Joe Lieberman
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman died last week. I interviewed and reported on him many times when I lived in the northeast. He was one of the nicest, most-glib politicians I’ve ever met.
Senator Joe was a liberal, which means he and I disagreed on almost everything in the political universe. When he was Al Gore’s running-mate, there was no way I could vote for that ticket. Their view of the country was completely different than mine.
And yet, when running for Senate, I’m proud to have voted for Joe Lieberman – twice. And here’s why: After the 9-11 attacks, Joe Lieberman quickly identified radical Islam is the biggest threat to our nation. And he was a strong voice, perhaps the strongest voice in the democratic party, for rooting out terrorists and neutralizing that threat. When our nation is under attack, as it was, the other issues of the day become unimportant. What does it matter when terrorists lay 2,300 lives to waste and destroy our buildings in New York and Washington.
He also knew the importance of the alliance between the U.S. and Israel. If the United States won’t stand up to terrorism, Israel will be adrift. If he were a younger and healthier man, today he’d be an important voice on the left about why Hamas can never be our allies or a partner in peace. He’d have the clarity to say that it is Hamas that slaughtered 1,300 people on October 7th. Four months later, the beheaders, rapists, and hostage-takers plead for a cease fire.
There is a similar candidate on the political stage today: Robert Kennedy Junior. He came to prominence when the most important issue of the day was whether the government can force you to take a vaccine (actually not a vaccine; it’s a therapeutic) that some people don’t want and others don’t think is safe. RFK Jr. is also a hopeless liberal. I have no common ground with him on political policy. But if it wasn’t for a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that would have forced me to vaxx up, he’d get my vote.
Sometimes being right on the most important thing supersedes everything else. That’s a lesson that Joe Lieberman taught me, for which I’m grateful for.
Chris Conley
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