Senator Joseph I. Lieberman is a rather garden variety liberal Senator
on most issues. After all, it was just six years ago that he was chosen
as the Democratic Party's Vice Presidential nominee to run with then
Vice President Albert A. Gore, Jr. in that election.
There are two things which these days make Joe Lieberman different than
many Democrats. First, he defends religion in the public square. As the
Vice Presidential nominee he spoke often of his religious life. He lists
himself as an Orthodox Jew, although some Orthodox Jews dispute his
orthodoxy. They claim that the Senator does not observe all Orthodox
Jewish practices and they say that no truly Orthodox Jew would vote for
liberalized abortion, which Lieberman has done repeatedly since becoming
Connecticut's junior Senator in January, 1989.
Lieberman was elected over three-term liberal Republican Senator Lowell
F. Weicker. NATIONAL REVIEW publisher William F. Buckley endorsed
Lieberman over Weicker. That was a signal for conservatives in
Connecticut to support Lieberman.
For his part, Lieberman campaigned against pornography and said had he
been in the Senate in 1987 he would have voted to confirm Judge Robert
H. Bork for the United States Supreme Court. Buckley's brother James, a
former New York Senator, ran and lost to be Senator from Connecticut.
Buckley's move was seen by some as a means to avenge his brother's loss.
Weicker was narrowly defeated and conservatives rejoiced. He had been a
thorn in the side of conservatives for decades. Lieberman became a
reliable liberal Democrat, so much so that when Vice President Gore went
looking for someone with whom he would feel comfortable to run
Lieberman's name popped up on the radar screen. Although the ticket lost
narrowly in 2000, Lieberman got high marks for campaigning and
especially for re-introducing religion to some Democratic voters.
The other point which distinguished Lieberman from his fellow liberals
is Lieberman's unswerving support of the war in Iraq.
A fervent backer of Israel, Lieberman has supported most defense
measures over the years but he especially has backed the war in Iraq. He
believes, with President Bush, that if we would be fighting the Muslim
terrorists on our soil if we weren't fighting them in Iraq.
Meanwhile Weicker renounced his Republican label and ran as an
independent and won as Governor of Connecticut. He continued to be a
problem for Lieberman. It is as if Lieberman were still running against
Weicker years later. All of that is still relevant as Lieberman believes
that it was Weicker who enticed cable TV mogul Nick Lamont into a
primary against Lieberman.