Senate Report Card: Joe Lieberman I-CT

Senator Joe Lieberman is the junior United States Senator from the state of Connecticut. He was previously a member of the Democratic Party, but was challenged in a primary by a rival anti-Iraq War Democrat, and lost. He then ran for his seat as an Independent and won in 2006. He was previously the Vice Presidential candidate on the Al Gore ticket in 2000. Senator Lieberman assumed office in 1989.

Senator Lieberman serves on the Environment and Public Works, Small Business and Armed Services Committees. He is the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Lieberman has been one of the Senate's strongest advocates for continued prosecution of the Iraq War. He is also a consistent supporter of Israel. On domestic issues, he holds liberal views on most economic issues, though he is a supporter of free trade. He has also voted with Republicans on some ethical issues, and is one of the Senate's leading opponents of violence in video games and on television. He describes himself as agreeing with Democrats on domestic issues, while agreeing with Republicans on defense and foreign policy issues.

Joe Lieberman supports free trade, and voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement as well as the Central American Free Trade Agreement. He is pro choice, but has supported the nomination of pro life justices to the Supreme Court. He supported the Child Custody Protection Act that made it a crime to transport a minor across state lines for the purposes of obtaining an abortion. He voted down a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but opposes same-sex marriages. He is in support of most gun control efforts. He has supported experimental voucher programs, and criticized President Bush for failing to fund the No Child Left Behind program. Lieberman strongly supports embryonic stem cell research. Lieberman voted to maintain a tax loophole that allowed companies to avoid recording stock options as an expense. He has opposed much of the Bush tax plan. He voted against amending the Constitution to criminalize flag burning.

Senator Joe Lieberman has become a favorite of the Republican conservatives and enemy to liberal Democrats due to his stance on the Iraq War. He believes that Saddam Hussein was a genuine threat that had to be taken out, despite evidence that he possessed no weapons of mass destruction. He has voted down efforts to withdrawl or redeploy troops, siding with the Bush Administration.

Senator Joe Lieberman is up for reelection in 2011.