Sen. Blumenthal on Joe Lieberman’s legacy: ‘He was ferociously independent’

Memories and condolences are pouring in for former Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democrat turned independent who never shied away from bucking the party line. Lieberman had a lengthy political history and was the first Jewish candidate on a major party ticket when Al Gore chose him as his running mate. William Brangham discussed Lieberman’s life and legacy with Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.
William Brangham:
Memories and condolences are pouring in for former senator Joe Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-independent who never shied away from bucking the party line.
Lieberman had a lengthy political history, serving more than four decades in both his home state of Connecticut’s capital, as well as the nation’s. He was also the first Jewish candidate on a major-party ticket when Al Gore chose him as his running mate in 2,000.
For a deeper look at his life and legacy, I’m joined by one of his longtime friends and former colleagues. That is Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut.
Senator, thank you so much for being here. And I’m very sorry to you for the loss of your friend.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT):
Thank you.
William Brangham:
Your careers followed these very similar paths, from statehouse, state attorney general, to the U.S. Senate, where you serve together.
How would you like people to remember your friend and colleague?
Sen. Richard Blumenthal:
We had lives and families that intertwined. And I knew Joe personally for more than 50 years.
And we sometimes disagreed, as friends do. But he was always affable and amiable even in our toughest disagreements, on the Iraq War, for example. That was key to his bipartisanship, his reaching across the aisle, his bringing people together and bridging gaps.
So I think he should be remembered as a peacemaker, a consensus-builder, someone who tried to reach across the aisle, as the saying goes. Tempers in the United States Senate can frequently flare. Personalities can clash. Joe was respected as someone who really worked with other people in a very serious, but personable way.
William Brangham:
I mean, as you’re noting, some people have been saying that Senator Lieberman, whether he was your political ally or not, could change from day to day.
And that independence won him a great deal of praise, as you are showering on him, and some criticism. How did you view that trait of his?
Sen. Richard Blumenthal:
He was ferociously independent, a maverick, and he thought through positions, but he also listened.
In my job as a U.S. senator and earlier as attorney general, I have said to people the most important thing I do is to listen. And Joe was a great listener, and I will always remember him listening to me, but also to others. He recognized that every person has a story, a point of view that is worth hearing.
And he was a person of deep conscience and conviction, which led to his independence and his forging his own path on a lot of important issues. But he was also, let’s be very blunt, a Democrat on issues like gun violence prevention, gay rights, women’s reproductive health care, civil rights, consumer protection, environmental values.
He was, at heart, in many ways, a Democrat, even though he disagreed with us from time to time.
William Brangham:
Some people have noted with his passing that it seems to be that there’s very little space anymore for moderates like him.
Do you think, for any of the young Joe Lieberman types out there, that they would have a shot in politics in America today?
Sen. Richard Blumenthal:
Definitely.
You know, people are hungry for bipartisanship. They’re really so desperate for folks in our positions who want to get things done, which was Joe’s mission: How do we accomplish something?
He accomplished, with the intelligence community reform, ending the silos that prevent us from recognizing 9/11 before it occurred. He built the Department of Homeland Security and the modern intelligence community as we know it now that has probably saved us countless times from terrorist attacks, as well as other law enforcement.
And that is just one of his accomplishments. But he also had a very personal side, which is important in politics. I was talking to one of his former colleagues from Louisiana, and he was telling me that he and Joe formed the Kosher Cajun Caucus…
(Laughter)
Sen. Richard Blumenthal:
… Louisiana and kosher Connecticut.
And they would invite colleagues to meals that they took from the recipes that they each brought to the Kosher Cajun kitchen. And it just is one tiny example of how he tried to bring people together.
William Brangham:
In recent months, as you know, Senator Lieberman was helping lead efforts to find a candidate for the No Labels, this third-party idea.
And separate from that organization’s intentions, many people in your party felt that that effort, if they found a candidate that could run for presidency, would in essence make Donald Trump the likely next president and were very critical of that.
Do you share that belief? And did you ever talk with him about that?
Sen. Richard Blumenthal:
I spoke to Joe about principally Donald Trump and what might happen if No Labels caused the election of Donald Trump, which was a nightmare for him, as it is for me.
And Joe opposed Donald Trump in 2016. He opposed Donald Trump in 2020. I believe he would have opposed Donald Trump in 2024 and would have supported Joe Biden.
And the reason is that Donald Trump was an anathema to all of those values and principles that Joe Lieberman holds dear.
William Brangham:
All right, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, thank you so much for being here.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal:
Thank you.