Joe Lieberman

Joseph Lieberman
Junior Senator, Connecticut
In office January 1989–Present
Preceded by	Lowell Weicker
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2007)
Personal details
Nationality	american
Political party	Democratic Connecticut for Lieberman (if Democratic primary loss)
Spouse	Hadassah Lieberman

Joe Lieberman, (born February 24, 1942) is a Democratic U.S. senator from Connecticut, best known as Al Gore's running mate on the Democratic ticket in 2000. The religiously-observant Lieberman was the first Jew nominated for Vice President of the United States by a major party. In 2004, Lieberman campaigned for the Democratic nomination for President, but did not gain enough support from primary voters, and dropped out of the race.

Lieberman defeated moderate Republican Lowell Weicker to win election to the United States Senate in 1988 and was re-elected in 1994 and 2000. Like Bill Clinton and Dick Gephardt, Lieberman served as chairman of the influential Democratic Leadership Council, a group of Democrats that states the goal of "reshaping American politics by moving it beyond the old left-right debate."[1]

Because of his hawkish foreign policy stance and his emphasis on bi-partisan solutions, Lieberman is a politician that has been hard to classify in left-right terms. However, on domestic issues, his voting record is generally in line with other Democrats; he has consistently received a high rating from the Americans for Democratic Action and a low rating from the American Conservative Union.[2]

Lieberman views himself as a Democrat in the tradition of John F. Kennedy and the late Washington Senator and Democratic National Chairman Henry "Scoop" Jackson, who advocated an internationalist foreign policy and a liberal domestic program.

Currently, Senator Lieberman is in a race for the Democratic nomination for re-election in his state.

Early life and career

Lieberman was born in Stamford, Connecticut to Henry Lieberman (b. Apr, 3, 1915 - d. Jan 3, 1986), the son of Polish Jewish immigrants and Marcia Manger (b. Nov. 1, 1914 - d. Jun. 25, 2005) of Austrian Jewish background. The Liebermans owned Hamilton Liquor Store, which the couple operated until Henry Lieberman’s retirement in 1977. [3] The couple has a son, Joe, and two daughters, Rietta Miller and Ellen Lieberman. Joe Lieberman attended Stamford High School and was elected as president of his senior class in 1960. [4] He received his BA in Politics and Economics from Yale University in 1964 and his LLB law degree from Yale Law School in 1967, after which he worked at the prestigious New Haven law firm of Wiggin & Dana. While at Yale, Lieberman was the chairman of the Yale Daily News in his senior year. He traveled as a Freedom Rider to Mississippi to help African-Americans register to vote. Lieberman was a state leader of the Robert F. Kennedy presidential campaign in 1968 and elected to the Connecticut State Senate in 1970, where he served for 10 years, including the last 6 as Majority Leader. He suffered his one defeat in Connecticut elections in the Reagan landslide year of 1980, losing the race for the Third District Congressional seat to Republican Lawrence Joseph DeNardis, a state senator from suburban Hamden with whom he had worked closely on bipartisan legislative efforts. From 1982 to 1988, he served as Connecticut's 21st Attorney General and emphasized consumer protection and environmental enforcement.

Personal life

Lieberman met his first wife, Betty Haas, at the congressional office of Senator Abraham Ribicoff (D-Conn), where they worked as summer student interns. They married in 1965 while Joe Lieberman was in law school. They had two children – Matt and Rebecca. Betty, a Reform Jew, later worked as a psychiatric social worker. In 1981, the couple divorced due to their different levels or religous observation [citation needed]. In 1982, he met his second wife, Hadassah Freilich Tucker while he was running for attorney general of Connecticut. Freilich is the child of a Holocaust survivor. According to Washington Jewish Week, Lieberman called her for a date because he thought it would be interesting to go out with someone named Hadassah. (Hadassah is also the name of the Women's Zionist Organization of America.)[5] They married on March 20th, 1983.[6]Since March 2005, Hadassah has been working for Hill & Knowlton, a lobbying firm based in New York City, as a senior counselor in its health and pharmaceuticals practice. Previously, she held senior positions at Saint Raphael Hospital in New Haven, the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), Pfizer, National Research Council, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Lehman Brothers. Joe and Hadassah Lieberman have a daughter, Hana. Lieberman also has a stepson from Hadassah's previous marriage, Ethan Tucker. Matt Lieberman graduated from Yale University in 1989, and from Yale Law School in 1994. He is the Head of School of Greenfield Hebrew Academy in Atlanta, GA. Rebecca Lieberman graduated from Barnard College in 1991, and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1997. Ethan Tucker graduated from Harvard College in 1997 and was a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Lieberman never served in the military. A spokesperson told the Hartford Courant in 1994 that Lieberman received an educational deferment from the Vietnam War draft when he was an undergraduate and law student from 1960-67. Upon graduating from law school at 25, Lieberman qualified for a family deferment as he was already married and had one child, Matt. The draft ended in 1973.[7]

Between 2000 and 2004, the Liebermans' income ranged from $266,600 to $499,735. In their joint 2005 federal tax return, the couple's total income in 2004 was $366,084, which includes $146,608 from Joe Lieberman's job in the Senate and $76,950 from Hadassah Lieberman's job with Hill & Knowlton. The couple reported another $91,446 in income from speaking and consulting fees – largely earned by Hadassah – and $27,000 in capital gains earnings. They paid more than $60,000 in taxes. They made $13,127 in charitable contributions and received a $5,241 tax refund. Lieberman underpaid his federal taxes in 2002, resulting in a $739 penalty.[8]

Senate tenure

Lieberman was first elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat in 1988, by a margin of 10,000 votes. He scored the nation's biggest political upset that year, after being backed by a coalition of Democrats and unaffiliated voters with support from conservative Republicans, who were disappointed in three-term Republican incumbent Lowell Weicker's liberal voting record and personal style. Lieberman ran especially well in blue collar conservative areas of the 5th District, where Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis was swamped. During the campaign, he received support from the hard-line Cuban-exile community who were unhappy with Weicker, who was known as a supporter of Fidel Castro. Lieberman has since remained loyal to the anti-Castro cause.[9] Six years later, Lieberman made history by winning by the largest landslide ever in a Connecticut Senate race, drawing 67 percent of the vote and beating his opponent by more than 350,000 votes. In 1998, Lieberman earned widespread praise as the first prominent Democrat to publicly challenge Bill Clinton for the judgment exercised in his affair with his intern Monica Lewinsky, but he voted against removing Clinton from office by impeachment. In 2000, while concurrently running for the vice presidency, Lieberman was elected to a third Senate term with 64 percent of the vote easily defeating the Republican Philip Giordano.

When control of the Senate switched from Republicans to Democrats in June 2001, Lieberman became Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, with oversight responsibilities for a broad range of government activities. He is also a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and chair of its Subcommittee Clean Air, Wetlands and Private Property; the Armed Services Committee, where he chaired the Subcommittee on AirLand Forces and sits of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities; and the Small Business Committee. When Republicans gained control of the Senate in January 2003, Lieberman resumed his role as ranking minority member of the committees he had once chaired.

Vice-Presidential campaign

File:Goreconvention.jpg

Joe Lieberman gained national recognition when Al Gore picked him as running mate in 2000.

In August 2000, the Democratic nominee for president, Al Gore, selected Lieberman to be his vice-presidential running mate. Lieberman was the first Jewish candidate on a major party ticket. The announcement of Lieberman's selection resulted in an increase in support for Gore's campaign.[10]

Like Democratic VP candidates Lyndon Johnson in 1960, and Lloyd Bentsen in 1988, Lieberman's Senate term was due to expire during the election cycle, so he decided to stage a run to maintain that seat as well. The strategy of running for both offices was questioned, saying that it "threaten(ed) his party's chances of winning a Senate majority." Lieberman's campaign argued that it gave Connecticut residents more electoral power in upcoming years. [11]

Lieberman later criticized Al Gore for adopting a populist theme during their 2000 campaign, and stated he had objected to Gore's "people vs. the powerful" message, believing it was not the best strategy for Democrats to use to win the election.[12]

Presidential campaign

On January 13, 2003, Lieberman announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination as a candidate in the 2004 presidential election, the first Jew to run for president on a Democratic ticket. He hoped for a strong finish in New Hampshire, saying he had "Joementum", but he placed fifth in New Hampshire. Although he placed second in Delaware a few weeks later, Lieberman withdrew his candidacy.

In December 2003, Lieberman's former running mate, Gore, endorsed Governor Howard Dean's presidential candidacy saying, "This is about all of us and all of us need to get behind the strongest candidate (Dean)". Gore did not call Lieberman to apprise him of the endorsement. Lieberman saw an increase in campaign donations after Gore's endorsement. [13]

Political positions

Domestic policy

Environment

Lieberman voted against Gale Norton as Secretary of Interior, and voted for funding for greater risk assessment by the EPA. He also argued that the EPA has done a poor job of mercury clean-up.[14]

Gay rights

Lieberman opposes legalising same-sex marriage but supports civil unions. He voted in favor of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. The gay rights organization, Human Rights Campaign, endorsed Lieberman in the 2006 election. The Human Rights Campaign wrote, "From his sponsorship and votes on workplace fairness and hate crimes legislation, to his support of comprehensive HIV/AIDS treatment, to his consistent opposition to efforts to put discrimination in the U.S. Constitution, Senator Lieberman is a trusted ally in Congress. From his service in the Connecticut Legislature to his three terms in the Senate, the Senator has proven to be a reliable ally and supporter of equality."[15]

Flag burning

Lieberman has consistently voted against movements to create an amendment in the constitution that would prohibit flag burning. [16]

Health care and reproductive rights

Lieberman supports stem cell research. During the 2004 campaign, he said, "The day I walk into the Oval Office, the first thing I'm going to do is rescind the Bush administration restrictions on [embryonic] stem-cell research."[17]

Part of his 2004 campaign platform was to create the American Center for Cures. He also sought to have all children covered by government-sponsored health-care programs.

Lieberman has consistently voted to support the right for abortion and voted against amendments seeking to prevent taxpayers from paying for abortions in federal healthcare programs. He was also a co-sponsor of the "Freedom of Choice Act". During the 2000 Presidential campaign, he promised to not to support legislation that was being introduced in Congress to override the FDA decision on RU-486. Lieberman said that Orthodox Judaism considers abortion to be a personal matter, although many Orthodox Jews disagree.[18]

In March 2006, according to the The New Haven Register, when asked about the approach of the Catholic hospitals on contraceptives for rape victims, Lieberman said he believes hospitals that refuse to give contraceptives to rape victims for "principled reasons" shouldn’t be forced to do so. "In Connecticut, it shouldn’t take more than a short ride to get to another hospital," he said.[19]

Social Security privatization

According to Senator Lieberman's website:

"Senator Lieberman cosponsored a resolution urging the Congress to reject the President’s Social Security Commission's reports, which would cut benefits to retirees and force working people to postpone retirement by creating private accounts which privatize part of Social Security. Instead, Senator Lieberman voted to establish a reserve fund to strengthen Social Security by reducing the Bush tax cuts." [20]

News articles appearing in the New York Times and Hartford Courant and elsewhere have called into question Lieberman's opposition to private accounts, and have portrayed Lieberman as a leading compromiser on the issue of Social Security.

"This is an ongoing problem, and we'd be wise to deal with it," Mr. Lieberman told The Hartford Courant in January when asked about Social Security. "If we can figure out a way to help people through private accounts or something else, great." [21]

"Mr. Lieberman praised [Republican Senator]Graham for trying to fashion a plan that could win bipartisan support. Soon after, an unnamed aide to Mr. Lieberman told Congress Daily, a Washington newsletter, that 'he's still in a listening and learning stage and keeping an open mind' but had not taken a position." [22]

Tax reform, labor and business

Lieberman has voted against much of the Bush tax plan. [23] However, in the 2004 Democratic Presidential Primary, he criticized the desire of most Democrats to repeal all or almost all of Bush's tax cuts, arguing that "tax cuts are an important tool of fiscal policy to get the economy going again".[24]

Lieberman was endorsed by the Connecticut AFL-CIO over Ned Lamont in the 2006 Democratic Primary election.[25]

Lieberman is a champion of stock options. He helped defeat the Financial Accounting Standards Board's proposal of requiring the reporting of the costs of stock options as a business expense during the mid-nineties. Facing the growing stock option scandals, Lieberman ackowledged that "clearly a disproportionate per cent of the options went to a small percentage of executives. That was disappointing."

Terri Schaivo Case

Lieberman was a vocal opponent of efforts to remove the feeding tube sustaining the Terri Schiavo. Breaking with many in his party, Lieberman joined efforts by Republican Florida Governor Jeb Bush's and the Republican congress to circumvent state and federal court rulings siding with the husband, Michael Schiavo. [26]

Violent video games and minors

On November 29, 2005, Lieberman, together with Hillary Clinton and Evan Bayh, introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act. The act is intended to protect children from what he says is inappropriate content found in video games. Lieberman has been praised by many for his stance on regulating the sales of violent video games, while others have been angered by this position. He inspired the advent of the Entertainment Software Rating Board. He has denounced the violence contained in video games and has attempted to regulate sales of violent video games to minors,arguing that games should have to be labeled based upon age-appropriateness. [27] Regarding Grand Theft Auto, he said, "The player is rewarded for attacking a woman, pushing her to the ground, kicking her repeatedly and then ultimately killing her, shooting her over and over again. I call on the entertainment companies--they've got a right to do that, but they have a responsibility not to do it if we want to raise the next generation of our sons to treat women with respect." [28] He has also been vocal in his concern over violence in music.

"The Gang of Fourteen"

On May 23, 2005, Lieberman was one of fourteen moderate senators, dubbed the "Gang of 14," who forged a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus avoiding the Republican leadership's implementation of the so-called "nuclear option". Under the agreement, the Democrats would exercise the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in an "extraordinary circumstance," and three of the filibustered Bush appellate court nominees – (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor) – would receive a vote by the full Senate, which resulted in their confirmation.

Gun control

Lieberman received an "F" rating from the National Rifle Association and a 90% from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. [29] He has sought to ban guns in schools and places of worship. He has voted against prohibiting most lawsuits against gun manufacturers, but cast another vote that would immunize gun manufacturers from lawsuits over gun violence. He has voted to require background checks at gun shows and against allowing guns to be sold without trigger locks.[30] In 2000, he opposed Al Gore's position to require a license to purchase a new handgun. Although they disagreed on this issue, Gore asked Lieberman not to change his position.[31].

Education

Lieberman has argued that Bush's "No Child Left Behind" plan, which he calls a "progressive piece of legislation," has nevertheless been insufficiently funded. He said, "A month after he signed the law, President Bush under funded it by $6 billion less than was promised in the legislation. This is creating greater pressures on our schools to perform and educate our kids - which is appropriate - but without giving them sufficient resources to make it happen."[32]

Foreign Policy

Iraq War

Lieberman, along with numerous Democratic & Rebublican senators, voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, also called the Iraq Resolution. Other prominent Democratic Senators who also voted for the resolution include: John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Mary Landrieu, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Evan Bayh, Harry Reid, Jay Rockefeller, Tom Daschle, Tom Harkin, Ernest Hollings [33]

Lieberman defended his support of the Iraq Resolution. In a November 29 2005 op-ed piece for The Wall Street Journal, Lieberman praised the efforts of the U.S. military in the occupation of Iraq and criticized both parties:

"I am disappointed by Democrats who are more focused on how President Bush took America into the war in Iraq almost three years ago, and by Republicans who are more worried about whether the war will bring them down in next November's elections, than they are concerned about how we continue the progress in Iraq in the months and years ahead."[34]

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid rebuked Lieberman, saying, "I've talked to Senator Lieberman, and unfortunately he is at a different place on Iraq than the majority of the American people." House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi added, "I completely disagree with Lieberman. I believe that we have a responsibility to speak out if we think that the course of action that our country is not making the American people safer, making our military stronger and making the region more stable."[35] Lieberman responded, "I've had this position for a long time – that we need to finish the job."[36]

Lieberman's defense of the administration resulted in speculation that he is attempting to position himself to replace Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld or another high-ranking government official, but Lieberman has denied having any desire for this.[37] In 2005, media reports suggested that Lieberman might replace Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; [38] Lieberman responded with, "It's a total fantasy, there's just no truth to it." [39]

On June 22, 2006, Lieberman voted against two resolutions offered by other Senate Democrats proposing the United States begin withdrawing troops from Iraq. Lieberman was one of six Democrats to vote against the more moderate of the two measures, introduced by Democratic Senators Carl Levin and Jack Reed.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Lieberman supported the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and continues to do so.[40] During the the 2004 Democratic presidential in South Carolina, he said, "though it's cost some jobs, has actually netted out 900,000 new jobs that were created by NAFTA.".[41] Lieberman also voted for the Central America-United States-Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in 2005. [42][43]

Israel

In 2002, Lieberman sponsored a pro-Israel US Senate Resolution (S. Res. 247) regarding the Middle East Conflict, "expressing solidarity with Israel in its fight against terrorism".[44] Considered one of Israel's staunchest supporters in the Senate, Lieberman currently ranks fourth on the list of candidates receiving money from pro-Israel PACs in 2006, according to The Center for Responsive Politics. "As of July 10, the most recent figures available, Lieberman had received $66,500 for the PACs out of $8.5 million raised." According to the Associate Press, in 2000, Lieberman received $83,000 from pro-Israel PACs when he ran for his Senate seat.[45]

Homeland Security

As Chairman (at the time) of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Lieberman was instrumental in sponsoring the bill that formed the Department of Homeland Security.[46]

Geneva Conventions

Lieberman supports the Alberto Gonzales policy memo on the application of provisions of the Geneva Conventions. He believes "the decision was, in my opinion, a reasonable one, and ultimately a progressive one." He agrees with Gonzales in describing the Geneva Conventions as "quaint". He also does not believe there is a connection between the Gonzales/Bybee memos and the Abu Ghraib torture scandal. [47][48] In 2006, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that "at least" Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions is applicable to combatants "in the territory of" a signatory of the Conventions. [49]

2006 re-election campaign

Main article: Connecticut U.S. Senate election, 2006

Lieberman is running for re-election to his Senate seat in the 2006 election.

Democratic Primary

Endorsements

• Former President Bill Clinton, who campaigned for Lieberman in Waterbury on July 24
• U.S. Senator Chris Dodd
• U.S. Senator and Minority Leader Harry Reid
• CA Senator Barbara Boxer, who campaigned for Lieberman on July 24
• DE Senator Joe Biden, HA Senator Daniel Inouye, CO Senator Ken Salazar, who campaigned for Lieberman on July 31
• NY Senator Hillary Clinton
• IL Senator Barak Obama
• IN Senator Evan Bayh
• NJ Senator Frank Lautenberg
• DE Senator Tom Carper
• CA Senator Diane Feinstein
• OR Senator Mark Pryor
• OR Senator Ron Wyden
• NE Senator Ben Nelson
• Civil Rights Leader and GA Congressman John Lewis who pledged to support Lieberman in the general election as well, regardless of the outcome.[50]
• CT Representative Rosa DeLauro
• CT Representative John Larson
• CT Lt. Governor Kevin Sullivan
• CT Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz
• CT State Comptroller Nancy Wyman
• CT State Treasurer Denise Nappier
• Former Democratic Party Chair John Olson
• virtually all of Connecticut's State Democratic Legislators
• All Democratic CT candidates for U.S. Congress
• Both Democratic CT candidates for Governor
• The League of Conservation Voters
• CT Planned Parenthood
• UNITE-HERE, The Human Rights Campaign
• The CT AFL-CIO, the Food and Commercial workers, the CT Teamsters, CT Letter Carriers, Firefighters, Carpenters, Communication Workers of America Locals 1103 and 1298, Connecticut's Postal Workers, American Federation of Musicians, the National Association of Government Employees and the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 19. [51].

• Moderate Republican Congressman Christopher Shays.[52]

• Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund has endorsed Lieberman.[53][54]

• AFL-CIO and affiliated labor organizations endorsed Lieberman.[55][56] However, Connecticut AFT, the second largest AFL-CIO union in Connecticut, endorsed Lamont (see below).

• Planned Parenthood Federal PAC endorsed Lieberman on June 30, 2006.[57]

• NARAL Pro-choice America PAC, which lobbies for reproductive rights nationally, has endorsed Lieberman.[58] However, Carolyn Treiss, head of Connecticut NARAL, supports Lamont.[59]

• Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equal rights organizations in the United States, has endorsed Lieberman.[60]

• On June 14, 2006, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman Charles Schumer said that the DSCC might endorse Lieberman even if he runs as an independent, if Lieberman agrees to vote for Democrat Harry Reid for majority leader if elected.[61]

Newspapers

• The Hartford Courant, the state's largest newspaper, endorsed Lieberman in its July 30th edition.[62] (The Courant endorsed George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, but has not endorsed a Republican U.S. Senate candidate since 1988.)

• The Connecticut Post, the state's 3rd largest paper, serving Southern Connecticut. [63]

• The New York Post.[64]

• The Washington Post endorsed Lieberman saying that he "has been faithful to the fundamental values that most Democrats associate with their party". [65]

Primary Opponent

Ned Lamont, a wealthy Greenwich businessman, is opposing Lieberman in the Democratic primary election. Lamont is the great-grandson of Thomas W. Lamont, former chair of J.P. Morgan & Co., and has contributed $1.5 million to his primary campaign, pledging an additional million dollars. Lamont and Lieberman debated on the local NBC affiliate [66] and are engaged in a spirited campaign. Lamont is running primarily on the Iraq war and tries to distinguish himself from Lieberman on issues including opposition to the Patriot Act, his support of the right to same-sex marriage, support for universal health care[67], support of universal availability of pre-kindergarten public school, his opposition to capital punishment, and Lamont's pledge not to accept money from lobbyists. He has received the backing of former Republican U.S. Senator and independent Governor Lowell Weicker, who was unseated by Lieberman in 1988. He also received the endorsement of George Jepsen, former Democratic State Chair, and official endorsements from the New York Times, National Organization for Women, Democracy for America, and Moveon.org. [68] Jim Dean, director of Democracy for America and brother of Howard Dean, also supports Lamont. Recently Lamont received endorsements from the Connecticut chapters of teachers' unions, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association.[69]

General Election

Republican opponents

Alan Schlesinger hopes to become the next Senator from Connecticut. His positions include guaranteed social security, planning for economic difficulties with the Medicare programs, Seasonal Employee visas to stem illegal immigration, eliminating the deficit by 2010, tax reform and bringing the troops in Iraq home soon.[70]

The Hartford Courant reported on July 21 that Schlesinger had been sued by two New Jersey casinos for gambling debts;[71] his use of an alias while gambling at the Foxwoods Casino had been a previous controversy in the Courant.[72]

In addition, State Rep Diana S. Urban of North Stonington filed paperwork to run as an independent candidate, and if she garners the necessary signatures, will be on the November ballot as well. Urban terms herself a "Republican in the Lincoln/Teddy Roosevelt ilk."[73]

The Bush kiss

File:Bushkisseslieberman.jpg

President Bush leans close to Lieberman at the 2005 State of the Union.

Following his 2005 State of the Union address, President Bush, while shaking lawmakers’ hands, abruptly grasped Lieberman’s head in both hands and leaned in close to his cheek. Although Lieberman's face is obscured at the moment Bush leaned in,[74] the incident quickly became known as "the kiss." At first, Lieberman staff humorously referred to the embrace as "some kind of Yale thing." [75] However, as political backlash arose among Lamont supporters and other critics of Lieberman, many Lamont backers have used the incident in a campaign button: "The Kiss: Too Close for Comfort."[76] Lieberman has since denied the kiss ever took place. "I don't think he kissed me, he leaned over and gave me a hug and said 'thank you for being a patriotic American,'" Lieberman told Time magazine.[77]

Campaign timeline

Early in the race, Lieberman led by 46 points according to a May 2 Quinnipiac Poll. A June 8 Quinnipiac Poll showed that Lamont had gained, but Lieberman still carried a double-digit lead.[78] In a June Rasmussen poll, Lieberman led by 6 points. The margin of error is much larger and the sample taken is much smaller when compared to the Quinnipiac polls. Also, in the second round of this same Rasmussen poll, this time polling if Lieberman ran as an independent, Lieberman still would win with 44 percent of the vote, compared to Lamont's 29 percent. On July 20, a Quinnipiac University poll found Lamont in a statistical tie with Lieberman, 51 - 47 percent among likely Democratic primary voters. The same poll showed Lieberman decidedly beating Lamont and Schlessinger in a three-way race 51-27-9. [79].

Democrats, believing that a contested Democratic primary would drain resources from other races and that Lieberman helps the Democratic ticket in November, discouraged the Lamont candidacy prior to the Democratic state convention and have continued to back Lieberman. Former Democratic State Chairman John Droney compared the Lamont challenge to "cannibalism" and Senator Harry Reid asked Lamont not to run.

On May 19, while Lieberman received a solid 67 percent of the vote at the state Democratic convention, Lamont received 33% of the vote, more than expected. Consequently, Lamont qualified for an August 8 Democratic primary against Lieberman.

On May 20, Connecticut Republicans nominated former Derby, Connecticut Mayor Alan Schlesinger to run in the November election.

On June 12, Lamont began airing radio ads promising to endorse Lieberman if he loses the Democratic primary, and challenging Lieberman to do likewise and foreclose an independent run for the Senate.

On June 16, Lieberman released a web-based attack ad on his campaign site aimed at Lamont's support from Lowell Weicker. Produced by political consultant, Carter Eskew, the animated ad was a sequel to a 1988 spot portraying Weicker as a sleeping bear - this time, Lamont is Weicker's "bear cub". The narrator of the ad asks, "Remember Lowell Weicker? Well, bears never forget. He's never gotten over losing his Senate race to Joe Lieberman, but instead of coming out of hibernation, he's sent his bear cub, instead. Ned Lamont."

Lieberman has also aired ads focusing on his efforts to prevent the closure of the New London submarine base.

On July 3, in a controversial move, Lieberman announced that he would take out petitions to appear on the November ballot should he lose the August 8 primary stating:

I'm a loyal Democrat but I have loyalties that are greater than those to my party, and that's my loyalty to my state and my country.

He stated that he would continue to sit as a Democrat in the Senate even if he was defeated in the primary and elected on an unaffiliated line, and expressed concern for a potentially low-turnout August 8th primary.

On July 6, a debate between Lieberman and Lamont was held. [80]

On July 9, Lieberman released an ad which, according to an e-mail to constituents, parodies one of Lamont's ads and features a fake bumper sticker claiming that 'all Lamont has to say is "No More Joe."'[81] Factcheck.org said that using "false campaign material and passing it off as authentic [seemed] at odds with the ad's praise of Lieberman's "principles.""[82]

On July 10, the Lieberman campaign officially filed paperwork allowing him to collect signatures for the newly formed Connecticut for Lieberman party ballot line. [83]

On July 24, President Bill Clinton campaigned with Senator Lieberman in Waterbury, Connecticut:

[We Democrats] don't agree on everything. We don't agree on Iraq...the real issue is, whether you were for it or against it, what are we going to do now? And let me tell you something, no Democrat is responsible for the mistakes that have been made since the fall of Saddam Hussein that have brought us to this point. I don't have anything against Joe's opponent. He seems like a perfectly fine man. But I know that on the issues that I believe are critical to our future, Joe Lieberman's past is good evidence of his future...He is a good man, a good Democrat, and he'll do you proud." [84]

On July 28, Lieberman started airing a TV ad featuring an endorsement he received from Bill Clinton when he campaigned for Lieberman in Waterbury.

Religion

Lieberman is an Orthodox Jew, and is the only Jewish person to be nominated to the office of Vice President by one of the two major parties (as Al Gore's running mate in the United States presidential election, 2000). Parallels have been noted to John F. Kennedy, the first and as of 2006 the only Roman Catholic President of the United States. Lieberman has said that there is currently "a constitutional place for faith in our public life."[85] Lieberman attends Kesher Israel Congregation in Georgetown, Washington, DC and Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol - B'nai Israel, The Westville Synagogue, New Haven, Connecticut.

Publications

Lieberman is the author of five books: The Power Broker (1966), a biography of the late Democratic Party chairman, John M. Bailey; The Scorpion and the Tarantula (1970), a study of early efforts to control nuclear proliferation; The Legacy (1981), a history of Connecticut politics from 1930-1980; Child Support in America (1986), a guidebook on methods to increase the collection of child support from delinquent fathers, and In Praise of Public Life (2000), a spirited defense of public life that draws on personal experience.

External links

Official sites

• Official U.S. Senate website
• Lieberman's campaign website

Voting records

• A list of Lieberman's voting records on numerous issues
• Lieberman's voting record by vote-smart
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post

Interviews

• 2004 Presidential Primary interview with NPR
• Interview with Dan Rather during the 2000 contested election

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