Senator Joe Lieberman has announced that he will not run for re-election in 2012. Lieberman is effectively retiring from service as a United States Senator, after serving for over 20 years. After four terms, he has decided it is time to move on.
Senator Joe Lieberman calling it quits after four terms
After four terms in office, Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has announced that he is effectively retiring from the Senate. There had been speculation for some time that he was going to, but Lieberman confirmed it in a recent press conference in a Marriott hotel in Stamford, according to the New York Times. He said that it was time to do something else, and joked that he had told his wife that “when Regis leaves television, I’ll leave the Senate.” Regis Philbin indeed recently announced his retirement from television. Lieberman went on to say that he didn’t fit neatly in the current Democrat or Republican mold, hinting at his maverick status as a gadfly to both parties. Lieberman is one of two independent Senators in the current U.S. Senate, both of which caucus with the Democrats.
Long career in politics ends
Joe Liebermann has been in elected office for almost 40 years. After serving for 10 years as a State Senator in Connecticut, he was elected and served as the Attorney General of Connecticut to serve from 1983 to 1989. During that time, he successfully ran for a seat in the United States Senate. He held his seat four terms. Though he was defeated in the Democratic Primary in 2006, losing to Ned Lamont , he ran as an Independent and was re-elected. He has been criticized for advocating the war in Iraq and endorsing John McCain in the 2008 election, citing Barack Obama’s lack of experience.
New candidates emerge
There is a slate of potential successors lining up to take Liberman’s place. Linda McMahon, who unsuccessfully ran as the Republican candidate against Richard Blumenthal, is rumored to still be eying a Senate seat. The former Secretary of State for Connecticut, Susan Bysiewicz, has already announced she would run for his seat in 2012.
Sources
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/nyregion/20lieberman.html
NPR: http://www.npr.org/2011/01/19/133053320/lieberman-announces-he-will-retire-2012
Sam Hoober is a graduate of Eastern Washington University. He has held his current writing job for two years. He enjoys writing about history, science, politics, and the economy.
