I decided to take a look through the Hartford Courant archives, panning for some Lieberman nuggets. One thing you can say for him...he stays the course when it comes to pleading his case. "Bi-partisan" has apparently been a term he's used to great advantage, but the truth lies in more than than these flippant sound bites.
Take a walk down memory lane and see if you think Joe's a moderate Democrat (well Connectictut for Lieberman party now) or a closet Republican.
Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn.: Jul 11, 1994
On Health Care
[Note: Lieberman was on the scary bandwagon on anti-crime measures back in1994]
▪"I am proud of my affiliation with the Democratic party," he wrote in a letter seeking the ACP endorsement, "but in my role as a senator, I have tried . . . to be the kind of leader who puts the public interest above partisan politics."
▪Jerome P. Brown, president of the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, said Lieberman's approach to health care has been purely political.
"Joe made a political decision early on to pander to the insurance industry," Brown said, citing Lieberman's opposition to a single-payer, Canadian-style plan and his reluctance to push for universal coverage.
Lieberman insists he has no hidden agenda. He says he is working with a bipartisan group of senators to build a consensus for a plan that will fix what's wrong with the system without making radical changes or costing people jobs.
That approach shows his political savvy, Brown said. By supporting reform without endorsing a specific plan, he "has straddled the middle without giving the left somewhere {else} to go," he said.
On health care, Brown said, Lieberman is "missing in action."
Union leader Brown was more blunt: "If you want real social reform, Joe Lieberman is not the person you go to. He never was."
Lieberman has said explicitly he does not believe health care reform is a top priority.
After announcing his candidacy for re-election last week at a Derby diner, he said, "It would be a tragedy if we began to get rigid and nothing passed" on health care, "but our worst failure would be if we don't pass the anti-crime bill."
When he talks to voters at places such as the diner, health care is rarely one of the first topics raised, Lieberman insisted. The state of the economy, people's jobs and their fear of crime come up much more often, he said.
Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn.: Sep 6, 1998.
On the Monica Lewinsky/Clinton Rebuke
The president's transgressions are "too serious and the consquences too great," he said. Therefore, it would be "wrong and unnacceptable" for members of Congress "to walk away" from the controversy. But Mr. Lieberman's call for "some measure of public rebuke" was vague and anticlimactic.
A congressional reprimand or censure, he cautioned, is "premature." Lieberman has already called [Clinton's behavior} immoral, deceptive, unacceptable and harmful to the nation. A president whose lies are "intentional, premeditated" has invited an official reprimand from Congress.
Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn.: May 13, 1994
Lieberman's Love Affair With Republicans Is Nothing New and, Boy, Does Joe love War!!
As his fellow senators voted Thursday on whether to unilaterally lift the embargo on arms sales to Bosnia, Joe Lieberman paced between the desks tallying Democratic and Republican votes.
The Connecticut Democrat knew the vote would be tight. He knew he needed support from both sides for the measure he sponsored with Minority Leader Bob Dole to pass. And he knew the other side was twisting arms. But in the end, he and Dole had won - barely.
The get-tough measure - to allow the Bosnian Muslims easier access to armaments - passed 50-49. But so did a second, seemingly contradictory amendment calling on President Clinton to push American allies to jointly lift the embargo.
Thursday, Lieberman found himself arguing against the stance of the Democratic president and many Democratic leaders in the Senate.
Lieberman has developed an image as a top Democratic hawk, quick to the draw on intervention in the Persian Gulf and outspoken on the need for air strikes in Sarajevo.
His inclination toward force has been noticed by the talk shows and the networks.
Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn.: Aug 3, 1993.
Comfortable With Republicans, always that "partisan thing"..Geesh, he's been using that meme for a long time!
Yet Lieberman has sent some very public signals that he is comfortable with Republicans. With a re-election race looming next year, he would like Republicans to be comfortable with him.
He showed up to shake hands at a Connecticut GOP reception in Washington July 21. He was one of the few Democratic senators to back President Bush's plan to invade Iraq in 1991. He voted in June to oppose a gasoline tax, and won praise from top Washington GOP conservatives for his work.
"I try not to think in partisan terms," Lieberman said during an interview last week. "In some ways I probably am acceptable to moderate Republicans."
His describes himself as a "new Democrat. I try to be independent. I try to make up my mind believing what I think is right."
Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn.: Aug 20, 1993.
Joe's Loved Those Anti-Choice Judges For A Long Time
Poor judge(s)?
The National Women's Political Caucus of Connecticut is the latest group to object to Lieberman's and Dodd's recommendation to President Clinton that Manchester lawyer Dominic Squatrito, rather than a woman, be nominated for a federal judgeship.
Squatrito, a longtime Lieberman friend, has angered some women for once making his office available to anti-abortion activists. In a letter this week, the caucus said it was "gravely disappointed that you agreed on a male candidate of modest qualifications when there are so many excellent women available."
The letter was signed by Trudi Bird, caucus chairwoman and a former aide to Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr., a Lieberman political foe.
Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn.: Feb 11, 1994.
What? Joe Becomes More Valuable Than Strom Thurmond?
Lieberman says he joined the armed services committee last January at Nunn's urging; Nunn wanted to shore up support among moderate Democrats at a time of increasing pressure to cut defense spending.
More liberal Democrats seeking a committee spot might push for greater cuts. And a change in the ranking Republican on the committee -- South Carolina's Strom Thurmond had bumped Virginia's John Warner -- meant Nunn couldn't count on the consistent Republican support he had had in the past.
Lieberman, Charles Robb of Virginia and Bob Graham of Florida all joined the committee at the start of 1993, giving Nunn the solid moderate Democratic block he wanted.