Gov. Eliot Spitzer, in an ardent defense of his plan to license immigrant drivers, said Monday he will "not be scared off" by the "rhetoric of the far right that want to demagogue the issue."

His impassioned pitch came before a friendly crowd of 300 party supporters at the reorganization meeting of the state Democratic committee at the Garden City Hotel.

Spitzer's appearance was marked by one icy moment when, after his speech, he passed by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the next speaker, without speaking to him or shaking hands. Cuomo, who did a report that led to the disciplining of Spitzer aides in the "Choppergate" scandal, later said he did not view it as a snub.

Some local Democratic officials who attended the event, and others reached later, warned that Spitzer's push for licensing may create an unnecessary weapon in local Republican campaigns.

Shortly after Spitzer's speech, Joseph Mondello, Nassau and state Republican chairman, swung away, lambasting Spitzer's plan for compromising homeland security.

"It is deplorable that the governor is so willing to compromise the security of the millions of New Yorkers just so he can engage in this misguided pandering in pursuit of votes," Mondello said.

In his speech, however, Spitzer criticized those who have the "temerity" to invoke the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "I say, 'Shame on them.'"

Spitzer also defended the proposal to allow immigrants to obtain licenses as a way to lower insurance costs, increase public safety and cut down on those who now drive without licenses or insurance.

"We have put in place a policy that makes sense," he said. "It's a policy that says if you can prove who you are with a foreign passport and people verify that with multiple other identifiers ... then we will give you a driver's license."

However, Richard Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman, worried that Republicans will use the licensing issue to tar Democrats in all local races. "I wish the governor would have consulted with some of the suburban counties that he is impacting with this licensing proposal," he said.

But Jay Jacobs, Nassau Democratic chairman, downplayed the issue's impact on local races, saying it is a state issue, not a local one. "It may be an issue in 2008, but not this year," he said.

In Suffolk, Legis. Jack Eddington (D-Medford) and Democratic legislative candidate Brian Beedenbender have already come out against Spitzer's plan and are circulating petitions against it.

The Suffolk Legislature's presiding officer, William Lindsay (D-Holbrook), called Spitzer's plan "troubling," saying, "I don't think he thought it out all the way."

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