Here's a candidate that is bucking the Party Establishment, adopting positions that are "unconventional" for a Democrat, and relying on "nontraditional" support for his candidacy. The candidate is Tom Suozzi - who is running against Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic nomination, and, for all intents and purposes, the Governorship, which will be decided by this nomination battle, imo.
From the NYTimes:
Thomas R. Suozzi, the Nassau county executive and a self-styled renegade Democrat, announced Saturday that he was challenging Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for his party's nomination for governor, running as an underdog who will rely to an unusual degree on businesses leaders who have been sued by Mr. Spitzer and New Yorkers who dislike his tactics.
Mr. Suozzi's bid, declared at a boisterous rally in his Long Island hometown here, stands as a direct affront to the New York Democratic Party, which is behind Mr. Spitzer with rare unanimity in the hope of electing the first Democrat as governor since Mario M. Cuomo was defeated in 1994.
It's true, the Party is behind Spitzer, except for Schumer possibly. So isn't this the type of "insurgent candidate" the netroots should get behind? In a word, No. He is funded by big business lawskirters who don't like that Spitzer is taking them on. Suozzi, in short, is a sellout punk.
He is aggressively seeking support from centrist Democrats, independents, and Republicans, by straying from New York liberal doctrine on issues like abortion rights and gay marriage and by targeting his own party's leadership with an agenda he calls Fix Albany.
. . . "New York voters have a long history of not going along with the candidate that the establishment tells them to support," said Jay Jacobs, Mr. Suozzi's campaign chairman, citing the Carey and Cuomo victories in their Democratic primaries, among others. "They don't like being told what to do, and their ears will perk up when there's a contest."
Yet it is Mr. Suozzi's support from Mr. Spitzer's enemies that could make for an especially fractious and unpredictable season up to the Democratic primary in September.
It is Mr. Suozzi's support from these folks that makes this even a race to discuss. Suozzi is a punk who will take money from the worst for the worst reasons.
Mr. Suozzi's aides say he has amassed more than $10 million in donations and pledges so far, twice the amount of cash on hand that he announced last month, though that fund-raising estimate could not be independently verified.
Of his $5 million on hand, more than $1 million has come with the help of business leaders like Kenneth G. Langone, the co-founder of Home Depot, who have been sued by the attorney general's office, according to several donors and campaign finance records. Mr. Langone is part of a suit alleging mishandling of New York Stock Exchange compensation.
That is the Suozzi campaign - payback to Spitzer for taking on the crooks of Wall Street.
Allies of Mr. Suozzi predict that the anti-Spitzer faction will contribute millions more toward his $20 million goal. But they also said they expected to win votes from other New Yorkers who believe Mr. Spitzer has been overzealous in his prosecutions and heavy-handed in his tactics.
"The likability factor is a very important piece of this," Mr. Jacobs said. "Tom is very good at walking into a room and connecting with people. He likes people. Think of Kennedy vs. Nixon. Think of Clinton vs. Bush or Bush vs. Kerry."
Riiiight. Fuck that. We know what Suozzi is and what he is doing. Fuck him and fuck his "insurgent campaign." We don't need "insurgents" who are lackeys for Wall Street.
Not all "outsiders" are the same. Suozzi is the type of outsider I abhor - a tool for the moneyed interests and for Republicans. Personally, I can't imagine ever supporting him for anything now.