While Lieberman prided himself as a centrist Democrat, he often pushed back against Democratic orthodoxy
Joseph Lieberman, the U.S. senator from Connecticut who was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2000, has died at the age of 82.
His family confirmed in a statement that the cause was from complication in a fall, per the Washington Post.
While Lieberman prided himself as a centrist Democrat — grounding stance in support of abortion rights, environmental protection, gay rights, and gun control — he often pushed back against Democratic orthodoxy. Throughout his career in politics, he spearheaded opposition to the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal, endorsed former President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and supported Trump’s controversial nomination of Betsy DeVos — a charter school and voucher advocate — to be education secretary.
The the former Connecticut senator also endorsed the Democratic presidential nominees in 2016 and 2020 — Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, respectively. Still, in July 2023, he told the Atlantic, “The last thing I’d ever want to be part of ‘is bringing Donald Trump back to the Oval Office.’”
In retirement, Lieberman co-chaired No Labels, the centrist group that prepared to field a third-party presidential ticket in 2024 and aimed to promote bipartisanship — drawing the ire of Democrats who believe it would siphon votes from President Biden and hand the election to Trump. “The greatest obstacle I see standing between us and the brighter American future we all want is right here in Washington,” he told colleagues, per WaPo. “It is the partisan polarization of our politics which prevents us from making the principled compromises on which progress in a democracy depends.”
This is a developing story…