Current:Home > InvestFormer US Sen. Joe Lieberman and VP candidate to be remembered at hometown funeral service-InfoLens
Former US Sen. Joe Lieberman and VP candidate to be remembered at hometown funeral service
View Date:2024-12-23 15:36:24
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Political dignitaries, family and friends are gathering Friday to honor the late Joe Lieberman at a funeral service in Stamford, Connecticut, the hometown of the four-term 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 vice president in 2000.
Lieberman died Wednesday in New York City from complications from 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 Friday to sundown Saturday, the congregation played a key role early on 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 uplift,” according to a posting on the congregation’s website.
“I feel very lucky -- my adherence to the Jewish tradition is really an asset,” he said. “Religious Catholics and Protestants find a bond of common value with my beliefs and stand. It is this that makes me so proud of being an American.”
Top Connecticut Democrats, including former Sen. Chris Dodd, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Gov. Ned Lamont, Lieberman’s one-time rival for the Senate seat, are expected to attend the services Friday morning. A second public memorial is expected to be held at a future date.
Lieberman, a former state Senate leader and attorney general, was known for his pragmatic, independent streak. A moderate Democrat who ended up running as an independent to win a fourth term in the Senate, Lieberman came close to becoming Republican John McCain’s running mate in 2008. However, conservatives balked at the idea of tapping Lieberman, who was known for supporting gay rights, civil rights, abortion rights and environmental causes while taking a hawkish stand on military and national security matters.
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 of serving something bigger than ourselves,” Biden, who served 20 years in the Senate with Lieberman, said in his statement. “He lived the values of his faith as he worked to repair the wounds of the world.”
Lieberman came tantalizingly close to winning the vice presidency in the contentious 2000 presidential contest that was decided by a 537-vote margin victory for George W. Bush in Florida after a drawn-out recount, legal challenges and a Supreme Court decision. He was the first Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket.
Over the last decade, Lieberman helped lead No Labels, a centrist third-party movement that has said it will offer as-yet-unnamed candidates for president and vice president this year. Some groups aligned with Democrats oppose the effort, fearing it will help presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump win the White House.
Lieberman and his wife, Hadassah, have four children.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- World War II veteran reflects on life as he turns 100
- 2 bodies found, 4 people arrested in connection to missing Kansas women in Oklahoma
- The best (and worst) moments of Coachella Day 2, from No Doubt's reunion to T-Pain's line
- Sade Robinson case: Milwaukee man Maxwell Anderson charged after human remains found
- What is prize money for NBA Cup in-season tournament? Players get boost in 2024
- A Second Real Housewives of Potomac Star Is Leaving After Season 8
- 13-year-old girl shot to death in small Iowa town; 12-year-old boy taken into custody
- Suspect in custody after shots fired from Marina del Rey rooftop prompt alert in Los Angeles area
- Burger King is giving away a million Whoppers for $1: Here's how to get one
- Brittney Griner and Cherelle Griner Expecting First Baby Together
Ranking
- Olivia Munn Randomly Drug Tests John Mulaney After Mini-Intervention
- Scottie Scheffler wins his second Masters, but knows priorities are about to change
- Everything you need to know about hyaluronic acid, according to a dermatologist.
- Four people charged in the case of 2 women missing from Oklahoma
- Supreme Court seems likely to allow class action to proceed against tech company Nvidia
- Botox shots, possibly counterfeit, linked to botulism-like illnesses
- 2 law enforcement officers shot, killed in line of duty in Syracuse, New York: Police
- Brittney Griner and Cherelle Griner Expecting First Baby Together
Recommendation
-
West Virginia governor-elect Morrisey to be sworn in mid-January
-
Maine is latest state to approve interstate compact for social worker licenses
-
The Reasons 71 Bachelor Nation Couples Gave for Ending Their Journeys
-
US judge tosses out lawsuits against Libyan commander accused of war crimes
-
Stock market today: Asian stocks decline as China stimulus plan disappoints markets
-
LIV Golf Masters: Results, scores leaderboard for LIV tour as DeChambeau finishes top 10
-
Ryan Reynolds' Latest Prank Involves the Titanic and That Steamy Drawing
-
Wife of ex-Harvard morgue manager pleads guilty to transporting stolen human remains