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Twitter Pillories Joe Lieberman’s Absurd Endorsement of Susan Collins

BY September 10, 2020

Joe Lieberman, a former US Senator from Connecticut who was Al Gore’s running mate on the Democratic ticket in 2000, endorsed Senator Susan Collins’ (R-ME) reelection bid on Wednesday, and the internet is having a field day with it.

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Below is a transcript of the 30-second spot, courtesy of CrooksandLiars.

“I’m a lifelong Democrat but I put my country first, always. That’s why I’m supporting Susan Collins for Senate. I served with Susan in the Senate. She’s independent, thoughtful, and a fighter for women’s issues. Susan always stands up for Maine. She’s always worked to create jobs and improve health care and protect Maine’s environment. You don’t get many like Susan Collins, and when you do, you keep them.”

The ad begins with a lie. Lieberman, 78 and still alive, is not a “life-long Democrat.” He was first elected to the Senate in 1989 as a Democrat and then switched his party affiliation to Independent in 2006, and then endorsed Republican John McCain for president in 2008. He retired in 2013.

Collins is a pro-choice Republican with a mixed record on social causes, tax reform, the environment, civil rights, and holds a solid B+ rating from the disgraced National Rifle Association.

Lieberman’s endorsement also completely misrepresented Collins’ record on health care. During their time together in the Senate, both Collins and Lieberman opposed a public health care option as an alternative to private insurance.

In 2009, Collins voted against passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, into law. She has since voted to chop away at the ACA more than 21 times since 2011. She was, however, one of three Republicans in the Senate – John McCain (AZ) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) being the others – to vote against a full repeal of the ACA in 2017.

But perhaps the most glaringly ridiculous statement Lieberman made was that Collins has been a fierce fighter for women’s issues. While she does have a mostly pro-choice voting record, her reputation as a champion for women was irreparably shattered when she voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of gangraping women in college, to the Supreme Court in 2018. She and Murkowski cast the deciding votes in Kavanaugh’s favor – and Collins has stood by her decision.

“I do not regret my vote in the least,” she said in an interview with The New York Times last year. “I’m an important voice for the nation in an increasingly polarized environment,” she said. “There are so few members left in the center.”

Following the endorsement, which took many people by surprise because Lieberman has been maintaining a low profile since leaving politics and no one ever seeks out his opinion, Twitter simply went nuts.

Lieberman “Endorsing Collins is akin to him endorcing Edith Bunker,” one user quipped.

Additionally, Collins has voted in favor of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees and policy proposals 67.5 percent of the time since he took office, and a whopping 77.4 percent of the time during her current term, according to FiveThirtyEight.

On February 5, 2020, she voted to acquit Trump after he was impeached – twice – for trying to extort Ukraine for dirt on Joe Biden and for obstruction of justice.

Collins is currently locked in an extremely tight race against Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. The latest polling out of Maine has the two women tied with 49 percent of the vote.

Collins has also received the coveted endorsement of former President George W. Bush.



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