U.S. Senator mastered the centre aisle
JOSEPH LIEBERMAN 1942 - 2024
• Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice-presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in the disputed 2000 election and who almost became Republican John Mccain’s running mate eight years later, has died.
Lieberman died in New York City on Wednesday due to complications from a fall. He was 82.
The Democrat-turned-independent was never shy about veering from the party line.
Lieberman’s independent streak and especially his needling of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential contest rankled many Democrats, the party he aligned with in the Senate. Yet his support for gay rights, civil rights, abortion rights and environmental causes at times won him the praise of many liberals over the years.
“He fought and won for what he believed was right and for the state he adored.” said Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat.
Over the last decade, Lieberman helped lead No Labels, a centrist third-party movement that has said it will offer as-yet-unnamed candidates for president and vice-president this year.
He came close to winning the vice-presidency in the 2000 contest decided by a 537-vote margin victory for George W. Bush in Florida after a Supreme Court decision.
Gore called Lieberman “a truly gifted leader, whose affable personality and strong will made him a force to be reckoned with” and said his dedication to equality and fairness started at a young age, noting he travelled to the South to join the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
“It was an honour to stand side-by-side with him on the campaign trail,” Gore said.
Lieberman sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 but dropped out after a weak showing in the early primaries. Four years later, he was an independent who was nearly chosen to be Mccain’s running mate. Mccain instead chose Sarah Palin after blowback from conservatives.
In announcing his retirement from the Senate in 2013, he acknowledged he did “not always fit comfortably into conventional political boxes” and felt his first responsibility was to serve his constituents, state and country, not his political party.
He is survived by wife Hadassah and their four children.