Howdy,
I never met Joe Lieberman, but I am very saddened by his death.
As I eclipse middle age and start moving down the hill, I’m more inclined to focus on the essentials when it comes to my politics: maintaining the liberal international economic order, defending Israel, and conserving the constitution. Anything other than that, well, it’s just gravy.
Lieberman was solid when it came to my principles.
Of course, I wasn’t always that way. During my misspent youth, I tried on all types of political beliefs. I tried progressivism in my politics, but it never fit. I swung to libertarianism and enjoyed learning its philosophical underpinnings until I came to their thoughts on foreign policy and children.
Now, I’m tribeless. While I’ll vote for President Biden, I will never forgive him for Afghanistan. Never. Those were my friends he abandoned. Those friends are the very people who protected this country for two decades.
Regardless, there was a time when we were different. Senator Lieberman was part of those times.
This is my favorite photo of Lieberman, joined at the hip with Senator McCain, my personal hero. I joined the military because of McCain. After 9-11, I knew I had to fight. I knew John McCain would fight next to me if he could still serve. I spent 4 1/2 years in Iraq and Afghanistan partly because Senator McCain inspired me.
I’m sure there are tons of votes and decisions that people can tsk tsk Lieberman over. Some people are still upset about his support of No Labels. Honestly, I could care less. It’s not important.
You can agree/disagree with the Iraq War, but I never thought Lieberman and McCain didn’t want us to win. They were ferocious in their attacks against the Department of Defense and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. They didn’t get all misty-eyed and fawn over general officers. They took them to task.
Now, good luck with that. Either people are fawning all over general officers, giving them a pass because it’s politically expedient, or using them to attack “the woke military.”
Point of Privilege: I think DEI is dumb. It doesn’t help. I really hate that it’s made inroads into the US military. It doesn’t make us more lethal or better at winning our nation’s wars. Nevertheless, the military isn’t woke — it’s broken. It’s broken because nobody will hold it accountable for two lost wars.
I’d like to think that if Senator McCain and Liberman were still around, they would call for heads over Afghanistan. Maybe Senator McCain and Liberman could’ve talked Biden out of his decision to haphazardly “withdraw” from Afghanistan.
I don’t know.
What I do know is that I certainly wish Senator McCain had picked him as his running mate in 2008. Senator McCain made many mistakes, but plucking Sara Palin was probably in his top 5. She helped usher in the barnyard animals that now exemplify the modern GOP.
In the end, Senator Lieberman was a good man. A proud Jew. He loved this country and wanted it to remain the greatest beacon of light to this troubled world.
And that's a miracle in today’s age of amusing ourselves to death.
Baruch Dayan emit
May his memory be a blessing
May his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Until Next Time.
Thank you, Will. Where have all the statesmen gone? Truly sad to see McCain and now Lieberman leave us.
I seem to be "tribeless" as well, and though Liz Cheney is more conservative than I, her quote is where I find myself again:
"I certainly have policy disagreements with the Biden Administration. I know the nation can survive bad policy. We can’t survive a president who is willing to torch the Constitution."
~~Liz Cheney
Rest peacefully Joe Lieberman. You are another who leaves a wonderful legacy.
He was a personal hero of mine. He stood for civility and debate over principles and our country. I will miss him and McCain and Charles Krauthammer also. I would love to think the 3 of them are sitting on some bench together up there having a discussion. And also shaking their heads in disbelief about how stupid we all are.