Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-NY, has called on the Democratic Party to actively challenge the perception that it is unpatriotic, stating in a recent op-ed that this "public relations crisis" needs to be addressed immediately. Suozzi argued that while he loves America, "too many Americans associate those three words only with Republicans."
Suozzi, who represents New York's 3rd district, expressed frustration with the nation's current trajectory under President Trump, citing issues such as income inequality, the use of force against U.S. citizens, attacks on elections, and the proliferation of misinformation, bigotry, extremism, and political violence. He asserted that these concerns should not diminish patriotism, but rather highlight the American system's capacity for improvement.
"Democrats have long believed that America is great not because it is perfect, but because it has the capacity to become better," Suozzi wrote in The Wall Street Journal. He advocated for reclaiming the language of patriotism, emphasizing that the most American action is to help the nation live up to its founding ideals: liberty, equality, democracy, and the rule of law. Suozzi defined patriotism not as blind loyalty, but as faith in the country's worthiness of improvement and confidence in its ideals.
Recent surveys suggest a divergence in patriotic sentiment. An Elon University poll indicated that only 18% of self-described Democrats felt "proud" to be American, compared to 68% of Republicans. A Reuters/Ipsos survey found that 64% of Republicans planned to display an American flag on July 4th, while only 27% of Democrats intended to do so.
Suozzi, currently facing a re-election battle against Republican Michael Lipetri, a former state assemblyman, criticized the notion of blindly accepting the country's flaws. He stated that patriotism involves confronting shortcomings while recognizing the U.S. system's ability to correct mistakes. He also cautioned against both the "politics of resentment on the right and ideological purity on the left," suggesting that Americans seek practical solutions over culture wars.
"The choice Democrats face is clear," Suozzi concluded. "We can allow patriotism to become a partisan label, or we can reclaim a tradition that rightly belongs to every American."