{"id":2208924,"date":"2024-03-29T07:38:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T11:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-liebermans-journey-and-the-democrats\/"},"modified":"2024-03-29T07:41:47","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T11:41:47","slug":"joe-liebermans-journey-and-the-democrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-liebermans-journey-and-the-democrats\/","title":{"rendered":"The story of Joe Lieberman and the Democratic Party"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjoe-liebermans-journey-and-the-democrats%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2208924&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Joe Lieberman, who passed away at 82, was a prominent figure in American politics. He nearly became \u200cthe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harris-backed-bail-fund-freed-alleged-domestic-abuser-now-accused-of-murder\/\" title=\"Kamala Harris-Backed Bail Fund Freed Alleged Domestic Abuser Now Accused Of Murder\">vice presidential nominee<\/a> for both major parties. Despite his unique position on the political spectrum, \u2062his influence \u200cwas felt across party lines. His legacy includes key roles in significant events like the Florida recount and his unwavering stance on key issues like the \u2063Iraq War. Joe \u200dLieberman, who died at the age of 82, left\u200d a lasting impact on American politics. His near nomination as vice president by\u2064 both major parties\u2062 highlighted his cross-party influence. Despite his distinctive political stance, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chauvin-attorney-floyd-complained-of-eating-too-many-drugs-during-arrest\/\" title=\"Chauvin Attorney: Floyd Complained Of Eating \u2018Too Many Drugs\u2019 During Arrest\">played crucial roles<\/a> \u2063in\u200c events like \u2063the Florida recount and stood firm \u200don issues such as the Iraq War.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-lieberman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Lieberman<\/a>, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/2942151\/joe-lieberman-dead-former-senator-dies-at-82\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>died Wednesday<\/a> at 82, came within one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sarah-palin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Sarah Palin <\/a>of being vice presidential nominee of both major parties in under a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/al-gore\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Al Gore <\/a>selected the Connecticut senator to be his running mate in 2000. Republicans mocked the ticket as \u201cSore Loserman\u201d during the subsequent fight over Florida\u2019s hanging chads. But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-mccain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>John McCain <\/a>also considered Lieberman after winning the GOP nomination in 2008 and might have pulled the trigger if he had sufficient standing among social conservatives to weather an abortion-rights veep partner.<\/p>\n<p>By then, Lieberman had waged an unsuccessful campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination and fell to an antiwar primary challenger while seeking renomination to his seat two years later. Lieberman was reelected as an independent in a three-way race. He continued to caucus with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate-democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Senate Democrats<\/a> but endorsed McCain for president in 2008.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInfluential McCain backers, plus McCain himself, would pick the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/david-kaufman-heiress-abigail-disneys-bow-to-cancel-culture-is-especially-spineless\/\" title=\"David Kaufman: Heiress Abigail Disney\u2019s Bow to Cancel Culture Is Especially Spineless\">pro-choice liberal<\/a> from Connecticut if they thought they could get away with it,\u201d veteran conservative journalist Robert Novak reported in one of his final columns. \u201cBut they can\u2019t get away with it \u2014\u00a0and this has been made clear to McCain by none other than Joe Lieberman himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One Republican operative suggested that Lieberman would make a better secretary of state for McCain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI completely trusted, liked and worked well with Joe,\u201d McCain wrote in his memoir <em>The Restless Wave<\/em> a decade later. \u201cAnd I still believe, whatever the effect it would have had in some quarters of the party, that a McCain-Lieberman ticket would have been received by most Americans as a genuine effort to pull the country together for a change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the episode illustrated Lieberman\u2019s unusual place on the political spectrum. A mostly liberal Democrat who was endorsed by conservative columnist and <em>National Review <\/em>founder William F. Buckley Jr. against an even more liberal Republican \u2014 those still existed at the time, too \u2014 when first elected to the Senate in 1988, Lieberman became a polarizing figure in his own party.<\/p>\n<p>Lieberman effectively doomed the Republican effort to impeach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-clinton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Bill Clinton<\/a> when he criticized the president\u2019s conduct but said it did not warrant Clinton\u2019s removal from office. He went on to join the Democratic ticket in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-fired-most-of-twitter-brazil-sparking-claims-he-did-because-platform-undermined-bolsonaro\/\" title=\"Musk Fired Most Of Twitter Brazil, Sparking Claims He Did Because Platform Undermined Bolsonaro\">closest presidential election<\/a> in U.S. history. But he remained steadfast in his support for the Iraq War long after most Democrats \u2014 half of the party\u2019s senators voted to authorize the war, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a>, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and John Kerry \u2014\u00a0and a majority of voters had abandoned it.<\/p>\n<p>This cost him the Democratic nomination for Senate in 2006, although he prevailed in the general election. Lieberman instead palled around with hawks on the other side of the aisle, joining McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham\u00a0(R-SC) to fill out the \u201cThree Amigos.\u201d Graham signed his tribute to Lieberman \u201cthe Last Amigo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lieberman\u2019s Democratic Party also gradually moved away from him on Israel, as both the current president and the Senate majority leader recently buckled under progressive pressure on the war in Gaza. Lieberman rebuked Schumer in a <em>Wall Street Journal <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/schumer-crossed-a-red-line-over-israel-democrats-cater-to-those-against-jerusalem-a2ff3d37\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>piece<\/a> just this month.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile Mr. Schumer\u2019s statement undoubtedly pleased American critics of Israel,\u201d Lieberman wrote of the New York Democrat\u2019s call for replacing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, \u201cfor the Israelis it was meaningless, gratuitous and offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Schumer has a record of supporting Israel,\u201d Lieberman continued. \u201cThat makes his equivocation a particularly troubling and disappointing sign that the Democratic Party is catering to members and voters who are hostile to the Jewish state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Specific issues aside, it has become increasingly difficult to be a heterodox Republican or, especially, Democrat. For every Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), there is a Tulsi Gabbard, whose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tom-cotton-bidens-foreign-policy-flip-flops-fail-america\/\" title=\"Tom Cotton: Biden\u2019s Foreign Policy Flip Flops Fail America\">foreign-policy views<\/a> were different from Lieberman\u2019s but her experience dissenting from the Democratic line was the same. Now Gabbard is talked about as a Republican vice presidential candidate, possibly on this year\u2019s ticket headed by former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Blue Dogs have mostly run away, the Boll Weevils flew off years ago, and in their place remains a more uniform Democratic Party. Biden has expertly navigated the changing terrain himself, going from describing himself as \u201cthe most socially conservative man\u201d his first wife \u201chad ever known\u201d in the 1970s to staking his reelection on abortion today.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This might explain why Lieberman came to Washington as a Democrat, flirted with joining a Republican ticket against Barack Obama, and died pushing the centrist No Labels initiative against both major parties.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe parties are failing the American people because they\u2019re rarely willing to do anything but attack for political reasons,\u201d he said in an interview last year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joe Lieberman, who passed away at 82, was almost the vice presidential nominee for both major parties within a decade. Al Gore chose him as his running mate in 2000. The Republicans derided the ticket as &#8220;Sore Loserman&#8221; during the dispute over Florida&#8217;s hanging chads<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2208925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24087784793548-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2208924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24087784793548-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2208924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2208925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2208924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2208924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2208924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}