RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Joe Lieberman (1942-2024)

.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Lieberman

• Joseph Isadore Lieberman (February 24, 1942 – March 27, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2000 U.S. presidential election. During his final term in office, he was officially listed as an independent Democrat and caucused with and chaired committees for the Democratic Party.
  
  Lieberman was elected as a Reform Democrat in 1970 to the Connecticut Senate, where he served three terms as majority leader. After an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980, he served as the Connecticut attorney general from 1983 to 1989. He narrowly defeated Republican Party incumbent Lowell Weicker in 1988 to win election to the U.S. Senate and was re-elected in 1994, 2000, and 2006. He was the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in the 2000 presidential election, running with presidential nominee and then Vice President Al Gore, and becoming the first Jewish candidate on a U.S. major party presidential ticket.[2][3]
  
  In the 2000 presidential election, Gore and Lieberman won the popular vote by a margin of more than 500,000 votes but lost the deciding Electoral College to the Republican George W. Bush / Dick Cheney ticket 271–266. He also unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. During his Senate re-election bid in 2006, Lieberman lost the Democratic primary election but won re-election in the general election as a third party candidate under the Connecticut for Lieberman party label.
  
  Lieberman was officially listed in Senate records for the 110th and 111th congresses as an Independent Democrat,[4] and sat as part of the Senate Democratic Caucus. After his speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention in which he endorsed John McCain for president, he no longer attended Democratic Caucus leadership strategy meetings or policy lunches.[5] The Senate Democratic Caucus voted to allow him to keep the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Subsequently, he announced that he would continue to caucus with the Democrats.[6] Before the 2016 election, he endorsed Hillary Clinton for president and in 2020 endorsed Joe Biden for president.
  
  As senator, Lieberman introduced and championed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 and legislation that led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. During debate on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as the crucial 60th vote needed to pass the legislation, his opposition to the public health insurance option was critical to its removal from the resulting bill signed by President Barack Obama.[7]
  
  
  EARLY LIFE
  
  Lieberman was born on February 24, 1942, in Stamford, Connecticut, the son of Henry, who ran a liquor store, and Marcia (née Manger) Lieberman.[8] His family is Jewish; his paternal grandparents emigrated from Congress Poland and his maternal grandparents were from Austria-Hungary.[9]
  
  In 1963, Lieberman traveled to Mississippi to work in support of the civil rights movement.[10] He received a Bachelor of Arts in both political science and economics from Yale University in 1964,[11] and was the first member of his family to attend college.[12] At Yale, he was editor of the Yale Daily News and a member of the Elihu Club.[13] While at Yale Lieberman was introduced to conservative thinker William F. Buckley Jr., who was also editor of the Yale Daily News; Buckley and Lieberman maintained a social relationship.[14] His roommate was Richard Sugarman, who later went on to become a Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Vermont and advisor to 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.[15] Lieberman later attended Yale Law School, receiving his Bachelor of Laws in 1967.[16] After graduation from law school, Lieberman worked as a lawyer for the New Haven-based law firm Wiggin & Dana LLP.[17]
  
  Lieberman received an educational deferment from the Vietnam War draft when he was an undergraduate and law student from 1960 to 1967. Upon graduating from law school at age 25, Lieberman qualified for a family deferment because he was already married and had a child.[18][19]
  
  (more at link)

I didn't really know who Joseph Lieberman was, until Al Gore picked him as his VP running mate in the 2000 election.
That was a bitterly contested election, but I don't recall Lieberman being part of the biterness. And after the election, I saw him increasingly as a Democrat who reached out to the other side to find common ground. I saw Lieberman as a principled liberal I could disagree with, but still liked. I see Alan Dershowitz and a few others in the same category. Another in the same category was liberal Alan Colmes (up until 2009, the liberal half of the political dialogue on Hannity and Colmes), who I thought made fact-based arguments, that I found far more persuasive than the usual relentless talking points and insults most Democrat pundits engage in.

And Lieberman had a similar approach to Colmes, he projected a very likeable civility and dignity, and often partnered with Republican Senators to propose bipartisan legislation.
There used to be many moderates like Lieberman in the Democrat party, where the two sides could politely disagree but still find common ground and get things done, and even be friends. Lieberman was possibly the last of a dying breed.
Kirsten Sinema is too enabling of radical legislation, despite her occasional dissent from the Democrat mainstream (for which even that minor dissent raises far-Left activist intimidation and threats.)
And Joe Manchin who I used to regard as among the last Democrat moderates, disappointed me by at the last minute caving in to be the deciding vote in passing 2 trillion in destructive new spending, giving Biden a win of sorts and undue momentum right before the 2022 mid-term election. So signing on with the most radical legislation, Manchin has lost his moderate street cred too.

When the Democrat party moved increasingly hard-Left in 2004, 2006, 2008 and forward into the Obama years went full authoritarian Democrat-Bolshevik, the Democrat party became so far-Left that Lieberman remarkably, a lifelong liberal, became regarded by his party as too moderate by the party elite. At which point he ran as an Independent, AND WON re-election as Senator.
Although I have come to see "Independent" candidates as de facto Democrats, as they consistently caucus with Democrats, and Lieberman even continued to be appointed by the Democrat party to head Senate committees, despite his independent status. But I think he didn't run for re-election after his last term, because he no longer felt welcome.

As this political cartoon from the media (which is an extension of the most far-Left elements of the Democrat party itself, and unashamedly its PR and cheerleading wing since the 2008 election), the hostiliy of the Left toward Lieberman is unmistakeable:



And sadly, I don't see tha Lieberman changed, his views on issues, and his personal style remained the same.
It was his party that changed out from under him, and turned really ugly, mean-spirited, intolerant, and radical-Left, threatening, intimidating, silencing any dissenters, which ultimately came to intimidating and silencing Lieberman.

But against attempts to silence and cancel him, Lieberman remained a voice of civility up to the end. Even when I disagreed with Lieberman's political views, I still listened to his views and liked the guy.
And from a hardline Republican/conservative like me, that's a high compliment.

I would point out republicans have a word for moderate republicans (Rino) where democrats don’t for moderate democrats. Loyalty to a convicted felon is the utmost principle for the gop these days. Everyone that isn’t or hasn’t fallen into line is only tolerated if they can’t be replaced with a trump supporter.

RINOs (Republicans in name only) are not "moderates", the term denotes Republicans who completely abandon conservative/Republican principles. They are Republicans who are voted into office in regions that are deeply conservative, are voted in to protect and preserve those Reagan-variety conservative rights and values, but elected Republicans who completely betray the people who voted for them, and vote legislation for the exact opposite of what they were elected in to stand for.
Mitt Romney is a prime example, and is deeply hated by his constituents, and just recently announced he will not be running for another term as a Senator in Utah (because he knows from internal polls that he would lose by a huge and humiliating margin.

Likewise RINO John Cornyn of Texas, (who says he will run again). Watch Chris Salcedo on Newsmax, who regularly details Cornyn's betrayals.
And Adam Kinzinger (who also knew he could not possibly get re-elected with how badly he betrayed his voters, so announced he would not run again.

Liz Cheney in Wyoming ran for re-election despite how obviously she was hated for her betrayal, and was defeated by the largest margin that any Republican imcumbent was ever ejected by in a re-election primary. Because again, she deeply betrayed the values of the constituents who voted for her.

John McCain, who up until 2000 I considered a true moderate, who periodically dissented from his party to make a principled stand, in the end became a full-on RINO.
A principled stand by McCain was putting his political fortunes at risk by supporting a "troop surge" to turn the tide of the war in Iraq, despite that it was unpopular in the polls. It was the right thing to do.
For a number of years (2001-2008) McCain consistently opposed George W. Bush policy and was a thorn in Bush's side, opposing Bush and the Republican leadership on almost every issue, that I saw as spite for having lost the 2000 nomination to W. Bush.
But on the troop surge, McCain was on the right side. Increasingly after, McCain was less and less of a Republican, and ever more the RINO.

McCain's ultimate RINO moment was when out of pure spite toward President Trump, McCain should have been he deciding vote in 2017 to repeal Obamacare, but McCain voted to keep Obamacare, and in doing so, betrayed the will of his Arizona constituents who wanted it repealed, and betrayed tens of millions of other Republicans nationwide, who McCain CLEARLY was not representing in making that vote. That is, again, the definition of RINO.

Any Republican who voted for the multiple trillion-dollar socialist/leftist nation-wrecking Obama and Biden legislation bills, is by definition a RINO.

Any Republican who votes for over 100 billion in aid for Ukraine aid, while not pressuring and holding out for the 5 billion Trump requested (and was denied) as president from 2017-2020 to defend our own Southern border, is by definition a RINO. Republican legislators doing this are deeply betraying the people who voted these leaders into office to defend them, and to defend our borders and sovereignty.

Any Republican who votes to pass legislation for 87,000 new IRS agents, that will be further used by IRS to attack conservative organizers and large donors to the Republican party, are RINOs by definition. Republican leaders voting for his that is the OPPOSITE of defending your Republican/conservative constituents. Polar opposit defending their voters, that is throwing them to the wolves.

Likewise Republicans who vote to expand the FBI and build a new FBI headquarters, when the FBI has already been weaponized by Democrats against Republicans for at least 14 years. Republicans who vote not just for new funding for FBI, but for INCREASED funding for FBI, without provisions to protect Republicans who have suffered under tyranny of a weaponized FBI since at least 2010 :
* Tea Party members targeted by FBI, ATF, OSHA and IRS,
* Parents who oppose woke indoctrination of their children in schools at PTA meetings, and are targeted by FBI for intimidation arrest and prosecution.
*Peaceful pro-life activists, similarly targeted by FBI for arres and malicious prosecution with super over-charged jail sentences.

* And most incendiary, the FBI's most highly poliical hit job, its 1,300 January 6th arrests, that is an incendiary show of FBI power and intimidation, where hundreds ofn Trump supporters were kept in jail JUST FOR "trespassing" (tthat they were tricked into entering the Capitol, to even be charged, signs moved away, police waving hem in, and police holding the double-doors wide open to invie them in. "Trespassing", yeah. ),
Where FBI used false-flag undercover agents to trick them to go in the building at all, framed Trump supporters for violence they, the FBI committed, just to discredit Trump and his supporters, and set up a "geo-fence" in advance to identify them later by their cel phone signals and data. Something FBI NEVER did to Antifa or BLM who have looted, burned and terrorized for years, ONLY to rump supporters.
Jan 6th Trump supporters ("trespassing" grandmas, small business owners and real estate agents) held indefinitely without charges or trial, in many cases not permitted in jail to even bathe or shave, without water, without soap, shampoo or razors.
Forced to drink water from mold-infested plumbing, in some cases forced to drink from toilets,
Held by a Warden and guards who are rabid leftist Trump-hating Democrats (and pos their hate on social media).
Many Jan 6 prisoners beaten in their cells by these guards, unable to be visited by their families, and even denied access to attorneys. Who have long ago lost their businesses and had their homes foreclosed, from just the unending illegal detainment without trial, unable to earn money and pay their bills. And if they complain, they are beaten in their cells by guards, and/or put in solitary confinement.

FOR WHAT ?!?

For peacefully standing outside the Capitol on Jan 6th, waving Trump flags, to PEACEFULLY and patriotically support Donald Trump ?
PEACEFULLY protesting a rigged and stolen election, and just protesting for Constitutional review of the integrity of the election ballots, and delaying finalizing the electoral vote for a week or two, to do such a review, in a House/Senate joint session televised debate of the issues?

About 600 were tricked into entering the Capitol, and of the 60 small acts of vandalism or clashing with police, I would lay money that most or all of that "violence" was done by FBI (20 undercover agents, disguised as Trump supporters), 20 DHS agents (disgiused as Trump supporters, 10 DC Metro police officers (disguised as Trump supporters), and at least 20 Antifa led by John Earle Sullivan ([ disguised as Trump supporters).
Plus many others like the Boogaloos and Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, 3 Percenters, and likely many other federal agents.
I would lay money that most or all of the 60 acts of vandalism and violence (as contrasted wih well over 100,000 PEACEFUL Trump supporters) were committed by FBI, Antifa, or other Trump-hating federal agents sent there specifically to do a false-flag operation and frame Trump supporters.

A Republican Senate or House member who votes to continue funding and even expand the FBI, in a new muli-billion-dollar headquarters no less, when it has already used is resources to systematically target the very Republicans who voted for these leaders for over 15 years since at least 2010, is NOT a Republican leader protecting his constituents, and is the worst kind of RINO, who has directly betrayed those who voted for them, and more than that, thrown them to the 97% Democrat-Bolshevik wolves.

FBI currently uses 60% of is resources to target "white supremacist insurrectionists" (i.e., their fictional narrattive o demonize Trump supporters).
Why would ANY Republican vote to give them even MORE resources to attack Republicans? Because they are RINOs, who have sold us out.
Not "moderates". RINOs.

I think it’s just easier to say the gop now has to bend the knee to Trump with the goal of eliminating anything that gets in the way for a political party that has won the popular vote for President only once in the last couple of decades since the Reagan/Bush era.

That increasing Republican difficulty to win the popular, is precisely because of Democrat-led reform of immigration policy in 1965, that LBJ and Ted Kennedy and other Dems assured[i] us would not demographically change America, bu then they spent the last 40 years openly gloating about it, that tens of millions of third-world immigrants would give Democrats a permanant majority a some point in all future elections.

Democrats kicked open the floodgates to third world immigration in the immigration reform of 1965, that LBJ, Ted Kennedy and other Democrats [i]assured us would not change he nation.
But demographically changing the nation was precisely the plan. And Democrats have openly gloated about the "last dying gasp of white America" for about 40 years.
But if we as Republicans over the decades just point out what Democrats have OPENLY SAID in their books and college classrooms and articles and interviews and speeches, incredibly, we are prortrayed as "paranoid" and "white racist", just for pointing out what THEY, THE DEMOCRATS have openly plotted and said for 40 years.

Laura Ingraham pointed out after the 2012 election that Mitt Romney won a higher percentage of the white vote than Ronald Reagan did in his landslides of 1980 and 1984.
But even with a higher percentage, there white vote had so declined that it was no longer enough to do the same for Romney.


But Blacks, Hispanics and Asians who previously voted in low numbers for Republicans till now, may vote Republican in far higher numbers this year, because of the economic hardship and pure craziness Biden and the Democrats have unleashed on the country, and the world, in the last 4 years.
We'll see what the numbers are after the Nov 2024 election.

I've seen it previously said that if Republicans get just 15% of the black vote or more, Democrats will lose a presidential election. Add to that a huge loss of Hispanic votes (Biden and Trump are at about 50 / n50 among Hispanics, whereas Democrats usually get 66% or more of Hispanic votes. And Asians about the same ratio.. And Jews are voting far more Republican this year as well, because the Democrats are so rabidly pro-Hamas and anti-Israel, and not protecting Jews at colleges or in Democrat-run cities from Hamas protesters.
Jews voting Democrat this year would be like "HENS FOR CHICk-FIL-A".
I've spoken to Jews who describe the current atmosphere in the U.S. and the world as like Kristallnacht. They are shaken and terrified. That HAS to create a shift in how they vote.

So, we'll see.
But the push to destroy the white vote the last 40 years, this year just might show Democrats that minorities are not the guaranteed Democrat votes they always took for granted they would be, for all these decades.