Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman and VP candidate to be remembered at hometown funeral service
STAMFORD, Conn. — Political dignitaries, family and friends will gather Friday to honor the late Joe Lieberman at a funeral service in Stamford, Connecticut, the hometown of the U.S. senator who grew up as the son of a liquor store owner and came within hundreds of votes of becoming the first Jewish man in 2000. to become vice president.
Lieberman died Wednesday in New York City from complications following a fall, according to his family. He was 82.
Services will be held at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford. For Lieberman, a self-described “observant Jew” who followed the rules of the Jewish Sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, the congregation played a key role early in his life.
He once recalled how the congregation’s former synagogue building was “a place that gave me the first sense of religion; a very special elevation,” according to a message on the municipality’s website.
“I feel very fortunate – my loyalty to Jewish tradition is a real asset,” he said. “Religious Catholics and Protestants find a bond of common value with my beliefs and views. This makes me so proud to be an American.”
Top Connecticut Democrats, including former Sens. Chris Dodd, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Gov. Ned Lamont, Lieberman’s former rival for the Senate seat, are expected to attend services Friday morning. A second public commemoration is expected to take place at a future date.
Lieberman, a former Senate leader and attorney general, was known for his pragmatic, independent streak. Lieberman, a moderate Democrat who eventually ran for a fourth term in the Senate, almost became Republican John McCain’s running mate in 2008. Conservatives, however, opposed the idea of tapping Lieberman, who was known for his support of gay rights. , civil rights, abortion rights and environmental issues, while taking an aggressive stance on military and national security issues.
President Joe Biden on Thursday called Lieberman a friend, someone who was “principled, steadfast and unafraid to stand up for what he thought was right.”
“Joe believed in a shared purpose to serve something bigger than ourselves,” Biden, who served in the Senate with Lieberman for 20 years, said in his statement. “He lived the values of his faith as he worked to mend the wounds of the world. .”
Lieberman came tantalizingly close to winning the vice presidency in the contentious 2000 presidential election, which was decided by a 537-vote victory for George W. Bush in Florida after a lengthy recount, legal challenges and a Supreme Court decision. He was the first Jewish candidate to win a major party presidential nomination.
For the past decade, Lieberman has helped lead No Labels, a centrist third-party movement that has said it will field unnamed candidates for president and vice president this year. Some groups aligned with Democrats are opposing the effort, fearing it will help presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump win the White House.
Lieberman and his wife Hadassah have four children.