What friends and foes are saying about Joe

How do you fit nine pages of reaction to ”independent Democrat” U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman’s decision not to seek re-election in 2012 into 30 inches of newspaper copy?

You don’t.

So here are a few of the observations from various folks who took the time to talk about the Stamford native that were left on the cutting room floor last night as I prepared a story on Lieberman’s legacy.

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Scott Bates of Stonington, a member of the state Democratic Central Committee who worked on Lieberman’s successful 1988 campaign for U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Lowell Weicker of Greenwich: “Joe Lieberman is a man that believes in America and the American dream. It’s a simple as that. He came from a generation that had to work hard and gave he and his family tremendous opportunities.”

Bates reflected on two issues that cost Blumenthal much of his support among Democrats – his unapologetic support of the invasion of Iraq following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and his backing of Republican Senator John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin in the 2008 presidential race.

“It’s pretty clear to me (after 9/11) he saw the world in a very stark way with perhaps not a lot of nuance, in my estimation, but believed the country was in danger and he made decisions he thought were in the best interests of the country every time. That is a legacy I think he is going to be proud of,” Bates said. “Where it falls down … is when he supported the likes of Sarah Palin” whom critics argued was unprepared to lead the nation at a time of war.

Kurt Johnson, a long-time staffer with Connecticut Fund for the Environment: “I think the story overall of Joe Lieberman is that he was a huge environmental advocate … He was one of the first senators to come forward talking really seriously about the need for some kind of global warming or climate change national legislation. He really was on the forefront of pushing that agenda, and that goes back probably eight to ten years ago.”

Johnson said the Fund has noticed Lieberman, “hasn’t been quite as active in Long Island Sound and climate change recently. It’s just been a very, very difficult conversation in Washington, period, (because) the country has become more polarized.”

“Traditionally he’s had a very, very good rating from the League of Conservation Voters nationally.”

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons of Stonington, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2010, reflected on Lieberman’s losing the Democratic primary in 2006 and running successfully as a third party candidate in that year’s general election: “I know what it felt like for him to be rejected by his own party after many years of service. I’ve been there, too. I know from talking to him at the time it was exceedingly painful.”

Simmons said he had not expected Lieberman to run in 2012.

“He’s supported John McCain for the presidency and taken positions on issues that are, again, not popular with his party. He’s had to serve in Congress as one of two independents. And there’s every reason to believe that the 2012 election will be a tough one. His own party has fallen in the hands of his (more liberal) opponents, the Republican Party here in Connecticut will not be running a weak candidate, and the Democrats are lining up like little barracudas, ready to take his seat. So why prolong the agony? He’s done his duty.”

New Attorney General George Jepsen, a former Democratic state Senator from Stamford now occupying the office Lieberman held in the mid-1980s: “He’s a giant of our times nationally and in the state. And he’s a brilliant politician. You can’t take any of that away from him. (But) his positive accomplishments will in some measure get lost in the unusual politics of the last six years, especially with his tireless and unapologetic advocacy of the war in Iraq, a war I think will go down in history as a terrible, terrible mistake.”

State Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, worked on Lieberman’s 1988 campaign but was an early and strong supporter of Democrat Barack Obama’s ultimately successful bid for president in 2008: “I think Senator Lieberman has been a great public servant. He’s been great for Connecticut and has served us well and I think it’s a loss … I do know him and I do have tremendous personal regard for Joe Lieberman and I really sincerely honor his service and wish him the very best in whatever he decides to do.”

State Rep. Tom Reynolds, D-Gales Ferry, was a Congressional staffer during Lieberman’s first term: “He in that first term really was able to bridge a divide. He was able to represent the liberal causes that he spent most of his career fighting for but at the same time was able to bring people together from differing backgrounds and views … Because Joe was a brand new senator there was a great deal of excitement among Connecticut Democrats for having toppled a Republican incumbent of national stature. It was for a young person an amazing opportunity that I will never forget.”

Reynolds called Lieberman’s backing of McCain “a real disappointment” but concluded, “the one thing that hasn’t changed is Joe Lieberman is a man of principle. I may disagree with how he chooses to advance those principles, but I will always respect him for acting on his principles, regardless of political consequences.”

Former state Rep. Christel Truglia, D-Stamford, a close family friend of Lieberman and his wife: “He was always there for his constituents. He did so many good things when he was in the state Senate here in Connecticut and of course in Washington. He was always a person of integrity and very, very bright. Someone like that you want in Washington … I thought he had done a great jog for Connecticut over the years. But things have changed and the Democratic Party has not been pleased with him, which of course I understand … I’m sure when you write the history about Joe Lieberman, there are many, many good things he did for our state. That’s the kind of things I’d like to remember.”

Connecticut AFL-CIO President John Olsen, in the past been a staunch ally of Lieberman’s: “As different as Lieberman and Weicker were, there were so many similarities. One (Weicker) was viewed as too liberal for his party, one viewed too conservative.”

Sal Liccione, member of the Working Families Party in lower Fairfield County, who campaigned for Lieberman in 2000 in Pennsylvania when he was the Democratic nominee for vice president.: “I just feel he changed a lot. As a young person, I don’t think he’s good for the state. I think it’s time to get new people.”

Harvey Bellin of Weston attended Yale University with Lieberman and in 2006 helped his friend form the Connecticut for Lieberman Party so he could continue the battle for his Senate seat as a self-described “independent Democrat”: “I think he has a unique role to play for the Democratic Party in terms of being somebody who could actually get votes from the other side of the aisle. And after what happened (with the recent shootings) in Tucson, with all the need for bi-partisanship and less name-calling, nobody exemplifies that better than him.”

State Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, recalled an exchange he had a few weeks ago with Lieberman that left him with the impression the U.S. Senator was going to retire: “He did say Senator Abraham Ribicoff had given him good advice about not trying to stay too long. Ribicoff told him there were too many doddering people in the Senate beyond their best days in terms of their capacity to serve, sharpness and skill. He said, ‘I always thought that was good advice’. Senator Ribicoff was at the age Senator Lieberman will be in 2012 – 70 – when he decided not to run again in 1980.”

Brian Lockhart