GOP-led vote on socialism aims to put Suozzi, Gillen in bind

WASHINGTON — Baiting a political trap for swing-district centrist Democrats like Long Island Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen, House Republicans on Tuesday forced a vote on condemning socialism and democratic socialist policy positions.

Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) opposed the resolution, which passed 220 to 192, with eight other Democrats joining with Republicans in favor and two other Democrats voting only "present."

But the two Long Islanders and most other Democrats panned the resolution as less about socialism, and more about promoting Republican voter suppression efforts and creating campaign ads. That’s because the resolution also contained GOP language supporting enforcement of President Donald Trump’s Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act.

The SAVE America act, which already has passed by the House but not yet the Senate, would among other things require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot.

"This resolution is nothing but a cheap political stunt to force the extreme SAVE Act on the American people," Gillen explained, offering that the measure would make it harder for millions of American citizens to vote.

She said her focus is on advancing common-sense solutions for Long Islanders, "not extremist policies on either side."

Kim Devlin, a Suozzi campaign spokeswoman, described the resolution as "phony" and "exhibit 1" of House leaders seeking to create a campaign ad rather than address real problems Americans face.

"If the Republicans really wanted to condemn socialism, they wouldn't have put in a poison pill related to the SAVE Act that they knew Democrats would never support," Devlin said.

Several Democrats, including Suozzi, had offered an amended version that was blocked by Republicans that would keep language condemning socialism, without the election and voter-ID provisions. 

But the non-binding vote on Tuesday was as much as anything geared to providing Republicans election-year ammunition to depict Suozzi, Gillen and other moderate Democrats as refusing or reluctant to denounce socialism.

This, at a time when the Democratic Party is facing internal fissures with the ascendence of its far left, with Suozzi among those openly saying he has problems with aspects of the democratic socialists’ agenda, painting himself as more pro-union and business.

Republicans have made their fight against socialism a main talking point in their midterm election efforts to keep the House majority, casting socialists and progressives who have scored recent primary wins as extreme or even destructive.

 On Tuesday, before the vote, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) described the Nov. 3 midterm elections as "a ‘contrast for America year,’ and as we summarize it — it's a contrast between common sense and crazy, and now common sense and communism.” 

Johnson said as many as 40 self-avowed socialists have won their Democratic primaries for Congress or other offices.

In fact, Suozzi himself had initiated a push this summer for his moderate Democratic colleagues to sign a so-called "Promise to America" pledge explicitly stating that they are "capitalist, not socialist.” 

Gillen also has signed that pledge, amid efforts by the National Republican Congressional Committee and others to also group her in ads with left-wing figures like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx, Queens).

But Suozzi’s pledge push has prompted only eight of the more than 200 other House Democrats to also sign, although some state legislators and other non-office-holding party members have.

Most other Democrats have steered away, as their party’s chances of taking over the House majority in the November may depend on some democratic socialists and progressives winning their elections.