There are, it seems, so few Joe Liebermans when we need them the most. The former Senator from Connecticut, who died of complications this week following a fall, had an illustrious career as an outstanding public servant.
Joe Lieberman's north star was always right over wrong and candor over obfuscation. He was an American treasure, rare and hard to replace. When I started doing podcasts, the first two public personalities I interviewed were Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland and former Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Governor Hogan because he was as principled as his father, who was a dear friend, a former business partner, and an outstanding Republican congressman from Maryland's 5th congressional district. Senator Lieberman because he was among the most admired men ever to serve in the United States Senate. He was, in many respects, the conscience of the Senate. He was intelligent, compassionate, and trusted by Senate Democrats and Republicans.
I first met Senator Joe Lieberman about thirty-five years ago, although I had followed his career for years before meeting him. My wife and I hosted a reception for him at our home in Chicago, and our paths crossed fairly regularly after that. In more recent years, we had occasion to meet from time to time through our mutual involvement in No Labels, the non-partisan centrist public interest group in Washington, which works to forge working relationships between Democrats and Republicans in Congress. I was honored to call him a friend. America will miss him dearly.
I admired him greatly for his intellect and determination to seek common ground whenever possible with the proverbial other side. More often than not, he succeeded. I never met anyone who didn't like Joe Lieberman. He and Governor Hogan were so much alike. Lieberman, a Democrat, and Hogan, a Republican, and both firm believers that America only works well and always works best when there are enough elected officials from both political parties who are willing to do the hard work of cooperating and compromising when necessary to get the people's business done. Small wonder they became Co-chairs of No Labels, the non-partisan public interest group in Washington. They are a rare breed today when many politicians see politics as a blood sport in which one side must prevail over the carcass of the defeated and vanquished other side. Politics in America has become a frivolous sport played by non-serious people who value 60 seconds of face time on Fox or CNN more than they do the hard work of legislating. Joe Lieberman, however, was a serious person.
Lieberman had an illustrious career in the US Senate, often bridging relationships on both sides of the proverbial divide. He made hard calls when the times demanded clarity and non-partisan straight talk. Such was the case when Senator Lieberman delivered an unequivocal rebuke of his friend, President Bill Clinton, over the Monica Lewinski affair. The rebuke was necessary, and it had to come from one of the most respected Democrats in the nation. Following that rebuke, Joe Lieberman recalled to me that President Clinton called him to tell him he (Lieberman) had done the right thing.
Lieberman never vacillated when tough decisions were needed. He was a very independent thinker and often took positions more aligned with his conscience than his Party. He once acknowledged that he agreed more with Democrats regarding domestic policy but frequently agreed with Republicans on matters of defense and foreign policy.
He and I spoke during our interview about the 2000 election in which he ran as Vice President when Al Gore ran for President. It was an election they won by over a half million popular votes but lost narrowly in the Electoral College. He reminisced about their decision not to call for a revote in Florida, where Bush-Cheney had prevailed by a hair during a spectacle of a bizarre vote recount. They simply felt it would cause too much discord in the country and negatively impact America’s confidence in the nation's election process. Sadly, that concern for the country over self has become a quaint and distant memory.
Joe Lieberman also addressed the issue of the Electoral College during our interview, expressing his view that the Electoral College had outlived its usefulness and that it would be better in this modern era if elections in America were decided based on a national popular vote, as elections are in every other democratic nation in the world today. The founders believed that electors from each state would be an elite group that would safeguard the country should a mob someday dominate the popular vote.
Ironically, it was the attempted corruption of the Electoral College by Donald Trump and his minions that came close to destroying the integrity of the 2020 election.
We also discussed the current political climate at some length. Senator Lieberman noted that in the past, members of our two political parties would often see the policies of the opposing Party as simply wrong. Today, however, they see the other Party as simply evil. That's a sea-change in American political discourse, and it is perilous and threatening to the future of the 245-year-old American experiment.
Senator Lieberman also spoke warmly of Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland, who is now Running for the United States Senate. Sadly, such open respect for members of the opposing Party has become a rarity in America.
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Recent podcasts have featured my commentary on Liz Cheney’s new book, “Oath and Honor,” as well as my comentary regarding US Representative Jim Jordan, Brian Kemp and Those Republicans of Georgia, the Trump Indictments, the Fox Corp Settlement, The CNN Trump Town Hall, the Hunter Biden plea deal, The New American Cult of Personality, and my interviews with
William Bratton, Retired Chief of Police, New York City, Los Angeles, and Boston
Rikki Klieman, Attorney, Network News Analyst, and best-selling author
John Thoresen, Executive Director, Barbara Sinatra Children's Center
Katherine Gehl, co-author of The Politics Industry and founder of the Institute for Political Innovation
Jazz artist Ann Hampton Callaway
Outlander author Diana Gabaldon
AI Data Scientist Lawrence Kite
Ryan Clancy, Chief Strategist of No Labels
Senator Barbara Boxer
Senator Joe Lieberman
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan
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Novels by Hal Gershowitz
This very personal and touching tribute to Joe Lieberman, like all the others I've read, omits an important detail. Perhaps the reason is that Senator Lieberman is not responsible for what happened, but it is, unfortunately, part of his life story and our country's history. I refer to the Republican Party's rejection of Lieberman in 2008 as the running mate for John McCain on the grounds that the Senator from Connecticut was a Democrat. Tragically, the Republican leadership inserted Sarah Palin in his place. Yes, instead of the the Joe Lieberman beautifully praised here, they chose the author of "Just flip it, Baby!" That substitution corrodes our politics today as much as any other single decision. What a sad, necessary footnote to the story of Joe Lieberman.
Thank you! I have read a few tributes to Senator Lieberman but I did not realize how close he and Governor Hogan were in the past. I am very concerned that his untimely loss will make it even more difficult to achieve a bipartisan result in November. I have been a member and supporter of No Labels and their work with the Problem Solvers in Congress for several years. In recognition of this legacy, I will increase my support and communications efforts over the next six months.