One of the most prominent senators in the US is up for re-election this fall. Senator Joseph Lieberman is running for a fourth term as senator from the state of Connecticut. And he is in a fight for his political life, there. That is quite a turn of events for him, for America, for Jewish Americans, and most importantly for Orthodox Jewish Americans.
The left wing of the Democratic Party has decided to run another candidate against him in the primary. One who is opposed to the war in Iraq. Unfortunately the left wing of that party is so blinded by their anti Iraq war, Bush hating stance that they are blinded to the fact that Senator Lieberman is quite the liberal on my issues. His unequivocal support of President Bush on the war has so enraged them that they are willing to cast aside perhaps the most honored members of the senate... on both sides of the aisle... a senator of the democratic party that is virtually assured a win in the general election.
I hope this doesn’t happen. Joseph Lieberman is a walking Kiddush HaShem. Ever since his election to the senate, he has made no secret of his Torah observance. He has always said, when asked, that the Torah is his moral guide when taking positions on any issue. Not that he makes policy decisions based on Halacha, but that the morality he learned from the Torah informed him on matters of right and wrong. When he was chosen as the vice-Presidential candidate by former vice President Al Gore, Senator Lieberman’s moral rectitude is what drew Gore to select him. And his candidacy was widely accepted by everyone... so much so that a badly trailing Gore in the polls suddenly pulled even with his Republican rival George Bush! So highly regarded was Lieberman’s standing in the eyes of Americans.
I remember reporters asking people if they thought Lieberman’s religion and strong religious beliefs would be an obstacle in voting for Gore. Almost to a man, the responses were to the effect that his religiosity was looked at as a plus and that more of that was needed in govenment. The American people, it seems are more appreciative of authentic Judaism than I could have ever believed.
Even though I am now completely supportive of President Bush (as is Lieberman) I voted for the Gore/Lieberman ticket because I thought the idea of an Orthodox Jewish Vice-President would be the greatest boon to Kiruv ever. The Kiddush HaShem of an observant Jew... just a heart beat away from the Presidency had great appeal to me. Could anyone have ever imagined a Vice-President that was Shomer Shabbos and Shomer Kashrus? The media attention on things Jewish would have increased exponentially!
Well it didn’t happen, Altough Gore won the popular vote, the electoral college gave the election to President Bush. Properly so. Frankly, I couldn’t be happier that Gore lost. A Gore presidency would have been a disaster for this country. Although a true gentleman and quite sincere in his political beliefs, those beliefs turned out to be quite different than I thought. They were and are anathema to me. I think even Joe Lieberman quietly agrees with this.
This brings me back to his current re-election campaign. Senator Lieberman deserves our support. Aside from being one of the most respected people in congress, he is ...still a walking Kiddush HaShem. No one in government supports Torah values more than he does... obviously. And although he made some misstatements about Halacha during his VP campaign, he is basically an Orthodox Jew. He is one of the strongest supporters of Israel. And it is important to have his moral voice in congress. I realize that the number of Jews eligible to vote for him that read this blog is miniscule. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t give him moral support... or financial support, for those who have the means.
It would be a great loss to this country... to the President’s war effort, to supporters of Israel, and to Orthodox Jews if he were to lose.
