{| style="float: right;" | |- | |} Best or The Best may refer to:

Film and television

''Best'' (film), a 2000 George Best biopic

''The Best'' (UK TV series), a 2002 cooking programme on BBC2

''Best: His Mother's Son'', a 2009 made-for-TV drama about George Best's mother

Geography

Best, North Brabant, Netherlands

Best, Texas, United States

Best Township, Ontario, Canada

Music

For compilation albums called ''Best'', ''The Best of'' or ''The Best'' see ''Best'' (album)

''The Best'' (band), a music "supergroup" featuring Keith Emerson, John Entwistle and others

Mclusky, a band formerly known as Best

"The Best", a song by …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead from their 2005 album ''Worlds Apart''

"The Best" (song), a single made famous by Tina Turner

People

Best (surname), people with the surname Best

Best (Portuguese footballer), born 1968

Companies and organizations

Best & Co., an 1879-1971 clothing chain

Best & Co. (retailer founded 1997), a children's clothing retailer

Best Lock Corporation, a lock manufacturer

Best Manufacturing Company, a farm machinery company

Best Products, a chain of catalog showroom retail stores

Board of European Students of Technology, a student organisation

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, a public transport and utility provider

Other uses

Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature

The Best (PlayStation range), PlayStation budget range in Japan

Best bitter, a variety of bitter (beer)

Best disease

Best High School (disambiguation)

BEST Robotics, a student competition

BioEthanol for Sustainable Transport

Bootstrap error-adjusted single-sample technique, a statistical method

Bringing Examination and Search Together, a European Patent Office initiative

Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training, a program of the Sustainable South Bronx organization

cs:Best de:Best fr:Best ko:베스트 it:Best nl:BEST ja:Best pl:Best sv:Best

Coordinates	53°24′″N23°30′″N
name	Stewart Lee
birth date	April 05, 1968
birth place	Wellington, Shropshire, England
nationality	British
known for	''Fist of Fun'' (1993–1995)''This Morning with Richard Not Judy'' (1998–1999)''Jerry Springer: The Opera'' (2001–2005)''90's Comedian'' (2005–2006)''41st Best Stand Up Ever!'' (2007–2008)''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' (2009–)
occupation	Stand-up comedian, Writer
spouse	Bridget Christie (?-present)
children	Son
website	}}

Stewart Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show ''Jerry Springer - The Opera''. In a review of the comedy of the previous decade, a 2009 article in ''The Times'' referred to Lee as "the comedian's comedian, and for good reason" and named him "face of the decade".

His stand-up features frequent use of "repetition, call-backs, nonchalant delivery and deconstruction".

Background

Lee was born in Wellington, Shropshire. He was adopted as a child and grew up in Solihull in the West Midlands. He attended private school Solihull School, on a scholarship. He is married to fellow comic Bridget Christie, with whom he has two children. He is a supporter of the British Humanist Association and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

Career

Early career: ''Lee and Herring'' and ''Fist of Fun''

While studying English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford in the 1980s, he wrote and performed comedy in a revue group called "The Seven Raymonds" with Richard Herring, Emma Kennedy, Michael Cosgrave, Richard Canning and Tim Richardson, but did not perform in the well-known Oxford Revue, though he did write for and direct the 1989 Revue. Having moved to London and begun performing stand up comedy after university, he rose to greater prominence in 1990, winning the prestigious Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition. With Richard Herring, Lee wrote material for BBC Radio 4's ''On the Hour'' (1991), which was anchored by Chris Morris and was notable for the first appearance of Steve Coogan's celebrated character, Alan Partridge, for which Lee and Herring wrote much early material. After a disagreement with the rest of the cast, Lee & Herring did not remain with the group when ''On The Hour'' moved to television as ''The Day Today'' and their material was excised from an official release of the radio show in the mid-'90s (though a 2008 CD release would see it re-instated). In 1992, Lee was briefly part of the team writing the first Robin Askwith "Confessions of..." movie for 15 years. However due to financial problems the movie was scrapped and his script has never seen light of day.

In 1992 and 1993, he and Herring wrote and performed ''Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World'' for BBC Radio 4, before moving to BBC Radio 1, for one series of ''Fist of Fun'' (1993). This was followed by three series entitled, simply, ''Lee and Herring''. These shows mixed sketches with live links and music, in a format that Radio 1 seemed to favour at the time. (Other classic examples of such include shows by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, and Simon Munnery in his guise as "Alan Parker: Urban Warrior".) ''Fist of Fun'' moved to television for two BBC Two series, and was followed in 1998 by ''This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', which featured material in a similar vein, but was notable for being broadcast live in a Sunday morning slot. A change in BBC management after the second series of the latter effectively brought his partnership with Herring to an end but the two comedians still share a similarity of humour.

Throughout the late nineties he continued performing solo stand-up (something that has always been a mainstay of his career – even whilst in the double act with Herring) and has collaborated with, amongst others, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding of ''The Mighty Boosh''. Indeed, though they had worked together in the past, the first seeds of the Boosh were sown whilst working as part of Lee's Edinburgh show ''King Dong vs Moby Dick'' in which Barratt and Fielding played a giant penis and a whale, respectively. Lee returned the favour by going on to direct their 1999 Edinburgh show, Arctic Boosh, which remains the template of all their live work.

Career 2000–04: Quitting stand-up

In 2001, Lee published his first novel, ''The Perfect Fool''. It was republished in 2008. In the same year he performed ''Pea Green Boat'', a stand-up show which revolved around the deconstruction of the Edward Lear poem ''The Owl and the Pussycat'' and a tale of his own broken toilet. This would later be condensed to focus mainly on the poem itself, and a 15 minute version aired on Radio 4. In 2007, Go Faster Stripe released a 25-minute edit on CD & 10" Vinyl.

During late 2000 and early 2001, Lee "gradually, incrementally and without any fanfare – or even much thought – gave up being a stand-up comedian". 2001 was the first year since 1987 that he did not perform at the Edinburgh Fringe. Whilst Lee found himself gradually performing less and less standup and moving away from the stage, he continued his directorial duties on television. Two pilots were made for Channel 4, ''Cluub Zarathrustra'' and ''Head Farm'', but neither was developed into a series. The former, however, would feature all the ingredients that would later appear in ''Attention Scum'', a BBC2 series fronted by Simon Munnery's ''League Against Tedium'' character, which also featured the likes of Kevin Eldon, Johnny Vegas and Roger Mann, as well as Richard Thomas and opera singer Lori Lixenberg, in their guise as "Kombat Opera".

At the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Lee directed Johnny Vegas's first DVD, ''Who's Ready For Ice Cream?'', a move away from the traditional "stand-up comic releases a DVD" format, involving a plot in which Vegas loses his comedy "mojo" and has to track it down via a journey of personal discovery. The DVD also features footage of Vegas' actual standup set as additional extras.

In 2004, Lee returned to stand-up comedy with the show ''Standup Comedian'', which earned him a "Tap Water Award" in Edinburgh and was released on DVD in October 2005. This features extra footage of performances from his earlier career on Five's "Comedy Network". This show was toured extensively throughout the UK, Australia and USA. Reviewing the comedy of the decade, Dominic Maxwell in ''The Times'' wrote of Lee's 2004 return to stand-up that it was "one of the boldest, smartest, most technically assured hours of stand-up I've ever seen".

2005: ''Jerry Springer The Opera'' and ''90s Comedian''

In January 2005, ''Jerry Springer - The Opera'', a satirical musical/opera based upon ''The Jerry Springer Show'', was broadcast on BBC Two, following a highly successful West End run for several years, and as a prelude to the show's UK Tour. Christian Voice led a number of protest groups who claimed that the show was blasphemous and highly offensive. In particular, they were angered by the portrayal of Jesus Christ. Disputes arose, with supporters claiming that most of the protesters had neither seen the show nor knew of its actual content. Others supported the right to freedom of speech. Several Christian groups protested at some of the venues used during the UK Tour. The show was broadcast with a record number of complaints prior to its transmission. In total, the BBC received 55,000 complaints. A private court case brought by Christian Voice against Lee and others involved with the production for blasphemy was rejected by a Magistrates' Court.

In 2005, Lee tackled the subject of the religious hatred he experienced after the broadcast of ''Jerry Springer – The Opera'' in his stand-up show, ''90s Comedian''. This show has earned him some of the best reviews of his career, largely due to the un-checked vitriol he unleashes in the latter half of the set, "taking no prisoners" in his attempt to display what he claimed was the lunacy of sacred cows.

A recording was made in Cardiff in March 2006. This was filmed by a group of amateur enthusiasts who were disappointed that there was no distribution deal in place because of the commercial failure of the ''Standup Comedian'' DVD and the controversial nature of the new show's material. These "enthusiastic amateurs" became GoFasterStripe and, having set themselves up in order to film the show, have gone on to film the works of many other "non-mainstream" comedians, including sets from Tony Law (Lee's support act on the 2009 ''If You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One'' tour), Simon Munnery (whose BBC television comedy series -''Attention Scum'' - was directed by Lee) and several by Lee's former partner Richard Herring.

''Jerry Springer – The Opera'' opened at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2008, starring Harvey Keitel as Springer. It has since been performed across the United States, Canada and Australia.

2006: ''What Would Judas Do?''

Many assumed Lee would bring a new hour of stand up to Edinburgh in 2006 to consolidate his "comeback" success, but he did not. Implying that it might have happened under different circumstances, he commented at the time on his website that, "I assumed I was going to be working out 6 half hours of stand-up for a TV project but it fell through". However, he did visit the festival in capacity of director with a production of the Eric Bogosian play ''Talk Radio'' with a cast which included Phil Nichol, Mike McShane, Will Adamsdale, Stephen K Amos and Tony Law.

In 2006, in addition to his directorial contribution to Talk Radio, he gigged regularly and appeared on television and radio, in – amongst others – Armando Iannucci's, ''Time Trumpet'', as a version of himself thirty years in the future looking back and commentating on the present day. The show ran on BBC2 between August & 6 September 2006. Also in August, Lee presented a programme in the Five series ''Don't Get Me Started''. The documentary discussed the issues of blasphemy, free speech, religious censorship and the rise in protests from religious groups over perceived attacks on their faith. This was of course of some interest to Lee, especially considering his experience in the ''Jerry Springer -The Opera'' controversy (see above). The programme was renamed from ''New Puritans'' to ''Stewart Lee Says What's So Bad About Blasphemy?'' without Lee's knowledge.

He separated from his long standing management company, Avalon, after a promised BBC series fell through (and because of a loss of trust resulting in part from incidents such as the retitling of the blasphemy documentary), and appeared on the BBC Radio 4 quiz ''Quote Unquote'', ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' and on ''Have I Got News for You'', purportedly to pay for his wedding.

In October, he presented a forty year tribute to ''Star Trek'' on BBC Radio 2, and in November, presented ''White Face, Dark Heart'', two programmes on Radio 4 about clowns, during which he fulfilled a ten-year desire to witness the rituals of New Mexico's sacred clowns. These shows are available to download on his official website.

He curated a CD for the Sonic Arts Network called ''The Topography of Chance''. Lee explored different artists, writers and musician’s experiments with randomness and chance and brought together an eclectic mix of artists including tracks by; Simon Munnery, Arthur Smith, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Jem Finer, Kombat Opera, Jon Rose and more.

2007: ''Stewart Lee – 41st Best Stand Up Ever!''

January saw Lee open his show ''What Would Judas Do'' in double bill with Mark Ravenhill's ''Product: World Remix'' at London's Bush Theatre. He announced at the time that he was also writing – with Tony Law a sitcom pilot about the god Thor, for BBC Two, and script-editing another pilot, a sitcom about the Brontë sisters. In February, he organised a tribute to cult comedian Ted Chippington entitled "Tedstock" at London's Bloomsbury Theatre. This was designed, in part, to raise money to fund a CD release of Chippington's work – which was available to buy on the night, "Walking Down The Road". The show included a one-off performance from Lee and Herring, along with fellow Ted fans Simon Munnery, The Nightingales, Phill Jupitus, Josie Long and Stephen Carlin.

Lee's first new stand up show since "90s Comedian" was developed over the first half of 2007, originally to be named ''March Of The Mallards'' (a title parodying that of the film, ''March of the Penguins''), it would be renamed before its full debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival of that year, and subsequent Autumn tour. This was because, in March 2007, Lee was named 41st best stand-up of all time in a Channel 4 survey listing the "100 best standups". In this poll, he beat Dave Allen, George Carlin, Steve Martin, Robin Williams and Tommy Cooper. Channel 4 did not reveal exactly how the voting was conducted, but 150,000 members of the public were polled, as were an undisclosed number of experts.

In the light of this result Lee renamed his Summer 2007 stand-up show 'Stewart Lee – 41st Best Stand Up Ever!' as he felt it was "both arrogant and humble". During the show he joked that since Bernard Manning (who had been placed above him in the poll) had died since the Channel 4 poll had first aired, he felt he should be moved up to Number 40. Another project, "Johnson & Boswell, Late But Live", written by Lee & performed by comics Simon Munnery and Miles Jupp played throughout the festival at the Traverse Theatre before embarking upon a tour of Scotland.

July 2007, Lee appeared on the Channel 4 panel game, ''8 out of 10 Cats'', which he has since described as "the worst professional experience of my life". July 2007 also saw the premiere of ''Interiors'', a site-specific theatre piece co-written with Johnny Vegas, at the Manchester International Festival.

2008

2008 began, as 2007 had ended, with the continuing tour of "41st Best Standup". It became Lee's longest tour to date, and was filmed at the Glasgow Stand for DVD release by Real Talent in April (the DVD hit stores in July).

Lee also co wrote 'Poets' Tree' with close friend & collaborator, the actor Kevin Eldon. This was a BBC Radio 4 series that was aired in April 2008, based on Paul Hamilton, Eldon's arrogant poet alter-ego.

At the Edinburgh Festival in 2008 Lee performed potential material for his recently announced BBC2 series, ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'', in a work in progress show at The Stand, billed as ''Scrambled Egg''. Over the three weeks of the festival, Lee worked on a large quantity of new material, and updated old favourites for possible inclusion in the show, which began filming the following November. A follow up to Johnson & Boswell also aired, again featuring Munnery & Jupp. ''Elizabeth & Raleigh, Late But Live'' was featured at the festival before touring the country in the autumn. In November, Lee began filming for his 2009 TV show, and on the 16th November, reunited with Herring another one off performance of their old double act at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith during one of the gigs Richard Herring curated there. They were joined by Paul Putner in character as the Curious Orange. With initial filming out of the way, ''Scrambled Egg'' was reprised at London's Hen & Chickens Theatre in December to fully polish the stand up sections of the forthcoming TV project ahead of filming in January 2009.

2009: ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' and ''If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One''

''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'', a new six part comedy series featuring standup and sketches, began a six episode run on 16 March 2009. The executive producer was Armando Iannucci and the script editor was Chris Morris. The first episode received positive reviews from The Independent and The ''Daily Mirror''. The show received a negative review in ''Time Out'', written by Lee himself, in which he described himself as "fat" and his performance as "positively Neanderthal, suggesting a jungle-dwelling pygmy, struggling to coax notes out of a clarinet that has fallen from a passing aircraft". ''The Guardian'' named ''Comedy Vehicle'' as one of its top ten television highlights of 2009, commenting that it "was the kind of TV that makes you feel like you're not the only one wondering how we came to be surrounded by so much unquestioned mediocrity". One of the show's few negative reviews came in the ''Sunday Mercury'', which stated: "His whole tone is one of complete, smug condescension". Lee subsequently used this line to advertise his next stand-up tour. Lee frequently uses negative reviews on his posters in order to put off potential audience members who are unlikely to be fans of his comedy style.

The first episode was watched by approximately 1 million viewers, though the figure rose by 25% when BBC iPlayer viewings were factored in and, uncharacteristically, viewing figures rose over the series. The series was the BBC's second most downloaded broadcast during its run. In May 2010, the series was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for best comedy programme.

Lee also had a show at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, named ''Stewart Lee: If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One'' in which he performed his own version of the song "Galway Girl". In the Galway stage of this show Sharon Shannon performed the song with Lee. In December 2009 Lee was beaten to the title of Best Live Stand-Up by the comedian Michael McIntyre at the British Comedy Awards ceremony.

Lee caused controversy on his ''If You Prefer a Milder Comedian'' tour with a joke about ''Top Gear'' presenter Richard Hammond. Referring to Hammond's accident while filming in 2006, in which he was almost killed, Lee joked, "I wish he had been decapitated and that his head had rolled off in front of his wife". and, having been doorstepped by a ''Mail'' journalist, Lee replied "It's a joke, just like on Top Gear when they do their jokes". Lee subsequently explained the joke:

In an ''Observer'' interview, Sean O'Hagan says of the Hammond joke that Lee "operates out in that dangerous hinterland between moral provocation and outright offence, often adopting, as in this instance, the tactics of those he targets in order to highlight their hypocrisy". in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. On the 9th of February, Armando Iannucci, the executive producer of the first series of ''Comedy Vehicle'', announced that there would be a second series of the show. On 10 April an updated version of ''The 100 Greatest Stand-Ups'' was broadcast on Channel 4, in which Lee was declared the 12th best stand-up comedian. The May Day weekend saw Lee curating a programme of free jazz at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, at the invitation of festival director Tony Dudley-Evans.

Lee's second book, ''How I Escaped My Certain Fate: The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian'', was published by Faber and Faber on 5 August 2010. The book features annotated transcripts of Lee's ''Stand-Up Comedian'', '''90s Comedian'' and ''41st Best Stand-Up Ever'' shows and has received positive reviews. It is dedicated to Ted Chippington.

Lee's 2010 Edinburgh Fringe show is entitled ''Vegetable Stew''. Prior to the start of the festival, Lee wrote an e-mail to the publicist of the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards, copying in other comedians, in response to the announcement of a poll to find the public's favourite act from 30 years of the award, which was previously known as the Perrier Award. Lee wrote:

Think about the logic of it for a moment. Who among those you are asking to vote has even heard of Frank Chickens, who for all anyone under 30 knows may be the best act on the list? It is not possible for the outcome of this vote to have any credibility.

As result of his e-mail going viral with the encouragement of Richard Herring and Robin Ince, Frank Chickens took the lead in the poll. During the polling, Lee wrote that: "In my e-mail I chose at random Frank Chicken, the Japanese female performance art duo, as an example of possibly worthy winners who would not get a look-in under this illogical and unfair voting system, and the Twitter world has adopted them as a cause". He stated that it was never his intention to influence the vote, "but they are now leading the field, and it appears we should embrace them. If Frank Chickens become Comedy Gods then Foster's will have been helped to actually sponsor some actual art, and fans of Foster's all over the whole world will be made aware of that wonderful, indefinable, mischievous, playful thing we call the Spirit Of The Fringe!". Frank Chickens went on to win the public vote.

As a result of the Frank Chickens incident, Lee was awarded the Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt award for best publicity stunt at the Fringe. The award's organisers stated: "The fact that Stewart did not intend to unleash publicity does not negate his success".

In addition to his main Edinburgh show, on 18 August Lee headlined a one-night variety show, ''Silver Stewbilee'', to launch ''How I Escaped My Certain Fate''. The show included performances by Simon Munnery as Alan Parker: Urban Warrior, Bridget Christie, Kevin Eldon, Paul Putner, Frank Chickens and Franz Ferdinand.

On 15 September 2010, Lee, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in ''The Guardian'', stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.

Music journalism

Lee has written music reviews for a number of outlets including, since 1995, the ''Sunday Times''. Through the early 2000s, he became a regular presenter on, and patron of, Resonance FM 104.4.

He is noted for his diverse musical taste. Asked in 2003 what his current music favourites were, he stated "Most of my favourites are still going like The Fall, Giant Sand and Calexico. I listen to a lot of jazz, 60s and folk music but I really like Ms. Dynamite, and The Streets". He once said that the only band he liked that anyone else has heard of was R.E.M.. His debut novel, ''The Perfect Fool'', includes an 'audio bibliography' – a list of recommended listening. This mentions that it was his love of the band Giant Sand that first attracted him to visit the American South West.

Selected works

Books

''Fist of Fun'' (with Richard Herring; non-fiction) BBC Books, 1995. ISBN 0563371854; ISBN 978-0563371854

''The Perfect Fool'' (novel) Fourth Estate, 2001. ISBN 1841153656; ISBN 978-1841153650

''Sit-Down Comedy'' (contributor to anthology, ed Malcolm Hardee & John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ISBN 0091889243; ISBN 978-0091889241

''More Trees to Climb'' by Ben Moor (foreword)

''Death To Trad Rock'' by John Robb (foreword) Cherry Red

''The Wire Primers: A Guide to Modern Music'' (chapter on The Fall)

''How I Escaped My Certain Fate - The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian'' Faber & Faber 2010 ISBN 0571254802

DVDs

''Stand Up Comedian'' [2005] (2|entertain) - Live at Glasgow's The Stand Comedy Club

''90s Comedian'' [2006] (Go Faster Stripe) - Live at Cardiff's Chapter Arts Centre

''41st Best Stand Up Ever'' [2008] (Real Talent) - Live at Glasgow's The Stand Comedy Club

''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' [2009] (2|entertain) - Live at London's Arts Depot

''If You Prefer A Milder Comedian Please Ask For One'' [2010] [Comedy Central] - Live at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre

CDs

''90s Comedian'' [2007] (Go Faster Stripe, digital-only release)

''Pea Green Boat'' [2007] (Go Faster Stripe, also 10" vinyl)

''41st Best Stand Up Ever'' [2008] (Real Talent)

''What Would Judas Do?'' [2009] (Go Faster Stripe, 3-CD box set)

'The Jazz Cellar Tape" [2011] (Go Faster Stripe, CD)

References

External links

Official website

Stewart Lee biography at Debi Allen Associates

Unofficial Lee and Herring website

Category:1968 births Category:Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Category:British atheists Category:British humanists Category:British radio writers Category:English comedians Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English film directors Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English television actors Category:Living people Category:Old Silhillians Category:People from Wellington, Shropshire

Category:Comedians from Birmingham, West Midlands

Coordinates	53°24′″N23°30′″N
birthname	Joseph Isadore Lieberman
nationality	American
jr/sr	Senior Senator
state	Connecticut
term start	January 3, 1989
alongside	Richard Blumenthal
preceded	Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.
residence	New Haven, Connecticut
order2	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs
term start2	January 3, 2001
term end2	January 20, 2001
preceded2	Fred Thompson
succeeded2	Fred Thompson
term start3	June 6, 2001
term end3	January 3, 2003
preceded3	Fred Thompson
succeeded3	Susan Collins
order4	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
term start4	January 4, 2007
preceded4	Susan Collins
order5	20th Connecticut Attorney General
term start5	1983
term end5	1989
governor5	William A. O'Neill
predecessor5	Carl R. Ajello
successor5	Clarine Nardi Riddle
birth date	February 24, 1942
birth place	Stamford, Connecticut
party	Independent Democratic(2006–present)
otherparty	Democratic (1989–2006)
spouse	1) Elizabeth Haas (div.)2) Hadassah Lieberman
profession	Politician, Lawyer
alma mater	Yale University (A.B.)Yale Law School (LL.B.)
religion	Orthodox Judaism
signature	Joe Lieberman Signature.svg
website	Joe Lieberman United States Senator }}

Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman (born February 24, 1942) is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.

Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Lieberman is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School. He was elected as a "reform Democrat" in 1970 to the Connecticut Senate, where he served three terms as Majority Leader. After an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980, he served as state Attorney General from 1983 to 1989. Lieberman defeated moderate Republican Lowell Weicker in 1988 to win election to the United States Senate and was re-elected in 1994 and 2000. In the 2000 United States presidential election, Lieberman was the Democratic nominee for Vice President, running with presidential nominee Al Gore, becoming the first Jewish candidate on a major American political party presidential ticket. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2004 presidential election.

During his re-election bid in 2006, he lost the Democratic Party primary election but won re-election in the general election as a third party candidate under the party label "Connecticut for Lieberman". Lieberman himself is not a member of the Connecticut for Lieberman party; he is a registered Democrat.

Lieberman was officially listed in Senate records for the 110th and 111th Congresses as an "Independent Democrat" and sits as part of the Senate Democratic Caucus. But since his speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention in which he endorsed John McCain for president, Lieberman no longer attends Democratic Caucus leadership strategy meetings or policy lunches. On November 5, 2008, Lieberman met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to discuss his future role with the Democratic Party. Ultimately, the Senate Democratic Caucus voted to allow Lieberman to keep chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Subsequently, Lieberman announced that he will continue to caucus with the Democrats. Lieberman announced in January 2011 that he will not seek re-election in 2012.

Early life

Lieberman was born in Stamford, Connecticut, the son of Marcia (née Manger) and Henry Lieberman. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Poland and his maternal grandparents were from Austria. He received an A.B. in both political science and economics from Yale University in 1964 and was the first member of his family to graduate from college. At Yale he was editor of the ''Yale Daily News'' and a member of the Elihu Club. He later attended Yale Law School, receiving his law degree in 1967. After graduation from law school, Lieberman worked as a lawyer for the New Haven-based law firm Wiggin & Dana LLP.

A spokesperson told ''The Hartford Courant'' in 1994 that Lieberman received an educational deferment from the Vietnam War draft when he was an undergraduate and law student from 1960 to 1967. Upon graduating from law school at age 25, Lieberman qualified for a family deferment because he was already married and had one child, Matt.

Personal life

Lieberman met his first wife, Betty Haas, at the congressional office of Senator Abraham Ribicoff (D-CT), where they worked as summer student interns. They married in 1965 while Joe Lieberman was in law school. They had two children – Matt and Rebecca. Betty, who is also Jewish, later worked as a psychiatric social worker. In 1981, the couple divorced. When asked about the divorce in an interview with ''New York Magazine'', Lieberman said, "one of the differences we had was in levels of religious observance," adding, "I'm convinced if that was the only difference, we wouldn't have gotten divorced."

In 1982, he met his second wife, Hadassah Freilich Tucker, while he was running for Attorney General of Connecticut. Hadassah Lieberman is the child of a Holocaust survivor. According to ''Washington Jewish Week'', Lieberman called her for a date because he thought it would be interesting to go out with someone named Hadassah. (Hadassah is the name of the Women's Zionist Organization of America). Since March 2005, Hadassah Lieberman has worked for Hill & Knowlton, a lobbying firm based in New York City, as a senior counselor in its health and pharmaceuticals practice. She has held senior positions at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO), Pfizer, National Research Council, Hoffmann-La Roche, and Lehman Brothers.

Joe and Hadassah Lieberman have a daughter, Hani. Lieberman also has a stepson from Hadassah's previous marriage, Ethan Tucker. Matt Lieberman graduated from Yale University in 1989, and from Yale Law School in 1994. He is former Head of School of Greenfield Hebrew Academy in Atlanta, GA. Rebecca Lieberman graduated from Barnard College in 1991, and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1997. She is married to Jacob Wisse. Ethan Tucker, son of Gordon Tucker, graduated from Harvard College in 1997 and received his rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Lieberman is also related to Disney Channel star Raviv Ullman of ''Phil of the Future''.

Lieberman describes himself as an "observant" Jew. In 1965 he married Betty Haas, a Reform Jew. Since the death in 1967 of Lieberman's grandmother, a deeply religious immigrant, he found renewed interest in religious observance. His second wife, Hadassah, is also an observant Orthodox Jew. "Hadassah calls herself my right wing," says Lieberman. In Lieberman's 1988 upset of Republican Party incumbent Senator Lowell Weicker, his religious observance was mostly viewed in terms of inability to campaign on Shabbat. This changed when Gore chose Lieberman as the running mate; a Lieberman press officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said: The Liebermans keep a kosher home and observe Shabbat.

Lieberman has said that there is currently "a constitutional place for faith in our public life", and that the Constitution does not provide for "freedom from religion." He attends Kesher Israel Congregation in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol – B'nai Israel, The Westville Synagogue, New Haven, Connecticut. He also attends Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford.

He was the first observant Jew to run on a major party Presidential ticket. (1964 Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater's father was Jewish, but Sen. Goldwater's mother was an Episcopalian, and the Senator practiced his mother's faith.)

Early political 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. He suffered his first defeat in Connecticut elections in the Reagan landslide year of 1980, losing the race for the Third District Congressional seat to Republican Lawrence Joseph DeNardis, a state senator from suburban Hamden with whom he had worked closely on bipartisan legislative efforts. In 1981 he wrote an admiring biography of long-time Connecticut and national Democratic leader John Moran Bailey, reviewing also in the book the previous 50 years of Connecticut political history. From 1983 to 1989, he served as Connecticut Attorney General. In the 1986 general election, Lieberman won more votes than any other Democrat on the statewide ticket, including Governor William O'Neill. As Attorney General, Lieberman emphasized consumer protection and environmental enforcement.

U.S. Senate

Tenure

In 1988, Lieberman defeated moderate Republican Lowell Weicker to win election to the United States Senate and was re-elected in 1994 and 2000. Like Bill Clinton and Dick Gephardt, Lieberman served as chair of the Democratic Leadership Council.

Lieberman was first elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat in the 1988 election, by a margin of 10,000 votes. He scored the nation's biggest political upset that year, after being backed by a coalition of Democrats and unaffiliated voters with support from conservative Republicans, who were disappointed in three-term Republican incumbent Lowell Weicker's moderate voting record and personal style. During the campaign, he received support from the Connecticut's Cuban-American community which was unhappy with Weicker. Lieberman has since remained firmly anti-Castro. Six years later, Lieberman made history by winning by the largest landslide ever in a Connecticut Senate race, drawing 67 percent of the vote and beating his opponent by more than 350,000 votes.

In 1998, Lieberman was the first prominent Democrat to publicly challenge Bill Clinton for the judgment exercised in his affair with Monica Lewinsky. However, he voted against removing Clinton from office by impeachment. In 2000, while concurrently running for the vice presidency, Lieberman was elected to a third Senate term with 64 percent of the vote easily defeating the Republican Philip Giordano.

When control of the Senate switched from Republicans to Democrats in June 2001, Lieberman became Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, with oversight responsibilities for a broad range of government activities. He was also a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and chair of its Subcommittee Clean Air, Wetlands and Private Property; the Armed Services Committee, where he chaired the Airland Subcommittee and sat on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities; and the Small Business Committee. When Republicans gained control of the Senate in January 2003, Lieberman resumed his role as ranking minority member of the committees he had once chaired.

In the 110th Congress, Lieberman is Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is responsible for assuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal Government. In addition, he is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee; Senate Armed Services Committee, where he is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Air Land Forces and sits on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities; and the Small Business Committee.

Fundraising

Since 1989, Lieberman has received more than $31.4 million in campaign donations from specific industries and sectors. His largest donors have represented the securities and investment ($3.7 million), legal ($3.6 million), real estate ($3.1 million) and health professional ($1.1 million) industries.

Committee assignments

Committee on Armed Services

*Subcommittee on Airland (Chairman)

*Subcommittee on Personnel

*Subcommittee on SeaPower

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (Chairman)

Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Caucus memberships

Senate Caucus on Global Internet Freedom (Co-Chair)

Congressional Fire Services Caucus (Co-Chair)

Congressional Public Service Caucus (Co-Chair)

International Conservation Caucus

Presidential politics

2000 VP campaign

In August 2000, Lieberman was selected as the nominee for Vice President of the United States by Al Gore, the Democratic Party nominee for President. Lieberman was the first Jewish candidate on a major political party ticket. The announcement of Lieberman's selection was unusual in that it did not cause a positive "bump" in the Gore campaign's poll numbers according to a Newsweek poll done at the time. Polling also indicated that Lieberman had badly lost his televised debate against Dick Cheney, leading some to suggest later that Gore had lost the election due to choosing Lieberman as his running mate.

The Gore/Lieberman ticket won a plurality of the popular vote, with over half a million more votes than the Republican ticket of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, but they were defeated in the Electoral College by a vote of 271 to 266.

Like Democratic VP candidates Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960, Lloyd Bentsen in 1988, John Edwards in 2004, and Joe Biden in 2008, Lieberman's Senate term was due to expire during the election cycle. He decided to run for reelection to maintain his seat, as Johnson, Bentsen and Biden did. All four won, but since Johnson and Biden were also elected Vice-President, they gave up their seats.

2004 primaries

On January 13, 2003, Lieberman announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination as a candidate in the 2004 presidential election.

Describing his Presidential hopes, Lieberman opined that his historically hawkish stance would appeal to voters. Indeed he initially led in polls of primaries, but due to his political positions he failed to win a support of liberal Democratic voters, who dominated the primaries.

Prior to his defeat in New Hampshire, Lieberman famously declared his campaign was picking up "Joementum"; however, he failed to provide such momentum during the New Hampshire primary debates, held at Saint Anselm College days before the primary. On February 3, 2004, Lieberman withdrew his candidacy after failing to win any of the five primaries or two caucuses held that day. He acknowledged to the ''Hartford Courant'' that his support for the war in Iraq was a large part of his undoing with voters.

Lieberman's former running candidate Al Gore did not support Lieberman's Presidential run, and in December 2003 endorsed Howard Dean's candidacy, saying "This is about all of us and all of us need to get behind the strongest candidate [Dean]."

Finally Lieberman withdrew from the race without winning a single contest. In total popular vote he placed 7th behind eventual nominee, Massachusetts senator John Kerry, future Vice Presidential nominee, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, former Governor of Vermont Howard Dean, Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich, retired General Wesley Clark and Reverend Al Sharpton.

2008 activism

On December 17, 2007, Lieberman endorsed Republican Senator John McCain for president in 2008, contradicting his stance in July 2006 where he stated "I want Democrats to be back in the majority in Washington and elect a Democratic president in 2008." Lieberman cited his agreement with McCain's stance on the War on Terrorism as the primary reason for the endorsement.

On June 5, Lieberman launched "Citizens for McCain," hosted on the McCain campaign website, to recruit Democratic support for John McCain's candidacy. He emphasized the group's outreach to supporters of Hillary Clinton, who was at that time broadly expected to lose the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama. Citizens for McCain was prominently featured in McCain team efforts to attract disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters such as Debra Bartoshevich.

Lieberman spoke at the 2008 Republican National Convention on behalf of McCain and his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Lieberman was alongside McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham during a visit to French president Nicolas Sarkozy on March 21, 2008. Lieberman was mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential nominee on a McCain ticket, although Lieberman had denied interest. ABC News reported that Lieberman was McCain's first choice for Vice President until several days before the selection, when McCain had decided that picking Lieberman would alienate the conservative base of the Republican Party. Lieberman had been mentioned as a possible Secretary of State under a McCain administration.

Many Democrats wanted Lieberman to be stripped of his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs due to his support for John McCain. Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reached out to Lieberman, asking him to caucus with the Republicans. Ultimately, the Senate Democratic Caucus voted 42 to 13 to allow Lieberman to keep chairmanship (although he did lose his membership for the Environment and Public Works Committee). Subsequently, Lieberman announced that he will continue to caucus with the Democrats. Lieberman credited President-elect Barack Obama for helping him keep his chairmanship. Obama had privately urged Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid not to remove Lieberman from his position. Reid stated that Lieberman's criticism of Obama during the election angered him, but that "if you look at the problems we face as a nation, is this a time we walk out of here saying, 'Boy did we get even'?" Senator Tom Carper of Delaware also credited the Democrats' decision on Lieberman to Obama's support, stating that "If Barack can move on, so can we."

Liberal members of the Democratic caucus were reportedly angry at the decision to not punish Lieberman more severely. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont (who is also an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats) stated that he voted against Lieberman "because while millions of people worked hard for Obama, Lieberman actively worked for four more years of President Bush's policies."

Lieberman's embrace of certain conservative policies and in particular his endorsement of John McCain have been cited as factors for his low approval rating in Connecticut: 38 approval to 54 disapproval. "This is the highest disapproval rating in any Quinnipiac University poll in any state for a sitting U.S. Senator – except for New Jersey's Robert Torricelli, just before he resigned in 2002. Among those who say they voted for Sen. Lieberman in 2006, 30 percent now say they would vote for someone else if they could."

2006 Senate election

Primary

+'''Democratic Primary Results	!Candidate	!Votes	!Percentage
Ned Lamont	146,587	52%
Joe Lieberman	136,468	48%

Lieberman sought the Democratic Party's renomination for U.S. Senate from Connecticut in 2006 but lost to Ned Lamont, a Greenwich businessman and antiwar candidate.

Lieberman was officially endorsed by the Connecticut Democratic Convention, which met in May. However, Lamont received 33 percent of the delegates' votes, forcing an August primary.

In July, Lieberman announced that he would file papers to appear on the November ballot should he lose the primary, stating, "I'm a loyal Democrat, but I have loyalties that are greater than those to my party, and that's my loyalty to my state and my country." He stated that he would continue to sit as a Democrat in the Senate even if he was defeated in the primary and elected on an unaffiliated line, and expressed concern for a potentially low turnout. On July 10, the Lieberman campaign officially filed paperwork allowing him to collect signatures for the newly formed Connecticut for Lieberman party ballot line. On August 8, 2006, Lieberman conceded the Democratic primary election to Ned Lamont, saying, "For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand," and announced he would run in the 2006 November election as an independent candidate on the Connecticut for Lieberman ticket, against both Lamont and the Republican candidate, Alan Schlesinger.

General election

Polls after the primary showed Lieberman ahead of Ned Lamont by 5 points. Later polls showed Lieberman leading by varying margins. Alan Schlesinger barely registered support and his campaign had run into problems based on alleged gambling debts. Thus, "Lieberman was able to run in the general election as the de facto Republican candidate – every major Republican office-holder in the state endorsed him – and to supplement that GOP base with strong support from independents."

On August 9, 2006, Hillary Clinton affirmed her pledge to support the primary winner, saying "voters of Connecticut have made their decision and I think that decision should be respected", and Howard Dean called for Lieberman to quit the race, saying he was being "disrespectful of Democrats and disrespectful of the Democratic Party".

On August 10, in his first campaign appearance since losing the Democratic primary, referencing the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, Lieberman criticized Lamont, saying:

Lamont noted Lieberman's position was similar to George W. Bush's and Dick Cheney's position. Lamont said, “That comment sounds an awful lot like Vice President Cheney’s comment on Wednesday. Both of them believe our invasion of Iraq has a lot to do with 9/11. That’s a false premise.” Lieberman's communications director replied that Lamont was politicizing national security by "portraying [Lieberman] as a soul mate of President Bush on Iraq".

On August 17, 2006 the National Republican Senatorial Committee stated that they would favor a Lieberman victory in the November election over Democratic nominee Ned Lamont. The NRSC did state, however, that they were not going so far as to actually support Lieberman.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani praised Lieberman at a South Carolina campaign stop on August 18, saying he was "a really exceptional senator." Other Republican supporters of Lieberman included Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, former Representative and Republican Vice Presidential candidate Jack Kemp, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

Five Democratic Senators maintained their support for Lieberman, and Lieberman also received the strong support of former Senator and Democratic stalwart Bob Kerrey, who offered to stump for him. Democratic minority leader Harry Reid, while endorsing Lamont, promised Lieberman that he would retain his committee positions and seniority if he prevailed in the general election.

On August 28, Lieberman campaigned at the same motorcycle rally as Republican Congressman Christopher Shays. Shays told a crowd of motorcycle enthusiasts, "We have a national treasure in Joe Lieberman."

Mel Sembler, a former Republican National Committee finance chairman, helped organize a reception that raised a "couple hundred thousand dollars" for Lieberman, who was personally in attendance. Sembler is a prominent Republican who chaired I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby's legal defense fund. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a fundraiser for Lieberman at his home in November, co-hosted by former mayor Ed Koch and former Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato. Koch called Lieberman "one of the greatest Senators we've ever had in the Senate."

Despite still considering himself a Democrat, Lieberman was endorsed by numerous Republicans who actively spoke out in favor of his candidacy. Lieberman was also the focus of websites such as ConservativesforLieberman06.com.

On November 7, Lieberman won re-election with 49.7% of the vote. Ned Lamont garnered 40% of ballots cast and Alan Schlesinger won 10%. Lieberman received support from 33% of Democrats, 54% of independents and 70% of Republicans.

Following the election, Lieberman struck a deal with Democratic leadership allowing him to keep his seniority and chairmanship of the Governmental Affairs Committee. In return, he agreed to vote with the Democrats on all procedural matters unless he asked permission of Majority Whip Richard Durbin. He is free to vote as he pleases on policy matters. Along with Bernie Sanders, Lieberman's caucusing with the Democrats gave them a 51–49 majority in the Senate, leaving a slim one Senator majority to control the Senate in the 110th Congress.

Criticism

While he officially considers himself a member of the Democratic party, Lieberman has been accused of being more conservative than many Republicans. His own party refused to nominate him as a candidate in the 2006 election, so he ran as an independent candidate to retain his senate seat. In February 2007, Lieberman spoke before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of the confirmation of Sam Fox as ambassador to Belgium. Fox, a prominent Republican businessman and political donor, was a contributor to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign in 2004. Fox is also reported to have donated to Lieberman's 2006 Senate campaign. Critics claim Lieberman was a favorite of Fox News , since he was willing to go on the conservative channel and play the role of someone in the “opposition” party who criticised fellow Democrats.

Lieberman was a supporter of the Iraq War and has urged action against Iran. In July 2008, Lieberman spoke at the annual conference of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) then later, in July 2009, accepted from John Hagee CUFI's "Defender of Israel Award". Pastor Hagee, CUFI's founder and leader, has made a number of controversial remarks, including a statement that the Catholic Church is "the great whore" and a suggestion that God sent Adolf Hitler to bring the Jews to Israel.

In May 2010, while favoring the filibuster and threatening to use it in 2009 to eliminate a public health option as part of the healthcare proposal, Lieberman once strongly opposed it. In 1995, he joined with Senator Tom Harkin to co-sponsor an amendment to kill the filibuster. “The filibuster hurts the credibility of the entire Senate and impedes progress,” Lieberman told the Hartford Courant (Jan 6, 1995).

In April 2010, Lieberman blasted President Obama for stripping terms like "Islamic extremism" from a key national security document, calling the move dishonest, wrong-headed and disrespectful to the majority of Muslims who are not terrorists.

Lieberman has favoured greater use of surveillance cameras by the federal government and referred to attempts by Congress to investigate illegal wire-tapping as "partisan gridlock". On June 19, 2010, Lieberman introduced a bill called "Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010", which he co-wrote with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE). If signed into law, this controversial bill, which the American media dubbed the "''Kill switch bill''", would grant the President emergency powers over the Internet. However, all three co-authors of the bill issued a statement claiming that instead, the bill "[narrowed] existing broad Presidential authority to take over telecommunications networks". American computer security specialist and author Bruce Schneier objected to the "kill switch" proposal on the basis that it rests on several faulty assumptions and that it's "too coarse a hammer". Schneier wrote:

Defending his proposal, Sen. Lieberman pointed out that China has this capability. It's debatable whether or not it actually does, but it's actively pursuing the capability because the country cares less about its citizens. Here in the U.S., it is both wrong and dangerous to give the president the power and ability to commit Internet suicide and terrorize Americans in this way.

Sen. Lieberman has been a major opponent of the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. His staff "made inquiries" of Amazon.com and other internet companies such as Paypal, Visa, and Mastercard which resulted in them suspending service to Wikileaks. Blogger Glenn Greenwald called Lieberman's actions "one of the most pernicious acts by a U.S. Senator in quite some time," and accused Lieberman of "emulat[ing] Chinese dictators" by "abusing his position as Homeland Security Chairman to thuggishly dictate to private companies which websites they should and should not host—and, more important, what you can and cannot read on the Internet." Lieberman has also suggested that "the ''New York Times'' and other news organisations publishing the US embassy cables being released by WikiLeaks could be investigated for breaking US espionage laws."

Along with Senators John Ensign and Scott Brown, Lieberman "introduced a bill to amend the Espionage Act in order to facilitate the prosecution of groups like Wikileaks." Critics have noted that "[l]eaking [classified] information in the first place is already a crime, so the measure is aimed squarely at publishers," and that "Lieberman’s proposed solution to WikiLeaks could have implications for journalists reporting on some of the more unsavory practices of the intelligence community." Legal analyst Benjamin Wittes has called the proposed legislation "the worst of both worlds," saying:

"It leaves intact the current World War I-era Espionage Act provision, 18 U.S.C. 793(e), a law [with] many problems . . . and then takes a currently well-drawn law and expands its scope to the point that it covers a lot more than the most reckless of media excesses. A lot of good journalism would be a crime under this provision; after all, knowingly and willfully publishing material 'concerning the human intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government' is no small part of what a good newspaper does."

As a result of these statements and actions, Lieberman has been perceived as an opponent of Internet Free Speech and become the target of Anonymous attacks under Operation Payback.

Political positions

Lieberman is one of the Senate's strongest advocates for continued prosecution of the war in Iraq. He is also an outspoken supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship. On domestic issues, he strongly supports free trade economics while reliably voting for pro-trade union legislation. He has also opposed filibustering Republican judicial appointments. With Lynne Cheney and others, Lieberman co-founded American Council of Trustees and Alumni in 1995. Lieberman is a supporter of abortion rights and of the rights of gays and lesbians to adopt children, to be protected with hatecrime legislation, and to serve openly in the military. Lieberman is one of the Senate's leading opponents of violence in video games and on television. Lieberman describes himself as being "genuinely an Independent," saying "I agree more often than not with Democrats on domestic policy. I agree more often than not with Republicans on foreign and defense policy." Senator Lieberman is also famous for championing, authoring and leading the effort that lead to the repeal of Don't ask don't tell.

Senator Lieberman was an integral part in attempting to stop WikiLeaks from publishing further material using US-based corporations in the United States diplomatic cables leak of 2010.

Electoral history

Published works

Lieberman is the author of seven books: ''The Power Broker'' (1966), a biography of the late Democratic Party chairman, John M. Bailey; ''The Scorpion and the Tarantula'' (1970), a study of early efforts to control nuclear proliferation; ''The Legacy'' (1981), a history of Connecticut politics from 1930 to 1980; ''Child Support in America'' (1986), a guidebook on methods to increase the collection of child support from delinquent fathers; ''In Praise of Public Life'' (2000); ''An Amazing Adventure'' (2003), reflecting on his 2000 vice presidential run; and ''The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath'' (2011), written with David Klinghoffer.

See also

Bill Clinton Supreme Court candidates

Notes

External links

;Official site

U.S. Senate website

;Directories and databases

Profile on SourceWatch

Profile on OpenCongress, formerly Congresspedia

Lieberman's Senate Voting Record 1989–2000 from CounterPunch

;Interviews

Senator Lieberman on the 2009 Economic Recovery

;Miscellaneous

Watch: Joe Lieberman visits the Warner Theatre in Torrington, CT

John Hagee">Joe Lieberman speaks at "Christian-Zionist" meeting, praising John Hagee (Lieberman appears at approx. 5:30)

{{U.S. Senator box | before=Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. | state=Connecticut | class=1 | start=1989 | alongside=Chris Dodd, Richard Blumenthal}}