Lieberman in Connecticut

I often pride myself in being labeled a conservative or an ultra-right wing whacko or an ultra-right wing conservative whacko. So it may surprise some of my friends to learn that I am taking this time to endorse Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut Senate race, and not the more conservative Republican challenger, Alan Schlesinger. Lieberman will be running as an Independent in November thanks to the extreme factions of his party defeating him in a primary. The partisan in me says I should support Schlesinger because in a three way race anything can happen, and my party could possibly pick up a Senate seat. However, I feel compelled to support Senator Lieberman because he is an honest and principled man, and truly willing to work to get things done for Americans. While many politicians on both sides of the aisle prefer to grandstand and focus on what divides us, Lieberman tries to focus on uniting us. He has been a strong voice in the war on terror, and has supported the notion that we must stay in Iraq until the job is finished.

While others in his party were quick to support military action in Iraq when it seemed popular, and turn against it when the public's mood turned sour, Lieberman remained a consistent voice and a true leader. Leadership is not defined by doing what is popular, as the saying goes what is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular. I define a leader as someone who takes a stand for what one believes to be right and defending that stand. By my definition, Lieberman is certainly a leader, and I have come to the conclusion that the United States would be far worse without his principled voice on issues of war and peace in the United States Senate. He is not a conservative, and does not support many of my positions on domestic policy, he has a career rating of 70 with the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action and career rating of 17 with the American Conservative Union, but in today's world national security trumps tax cuts any day.

I urge those of you reading this to take a moment to read his campaign and official Senate websites, learn for yourself who Senator Joe Lieberman is, and if you live in Connecticut please cast your vote for him on election day in November. America will be a stronger and better place if he's sent back to the Senate for another term.