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Jane in NC's avatar

Joe Lieberman liked to invoke Reagan by claiming he didn't leave the Democratic Party, etc. But that's just not true. When the primary voters of CT chose Ned Lamont over Lieberman, Lieberman was the one who wouldn't graciously concede and instead ran as an independent.

After Al Gore made the historic choice to pick Joe Lieberman as his VP, breaking another barrier in the upper reaches of our politics, religion, he turned up at the republican national convention 8 years later - refusing to support an equally historic candidate in Barack Obama.

I know many people here think Joe Lieberman hung the moon, but I see him as a flawed man who let his ego, self-righteousness and sanctimony get in his way - to the point where he was flirting with a spoiler, third-party candidacy with the No Labels crowd at a time of maximum peril for our democracy and the rule of law as embodied by a third Trump run for the White House.

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Leros's avatar

I agree. Over the years I became much less enamored of Lieberman. His support of the Iraq War (which ended up, predictably, strengthening Iran and undercut the argument that some progressives made that the Iraq War was some plot by pro-Israel forces) really soured me on Lieberman, and his flirtation with No Labels was despicable. His hubris and egomania drove him to stay in "the game" far too long.

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Paul K. Ogden's avatar

I've always liked Joe Lieberman, but there is a lot of merit to the points you raise.

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Jane in NC's avatar

I always wanted to like Joe Lieberman for some reason, but then he'd do something completely Joe Lieberman and leave me cold again.

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