Joe Lieberman, centrist senator and first Jew on major presidential ticket, dies at 82

[Valin]

The Times of Israel

Veteran politician became one of most visible role models for Jewish observance in high places and was known for his attempts to build bridges in an increasingly polarized Washington/i]
Ron Kampeas

Mar. 27 2024

JTA – Joseph Lieberman, a longtime senator from Connecticut who as Al Gore’s running mate in 2000 became the first Jewish member of a major presidential ticket, died Wednesday. He was 82.

A statement sent to former staffers and reported widely said Lieberman had suffered complications from a fall.

A moderate — some would say conservative — Democrat turned independent, Lieberman was known for his attempts to build bridges in an increasingly polarized Washington, sometimes losing old friends and allies along the way.

He also became one of the most visible role models for Jewish observance in high places, in contrast to the largely secular Jewish politicians who had preceded him on the public stage. In 2011, he wrote “The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath.” In it he wrote how on Friday nights he would walk the roughly four miles from the Capitol to his home in Georgetown after a late vote so as not to violate Shabbat — to the bemusement and admiration of Capitol police.

(Snip)

Lieberman’s reputation for outreach to the other side defined his career in the Senate after he arrived in the body in 1989, having been elected after serving as Connecticut’s attorney general. His break with Democratic ranks in backing the first Persian Gulf War in 1991 helped him later in the decade, when he rallied Republicans to support Clinton’s military actions in Kosovo.

In 1992, when Clinton’s campaign was cold-shouldering Arab Americans, the community reached out to Lieberman, despite pronounced differences with him over Israeli-Palestinian issues, because of his reputation for fairness.

(Snip)

Following his retirement from the Senate, Lieberman returned to practicing law, and joined the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank as co-chairman of their American Internationalism Project. He also held the Lieberman Chair of Public Policy and Public Service at Yeshiva University, where he taught an undergraduate course in political science.

In August 2015, Lieberman became chairman of United Against Nuclear Iran, a group fiercely opposed to efforts by the Obama administration to broker a deal with Iran over its nascent nuclear program.

 

[Valin]

air date: 5/7/03)

[Geee]

In the class of Daniel Patrick Moynihan. When Dem Senators actually had some class. Sadly, it's not really that long ago. How a party can get taken over by chaos so quickly is amazing. When you think about it though, it was slowly in the making for years. It's just that the ultimate intended results came to a head so quickly.