Kossacks: recently, progressive friends of mine have alerted me to many problems with Eliot Spitzer's stances on crucial issues. To be fair, I will divulge that I am a huge Suozzi fan, but these tidbits only cemented my conviction that Tom Suozzi is the true progressive choice in the NY Gov race. I feel many Democrats and Progressives jumped on the Spitzer bandwagon because he is so popular in polls and they want a sure win in the general election this november. But Suozzi is beating the Republican nominee, John Faso by over 20 points in that matchup, so there is no reason to support Spitzer just because we want a winner.
Here are some of Spitzer's right-wing stances:
1) Eliot Spitzer vs. Howard Dean, re: Iraq:
Many democrats supported the war at the outset, but have since realized their mistake and regained the confidence of the Progressive community. But Eliot Spitzer? His last public statement on Iraq is a harsh attack on Howard Dean as recently as December, 2005, for having the audacity to criticize Bush on his conduct:
Howard Dean's stance on the Iraq war is "flat out dead wrong" - that was the message Attorney General Eliot Spitzer had last night for the Democratic Party chairman who has said that the war in Iraq is "not winnable."
At a fund-raiser in Midtown - where the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful raised a whopping $5 million for his campaign coffers - Spitzer was asked what he thought of the national party boss' gloomy prediction.
"He's flat out dead wrong," Spitzer said. "Of course we can win that war."
This source is from Lexisnexis, as the Post has taken the article off their website, but you can read a blog description of it here:
http://www.alarmingnews.com/...
2) Eliot Spitzer is a HUGE Supporter of the Death Penalty During the recent debate with Suozzi, Spitzer aid he would sign the death penalty bill that was just passed by the Republican NY Senate. Souzzi? This is from his website:
Tom Suozzi Opposes the Death Penalty
The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It violates the right to life. It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on the innocent. It has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments. The death penalty is not a solution; it is another type of short-term quick fix.
The death penalty is unfairly applied to people of color.
Although only 30% of first degree murder cases in New York from 1995 through 2004 involved a white victim, 48% of the cases in which a prosecutor sought the death penalty involved a white victim. In contrast, while 42% of cases involved a black victim, 30% of cases in which prosecutors sought the death penalty involved a black victim. In 20% of first degree murder cases, the victim was Hispanic, while 14% of cases where the death penalty was sought involved a Hispanic victim.
Tom Suozzi will veto any legislation that reinstates the death penalty in New York.
Currently there is a court ordered moratorium on the death penalty in New York State. However, the New York State Legislature is currently debating whether to bring it back. In June of 2006 the Senate majority voted to resurrect a flawed, unfair, costly and dysfunctional capital punishment system. As Governor Tom will veto any death penalty legislation passed by the New York State legislature and will ensure that the cruel and flawed death penalty punishment will not be inflicted on the citizens of New York State.
Eliot Spitzer supports the death penalty.
http://www.tomsuozzi.com/...
Apparently Eliot Spitzer is apparently ok with the racist way the Death Penalty is applied.
3) Eliot Spitzer wrote the NY version of the PATRIOT Act, which had rediculous restrictions on civil liberties:
While outrage at the U.S.A. Patriot Act has become almost common courtesy in liberal and progressive circles, there is little knowledge of how New York's Anti-Terrorist Act has created the potential for easier prosecution in state courts of nonterrorist, even constitutionally protected, activity. It refers to acts that are ''intended to...intimidate or coerce a civilian population; influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion,'' which skeptics say could be interpreted to include political protest. And there is scant awareness of the details of the additional ''anti-terror measures'' Pataki called for in his January 9 state of the state.
http://www.villagevoice.com/...
"...our usually level-headed state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer helped craft the initial, reprehensible anti-terrorism package that fortunately languished for 2 years...(this included) a provision that would have vastly increased government's ability to withhold information from the public, a virtual gutting of the Freedom of Information Law.
From the Albany Times Union, thru Lexis Nexis, but there is an internet link at this site:
http://archive.wn.com/...
4) Spitzer Started the New York Office of A Right-Wing Think Tank, the Center for Community Interest
This think tank centered around Guiliani-Style quality of life issues- that should say it all! See for yourself: http://www.communityinterest.org/...
Spitzer has always had questionable progressive credentials:
Progressives dismiss Spitzer for campaigning like a Republican, thumping his chest as the toughest on crime and pandering in a TV ad in which he calls for mandatory HIV testing for rape suspects, though medical experts insist that such information is virtually useless to the victim. Then there's his pumping of hundreds of thousands of dollars into upstate party offices just before the convention.
From THE PEOPLE'S LAWYER?, Village Voice, September 08, 1998
5) Eloit Spitzer has no stance on the Urstadt Law, which severely weakens Rent-Regulation in NYC and is partly responsible for the middle-class flight out of the city. Tom Suozzi supports its immediate Repeal
You can see Tom's stance here: http://www.tomsuozzi.com/...
Spitzer has never said anything on the topic, not surprising since he is very cozy with the big developers in NY, including his father, Bernard, who made about half a billion dollars on NY real estate.
6) FInally, Tom Suozzi has Declared War on the Dysfunctional NY Legislature, whereas Spitzer seems ok with the Status Quo
Tom Suozzi started http://www.fixalbany.com, a PAC that soaught to back opponents to incumbent Democratic Assemblymembers in primaries and Republican State Senators in General elections to shake up the Albany dysfunction that is a true bipartisan problem. He knocked out one incumbent of each in the 2004 election. What followed? The NY legislature passed the first on-time budget in over 20 years! That is some serious balls! God bless this man! Suozzi really has the credentials to be a Netroots candidate just because of that! But Spitzer? He has taken on wall street but certainly not Albany; more members of New York City's ALbany delegation have been indicted than have lost an election in the last 2 years. Eliot Spitzer has a 'public integrity office" that is supposed to police the lawmakers, but has done nothing. He even gave $77,000 to the later-convicted Brooklyn Boss Clarence Norman to buy his support in the 1998 Attorney General primary. Spitzer thinks it's ok to keep "playing the game" in Albany and he's not gonna change shit!
Tom has some netroots support on this blog, and this is a diary I found particularly good: http://www.dailykos.com/...
Kossacks, I really just think that these issues should be known before the NY dems elect a man who is not a progressive just because they think he will win.