Senator Lieberman: A Democrat’s Democrat

Career

· Lieberman was elected as a “reform Democrat” to the Connecticut Senate in 1970, where he served for 10 years, including the last six as Majority Leader. From 1982 to 1988, he served as Connecticut Attorney General and emphasized consumer protection and environmental enforcement.

· In 1988, Lieberman defeated Republican Lowell Weicker to win election to the United States Senate. He was re-elected in 1994, 2000 and 2006.

· In August 2000, Lieberman was selected as the nominee for Vice President of the United States by Al Gore.

Policy

· Overall Lieberman has a pro-choice voting record, and in 2007 he received a grade of 100 from the abortion rights organization NARAL Pro-Choice America.

· Lieberman has stated that “I support affirmative action programs, including in appropriate instances consideration of race and gender in government contracting decisions, when the affirmative action program is designed to remedy the effects of past discrimination.”

· Lieberman co-sponsored the 1990 Clean Air Act, introduced legislation in 1991 to give consumers more information about the dangers of pesticides, and has addressed the need to limit global warming. Lieberman has stated that the US population has to accept responsibility for global warming, and voted “yes” on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

· ‘‘Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008’’ proposed to ration/cap carbon emissions in the U.S., and tax or purchase Carbon credits on the global market for greater U.S. alignment with the Kyoto protocol standards and goals.

· On May 23, 2005, Lieberman was one of fourteen senators, dubbed the “Gang of 14,” who forged a compromise on the Democrats’ use of the judicial filibuster, thus avoiding the Republican leadership's implementation of the so-called “nuclear option.”

· In 2004, Lieberman scored a rating of 88 out of 100 by the Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. Lieberman cosponsored the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations act of 2003, which provided the same benefits to domestic partners of federal employees as spouses currently have. In 1996, Lieberman cosponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

· Lieberman received an “F” rating from the National Rifle Association and a 90% from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

· Lieberman has been critical of Bush’s Medicare plan, arguing that, in its current state, it does not provide sufficiently for the elderly.

· During his 2004 campaign, Lieberman said, “[t]he day I walk into the Oval Office, the first thing I'm going to do is rescind the Bush administration restrictions on embryonic stem cell research.”

· Lieberman cosponsored a resolution urging the Congress to reject the Bush Administration Social Security Commission’s report.