is likely to be the GOP nominee, and that's troubling key Republicans, including Gov. Pataki.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
ping
With RINOs like Joe Bruno and George Pataki here in the People's Republic of New York, that's a superfluous law if there ever was one.
This is interesting...
Are they that afraid of Golisano?
As much as I like from what I've read so far regarding Tom Souzzi, it's pretty sad that the Republicans' recourse at this point is to cross-endorse a Democrat.
I just posted this in my site too.
http://www.rusthompson.com/index.html
Bruni likes Golisano and is trying to recruit him.
Pataki loathes Golisano and would endorse satan himself over Golisano.
Its a long running personal and nasty grudge.
Golisano basically calls Pataki a corrupt and dirty pol....and liberal.
This is truly bizarre. What Republicans truly fear is not a Spitzer victory itself but a landslide that will unseat many GOP state legislators.
Unless Souzzi is conservative for a Democrat, this is a mistake.
The FR post is an excerpt according to the rules.....the rest of the article makes it clear Golisano is the Repubs first choice.
Don't be fooled. His first act was to raise property taxes just like he did in Glen Cove.
He spent the rest of his time pointing the finger at Albany regarding Medicare payments. When we went through a recent robbery spree it was largely ignored that he cut funding for the police. I got a message on my machine telling me how he worked hard to cut waste in our sanitation budget when a quick look at my tax bill shows that spending was up over 10% in each of the past two years.
He's trading on his looks but the substance isn't there. Now that Schumer is backing that's just more reason not to like him.
Suozzi a conservative?
He may have been angling for the Repub nod since he announced serveral weeks back that, as a Catholic, he was reconsidering his liberal position on abortion.....not pro-life yet, though.
Heh, why not. I live in Maine and both of our Senators are Democrats in drag.
Thanks for the ping. bfl
Thanks for the heads up. Still it's sad that this is the best the pubs have to offer. I had Golisano lawn signs up the last two elections.
The state GOP is a mess. I'm afraid it will be a long time until is straightens itself out.
Umm, no.
I'm all for inclusion, and I'd be glad to suppor a moderate like Weld, but supporting an out and out D, at least unless his name starts with 'Z' and ends with 'ell Miller', is just going too far.
No, they aren't.
They may not be true conservatives, but they are entirely different from D's. There is only one D in the Senate (Ben Nelson) that is even close to them in terms of voting records.
This is an entirely different situation.
"I'd be glad to suppor a moderate like Weld"
Please... STOP.
What is going on in New York is a disgrace. Golisano as a potential candidate ? He's a wealthy wacky liberal. William AIDS Weld as a potential candidate ? A megalomaniacal liberal who enjoys destroying everything he touches, whether it is a State GOP or small colleges in Kentucky. Suozzi, I believe, also is a liberal posturing as a moderate. Why would we want to nominate a LOYAL Democrat for Governor ?
Is this going to be Pataki's legacy, trying to outdo AIDS Weld in the incompetency department in destroying the NY GOP ? Where are all the NORMAL Republicans in this contest ?!?
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