Former Democratic Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman passed away. He was 82. I just lost another friend last week. For some reason, this Easter season, I know people that are suffering and passing away. Senator Lieberman would have thought that ironic and would have corrected me that it was almost Pesach (Passover), not Easter.
In 2008, he broke with his party. It was an unforgivable offense. It was the cusp of our country truly breaking apart though it started in 2000 when he narrowly lost a shot at being Vice President.
The Obamas don’t forgive and they don’t forget. They are not uniters. They are dividers and so is the guy that is in the White House today. Senator Lieberman gave a speech to the Republican convention in 2008 in support of his friend John McCain. Here is a link. I was at that convention with my then-high school daughter.
My friend Vishal invited me up to Minnesota. Vishal’s father was active politically. They were some of the top fundraisers in 2004 for John Kerry. Neither Vishal nor his father cared for Obama, so they were switching sides in 2008. It was a big deal since both were lifelong Democrats.
That night, after the speech, Vishal called me up and told me to come to a Minneapolis hotel. We were staying in St. Paul. $35 buck cab ride and if you know how cheap I am about some things, I wasn’t exactly excited.
It was late in the evening. I met Vishal in the lobby. We went up to a hotel room and there in his white shirt without a tie was Senator Joe Lieberman casually munching Cheerios out of a small snack pack box. He invited us into the room. His Chief of Staff was there as was his son Matt. Later, Senator Lindsay Graham came and we ordered pizza.
For what it is worth, Vishal and I are still good friends to this day even though we disagree a lot on policy.
I had met the Senator before since I had done some political work for the CME. But, we weren’t pals. Vishal and his father were due to their political work. When the Senator met my daughter, he was cordial. When he found out she was interested in going to Yale, he pulled her away from the party and sat down for fifteen minutes to a half hour and had a conversation with her one on one about college and Yale.
Remember, this is a guy that just gave a very important speech and the first one that would alter the entire trajectory of his political career. He’d spent almost a lifetime building that career.
Yet, he took the time to sit down with someone whom he didn’t know and speak in depth about something that had no effect or benefit for him but certainly did for my daughter.
That’s who Joe Lieberman was.
In this tribal era of politics, we forget that everyone is human. Even if you vehemently disagree, they are human. Senator Lieberman and I agreed on some things and we disagreed on some things. But, he listened and he was always a gentleman about it.
A few years ago, he and former President Dick Cheney did a dual speech at the National World War Two Museum. I was able to speak at length to Joe and his wife. He was gracious and remembered our encounter in Minnesota. I thanked him for that evening.
Joe was behind the No Labels party and I understand why he undertook that effort. I don’t agree with No Labels. It’s not the vision for the country that I think works, though the collegiality of the way they want public discourse to go is.
If you ask hardcore Democrats today, they hate Senator Lieberman. Some will take to Twitter and spit on his grave. Many Republicans might do the same.
It’s the wrong thing to do.
It’s one of the things about Trump that I do not like, though I do appreciate his tenacity and willingness to fight. I wouldn’t characterize Trump as a statesman. I would Lieberman and not because he was willing to be bipartisan. He could be very partisan. It was his demeanor and what they call in the military, his bearing.
The other day I was at Manny’s Coffee Shop in Chicago. I was eating a reuben sandwich. As I got up to leave, I noticed Democratic Senator Dick Durbin had just sat down behind me. I had a few dinners with Senator Durbin and we casually knew each other because of my CME stuff years ago.
I was wearing my John Kass No Chumbalone hat. If you don’t know what a chumbalone is, look it up. I don’t think the Senator noticed my hat at first, but he did later. He didn’t comment on it.
I reached out my hand to shake Senator Durbin’s hand. I reminded him of how we knew each other. I told him that he was eating at Manny’s a bit late for an election cycle. On election day, it is traditional that Chicago candidates visit Manny’s. We exchanged pleasantries. I wished him well and he wished me well and I left.
If I was on a debate stage, you can rest assured we would have had some vehement disagreements. I don’t think he and I would agree on but 1% of the issues. But, not in a restaurant where a human just wants to eat the best corned beef sandwich in the United States. I think he’d agree with me that Manny’s has great corned beef among other things.
I wish more people would remember that when they see politicians or famous people in public places. Have some class.
Joe Lieberman would, and he would appreciate you taking on a civil demeanor and more upstanding bearing.
My condolences to his family and especially to his son Matt who was very friendly to me that evening in 2008.
Awesome story, Jeff. I just saw Sen. Lieberman on Fox News over the weekend. I'm shocked and saddened over his sudden death. I'm also pleased though, that Lieberman had a chance to blast Chuck Schumer over Schumer's classless attack on Prime Minister, Netanyahu.
As an aside, only once have I met Dick Durbin. In 1996, as a total political novice, the Republicans slated me to run for the General Assembly seat held by Carol Ronan. My best friends from childhood are the Carson's of BBQ ribs fame, and I was at the old Wells Street location when Durbin came in. At the time, he was running against Al Salvi, a bright, great guy. I introduced myself to Durbin's son, gave him one of my campaign brochures, and the son invited me to meet the Senator. Durbin quipped, "why's a nice guy like you running as a Republican?" At the time, Durbin had been a centrist, much like Joe Lieberman. One Senator remained pure to the bipartisan principle of compromise, the other Senator became a shrill leftist tool.
Outstanding Memoriam