Don't call it a comeback -- Tom Suozzi's been here for years

WASHINGTON — Tom Suozzi is worried about his party.

“The Democratic brand is broken on a national level,” the New Yorker said recently. “What do Democrats stand for? People don’t really know.”

The answer, in Suozzi’s mind, is to focus on economic issues, and to relentlessly pitch themselves to voters. “We have to get back to the basic message of rebuilding the middle class in America,” he said.

The old high school wrestler is hard to pin down. He’s a son of immigrants who’s to the right of many others in his party on border security. He’s a longtime politician now in his second stint in Congress who nevertheless can say with a straight face that he’s “always been kind of independent” and a bit of an outsider.

Suozzi’s also hard to keep still. During an interview in his office in early April, he pressed a challenge coin into a reporter’s hand and offered a NY-3rd branded chocolate, fired off as many questions as he was asked, jumped up to grab a framed newspaper clipping from the wall, and asked an aide to look up a 12-year-old David Brooks column, which he later read aloud.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Q: You returned to Congress last February. What changes did you notice?

A: When I came to Congress the first time in 2017, nobody cared what the white Italian guy from Long Island had to say about immigration. Now, because it was such a big issue in my campaign, it was like, “Oh, the Suozzi way. Look how Suozzi did it,” which was like, “Secure the border, but treat people like human beings.”

My family story is defined by immigration and the American dream, and that’s how I look at America. I became chair of border security for the Democrats, and we’re trying to come out with a plan where we take all the different parts of our very broad, diverse party and find a common thread. I’m now also a chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, so people are just more interested in what I have to say than before.

I was shocked at how discouraged everybody was, though. Democrats and Republicans both said, “What are you doing back here? Nothing gets done.” So it’s a little sad about how dysfunctional things are, but I’m working on that.

Q: Did anyone give you grief for George Santos coming in last term, after you decided to run for governor instead of reelection? And when you came back to replace him, what was the reception like?

A: Some people did. But it’s been a great reception, and my colleagues on the Democratic side were tremendously helpful in helping me to win my special election.

I’ve always been kind of independent. I ran for governor of New York state in 2006 and got buried in that race. Did not turn out very well for me, but it did not turn out very well for Eliot Spitzer either. When I was the county executive in Nassau County, I lost to Ed Mangano, and he later went to jail. And then Santos was the guy who went right after me, so I’m surrounded by all these people who’ve gotten in a lot of trouble over the years.

When I ran for Congress the first time, I was not endorsed by most of the inside guys. Steve Israel, my predecessor, endorsed somebody else. So I’ve always been fighting to scrap my way along, and it was a great experience to have so much help [in the special election] from Hakeem Jeffries on down, and from people all over the country.

Q: New York Democrats had a bad year in 2022. You rebounded a bit last fall, but does the problem remain?

A: It still remains. In my district, for example, Biden won by 11 points in 2020, but Trump won in 2024. The Democratic brand is broken on a national level, and it’s exacerbated in states like New York.

We have to fix that, and to do that, we need to lay out clearly what our platform is, what we stand for. You know the answer when you ask, “What are the Republicans?” They want to make America great again. They want to cut taxes on the rich people. They want to reduce the size of government. They want secure borders, they support law enforcement.

What do Democrats stand for? People don’t really know. Choice and LGBT are important issues that I support, but you can’t build a party around that.

We have to get back to the basic message of rebuilding the middle class in America. We want to increase the minimum wage, and Republicans don’t. We want to support unions, and Republicans will not support the PRO Act.

Q: How do you think Democrats should get that message out there?

A: We don’t have the media infrastructure that the Republicans have. If you look at the top 500 podcasts, maybe 400 of them are right-leaning, 100 are left-leaning, and 50 of those 100 are beating the crap out of the Democrats every day.

Joe Biden did focus very much on the middle class, and he would say, “We have to build from the bottom up and the middle out.” But nobody knows what that means. He’s a great man who accomplished a lot of great things, but he was not a great communicator.

Q: You wrote a New York Times op-ed before Trump’s inauguration calling for compromise. How are you sticking to that, even as the base demands Democrats do more to resist the administration?

A: It’s really hard. I have really loud voices in my head of different groups of people. I’ve got one group saying, “It’s the end of the world. These guys are destroying democracy, and it’s hurting so many people.” I’ve got another side saying, “We’ve got to disrupt things. Your status quo is broken, and you have to crack some eggs to make an omelet.” And I’ve got a big group of people in between saying, “Can’t you guys work together and get stuff done?” Because of my nature and because of the demographics of my district, I gotta listen to all those people, and I gotta figure out how to balance that.

I will go hard when I think Elon Musk is getting access to information he shouldn’t have access to, or they’re firing the people that oversee the nuclear stockpile or measles, or [heading toward] cutting Medicaid. I’ll fight back on the stuff I disagree with and think is terrible, and I will also have my hand extended out to say, “I am here. I am willing to work together with you to try and find common ground.”

I have some people say, “What are you even talking to these guys for?” But it’s the only way to move our country forward.

_____

Quick hits

Last book you read? [Oklahoma Republican Sen.] James Lankford’s book, “Turnaround.” He’s a good guy.

In politics, can the ends justify the means? There is a great article written by David Brooks in 2012 or so. He had just seen the movie “Lincoln,” and he talked about the two extremes: I’ll do whatever it takes, or I’m going to stick to my values and be pure. And like Lincoln, it’s those rare people who balance on a knife’s edge between the two.

Most meaningful thing on your office wall? An article from the local paper in 1960 about my father, which my immigrant grandfather cut out and put in a frame. I’m going to cry if I read it to you: “Success Story.” My father was born in Italy, came to the United States as a young boy, fought in World War II, and then went to Harvard Law School on the GI Bill. He couldn’t get a job at a law firm, because nobody would hire the Italians in those days, so he went back to Glen Cove and ended up running for city court judge.

Your least popular opinion? Let’s work together with the Republicans to try to get stuff done.

Something your friends know about you that others don’t? When I was 33 years old, I had a complete herniation of my disc when I was on a cruise ship with my wife, and I still have a little bit of a limp.