Sen. Joe Lieberman will announce Wednesday that he won’t seek re-election in 2012, multiple sources close to the senator said on Tuesday.
Lieberman has scheduled a press conference for 12:30 Wednesday in Stamford to announce his plans.
The Lieberman announcement will come just a day after Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz announced her plans to run for his seat.
Lieberman, a registered Democrat who lost his party’s primary in 2006 but won reelection running as an independent, has been tight-lipped about his future plans.
But the announcement of a press conference in his home city of Stamford triggered a wave of speculation that he might not run again, opening up a Connecticut Senate to newcomers for the second straight electoral cycle.
Bysiewicz, a Democrat, released a poll along with her announcement that showed her with a lead over Lieberman and Republican Linda McMahon in a potential general election match-up.
And few political advisers expected Lieberman to contend in a Democratic primary after his 2006 loss to newcomer Ned Lamont, his public departures from his party leadership on foreign policy and some fiscal policy, and his aggressive campaigning for Republican John McCain in 2008.
(Source: The Day / NY Times)
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13 Responses
Goodbye. Hopefully CT will do better next time.
At last some really good news!
Thank you, Senator, for your long and distinguished service.
Shame; he is the most powerful man in the Senate. His almost totally centrist position in a 51/47 Senate means that he casts the deciding vote on all controversial bills. In my opinion this is a good thing. However, it also meant that nearly everyone hated him.
Let’s see if the Democrats will say, as they said with moderate Republican departures, that the party has shifted to the extreme left. We will now see whether they’ll be talking about how the umbrella is narrowing within the Democratic party.
Conn. and the US will be losing a truly great man.
I don’t know which planet some of you are from or which religion you practice. A man who voted for partial birth abortion (murder) and was one the greatest champions of the toievah community is no hero to anyone who has a G-d. Certainly not anyone who attended yeshivah.
Great Man.. NOW is when the ca$h will be rolling in for him!!
Anonimity86,
Agree. Although me and Senator Lieberman had many philosophical differences, I truly admire him. He was perhaps the only one that was ready to buck the leadership at any time he disagreed. He knew that a party doesn’t decide for the people; when he though that the Democrats have nominated a disastrous, naive candidate, he said it. When he was the only one to go against the shifting tide against the Iraq war, he made it clear. While Barack Obama preached bi-partisanship, while voting liberal down the line, Joseph Lieberman did it. Unlike Senator Specter, Joe knew that he was placing his political career on the hook when he bucked his party; nevertheless, he did what he felt was good for the country. Unlike “independents” like Crist, Senator Lieberman didn’t decide according to what politics and the polls dictated – rather according to his gut feeling. He is truly a great American and hero to all of us. We salute him today and thank him for his service.
Charvona,
You might want to add: Orthodox-Jewish people. I personally witnessed numerous instances where an orthodox-Jew or organization was in a dilemma and it was Joe that came to the rescue. Joe leaped into action as soon as he received the phone call and was there whenever his assistance was needed. Although Joseph might have said or done some things that had jeopardized his “orthodox” status, his good deeds made him the Shaliach of Klal Yisroel to Capitol Hill. His lobbying on behalf of the Jewish Nation in Congress will truly be missed. Thanks for your service, once more, Joe.
Lieberman is a good man. I respect him but he certainly has made some mistakes on being to liberal on certain issues. I feel sorry for Connecticut because it will choose more liberal ones unfortunately
Dave-
When exactly did Joe Lieberman say that Barack Obama was disastrous or naive? Not everyone treats politics as if its a battle between the forces of good and evil.
And you do know the Lieberman didn’t buck his party, right? He left them after he lost his primary. He wasn’t placing his political career on the hook; he was doing the only thing he could to continue that career.
Mosheemes,
Joe Lieberman said it here – http://youtube.com/watch?gl=US&client=mv-google?hl=en&v=P8WyDgn2hXQ&fulldescription=1 At the Republican convention in 2008, he said this about Barack Obama: “In the Senate, during the 3
1/2 years that Sen. Obama
has been a member, he has
not reached across party
lines to accomplish anything
significant, nor has he been
willing to take on powerful
interest groups in the
Democratic Party to get
something done.”
Joe Lieberman bucked his party once too many to get an extreme anti-war candidate to win the nomination. In 2004, Joe was humiliated by his party’s refusal to consider a ‘liberal with sanity’ to be their candidate. After the Democrats flip-flopped on the Iraq war, Joe stood steadfast. It wasn’t him that changed, it was the party. The Democrats overwhelmingly supported the Iraq war before realizing that it can become political capital. While John Kerry and Hillary Clinton ‘voted for the war before they voted against it’ and switched positions to remain viable, Joe knew what is right. He knew that it can cost him; nevertheless, he didn’t play politics when lives of courageous men and women were being lost.
Joe indeed lost his primary and heroically made a come-back by running as an independent. He didn’t wait to see the polls declaring him dead to bolt from his party, he waited for their rejection. He then didn’t declare that the party has changed and, therefore, went to caucus with the Republicans. He went back to the party that rejected him and helped them pass legislation that they couldn’t do without him. Had he jumped ship to the GOP, he would’ve been a hero within the party; yet, he did what he felt was right. Had he changed his positions, as most of the Democrats did, he could’ve been a powerful man in Washington, but he left the game of politics to others.
In 2008, Joe Lieberman had become cozy with his new label while he felt that the Republican nominee had his philosophies and views. While the Democrats at the convention were busy talking about bi-partisanship, they were berating Joe Lieberman for crossing party lines. While the Dems hailed a candidate that preached a “United” States of America, not a blue or red, Joe was rejected once more for doing just that. Joe knew once more that his position is putting his career in jeopardy; nevertheless, he didn’t look at that at the time – his country was at stake.
This is why he bucked his party. If one wants to play politics, this isn’t the way to play it, and someone that has been in Washington as long as Senator Lieberman knows it.
While you’re at it check out liebermanmustgo.com. Look at the ‘partisan’ attacks that Joe launced against Barack Obama.
The quote you have from Lieberman about Obama sounds nothing like he thought Obama would be a disastrous president. None of his actions since Obama’s election suggest he thinks that now (I’m not aware of any major itme on the Obama agenda he’s been against, with the possible exception of the public option). If he did think that, you’d think he’d have said something about it.