Former Democratic vice presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman died Wednesday at the age of 82 due to complications from a fall, his family announced.
BREAKING NEWS: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman dies at age 82.
The Stamford, Conn., native died of complications from a fall, his family announced.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) March 27, 2024
Sarah and I join Hadassah and the entire Lieberman family in mourning the passing of our beloved Joe Lieberman.
Joe was an exemplary public servant, American patriot, and unparalleled defender of Jews and the Jewish state.
My first encounter with him…
– Benjamin Netanyahu March 27, 2024
Mr. Lieberman was in the news just days ago for criticizing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for calling for early elections in Israel. He called Schumer’s maneuver “outrageous” and “a mistake” in the midst of Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists.
Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Lieberman had an impressive career. He attended Yale University, attended law school, served as attorney general of Connecticut, and was elected to the state legislature.
He became more religious throughout his life and became the only Orthodox Jewish member of the Senate during his 24 years in office. He kept the Jewish Sabbath and wrote a book. gift of rest (2009), on its importance. On Saturday, voting day, he walked from his home in Georgetown to the Capitol building where his colleagues voted for him.
Lieberman was a New Deal liberal with a passion for civil rights, social welfare, and liberal social policy. However, he did not support same-sex marriage, and in 1996 he voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defended the importance of traditional families in raising children.
He rose to prominence as a moral voice in the Senate, and was one of the Democrats who most strongly opposed President Bill Clinton’s actions in the Monica Lewinsky affair, but ultimately ended up in the Clinton Senate in 1999. He voted against removing Clinton from office during the impeachment trial. .
When then-Vice President Al Gore ran for president in 2000, Lieberman was the obvious choice as his running mate. His criticism of Clinton allowed Gore to create moral distance from the troubled incumbent.
Mr. Lieberman’s nomination also marks a milestone in U.S. history, marking the first time a Jew will be considered for the nation’s second-highest office, with the possibility of promotion even higher.
Mr. Gore and Mr. Lieberman won the popular vote but fell short in the electoral vote after a controversial Florida recount and a Florida Supreme Court ruling. Bush vs. Gore (2000), ensuring victory for Republicans George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
However, Lieberman became a key ally of the Bush administration after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when he spoke out strongly in support of the war against al-Qaeda.
Drawing on his experience as a Jew and supporter of Israel, Lieberman emphasized the need to confront terrorists both militarily and ideologically. He also supported Bush in the Iraq War and remained steadfast in his support of the effort even in the face of a bloody counterinsurgency.
This led to a major backlash against Lieberman within the Democratic Party. He failed to gain support as a presidential candidate in 2004 and then faced major difficulties in 2006. The so-called “Netroot” of online left-wing activists targeted Lieberman for defeat and supported businessman Ned Lamont on an anti-war platform.
But after losing the primary, Lieberman became an independent, betting that Connecticut voters still supported him, and he won.
Lieberman went on to start No Labels, an independent group seeking moderate, nonpartisan alternatives to traditional candidates. He praised President Donald Trump’s pro-Israel policies, attended the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem in 2018, and said support for the Jewish state should not be a partisan issue, Breitbart News told.
he also appeared in Breitbart News Daily Several times on SiriusXM Patriot 125. In 2019, he told Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlowe that President Trump’s decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights was “extremely important.” He explained: [the president is] His unconventionality allows him to do things that previous presidents, perhaps presidents of both parties, thought were the right things to do but did not do them. ”
Lieberman also told Marlowe in 2019 that the Democratic Party’s shift to the “hard left” would hurt them. “There’s a difference between being a traditional liberal Democrat and being a far-left Democrat. And this country is not a far-left country,” he said. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) helped Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) avoid serious consequences for anti-Semitic comments, he argued that Democrats should punish anti-Semitism within their own ranks. He added that he had failed a “moral test” by refusing to do so.
He is survived by his wife Hadassah, ex-wife Elizabeth Haas, children and grandchildren.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of a recent book.Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidency‘ is now available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
