Supporters of the Democratic Party have disowned former Democrat Senator and VP pick Joe Lieberman, arguing that he has always been a black sheep in the family after he appeared in a reelection ad for Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Former US Senator for Connecticut Joe Lieberman, who was selected to be Al Gore’s running mate in his failed 2000 presidential bid, has announced his endorsement for Collins, a self-described “moderate Republican” vying for reelection in November.
Collins is lagging behind her Democratic opponent, state House Speaker Sara Gideon, in recent polls.
In a campaign ad that made the rounds on Tuesday, Lieberman said that despite being “a life-long Democrat,” he nonetheless supports Collins, who he described as “a fighter for women’s issues.”
“I’m a life-long Democrat, but I put my country first,” Lieberman said in the short clip.
Lieberman’s self-description as a “life-long Democrat” has irked many party backers online. Some accused him of switching sides as far back as 2006, when he decided to run for a Senate seat as an independent after losing a Democratic primary while facing push-back for his support for the war in Iraq.
“Joe Lieberman is a lifelong Democrat in the same way that James Bond is a lifelong celibate,” a commenter noted.
Joe Lieberman is a lifelong Democrat in the same way that James Bond is a lifelong celibate. https://t.co/8yj7gdfVYa
.@JoeLieberman literally ran as an independent in his last Senate campaign after losing the primary and won with the implicit endorsement of the Connecticut GOP. His Twitter bio even says he served as an independent, not a Democrat. https://t.co/PBkaxI05Qn
However, while serving in the Senate, he never completely broke away from the Democratic Party. Having been listed as an “independent Democrat,” he continued chairing committees for Democrats during his last term in office.
Lieberman was also a friend of the late GOP Senator and war hawk John McCain (R-Arizona). While Lieberman ran in the 2004 Democratic presidential primary, he later endorsed McCain’s bid for the Oval Office and addressed the Republican National Convention (RNC) in 2008.
Lieberman has also maintained a long-term friendship with Collins, who campaigned for him back in 2006.
In 2017, US President Donald Trump named the former Connecticut Senator among his top candidates to replace the fired FBI chief James Comey, but eventually settled for Christopher Wray.
While Lieberman’s history of flirting with Republican voters is no secret, his endorsement of his pal Collins has sparked a ruckus on Twitter, sending his name into the trends.
Apart from Lieberman’s questionable party allegiance, Democrats called out him for refusing to support an Obama administration healthcare bill that includes a Medicare buy-in, which would have allowed those between ages 55 and 64 to buy Medicare coverage.
This needs to play right after every video of Joe Lieberman endorsing Susan Effing Collins. https://t.co/WAijMAdiQN
Some just took Lieberman’s endorsement as the last straw, warranting an immediate cancellation.
my simping for joe lieberman after he endorsed susan collins pic.twitter.com/mCCkJ7Ciiv
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