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| SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD | |
 August 17, 2000  | |
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The senior senator from Connecticut nominates his colleague, Joe Lieberman, for vice president of the United States. Below is the text of his prepared remarks. |
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Fellow Democrats... Forty-four years ago at the Democratic convention In Chicago, a Jewish senator from Connecticut, Abe Ribicoff, nominated the first Irish Catholic for Vice-President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. This evening, as an Irish Catholic senator from Connecticut, and as Abe Ribicoff's successor in the United States Senate, I am proud to nominate America's first Jewish candidate for Vice President: my colleague and my friend, Joseph Lieberman. As Joe Lieberman reminded us so well last night, we are a nation where anything, and everything, is possible. So today, every single American can take pride that Al Gore and Joe Lieberman have brought America closer to the day when equal opportunity will be true not only in law- but also in our hearts. But I don't want to speak this evening only about this historic moment, as important as it is. I want to speak with you about a man- a man that I know very, very well. Most of America has only just met Joe Lieberman. And what a wonderful first impression he and his dear wife Hadassah have made on our nation. Most of America has only known Joe Lieberman for eleven days. But in our small corner of the country, we in Connecticut have known Joe and his service to our state for thirty years. And we know him not just by the offices he has held, but by the deeds he has done- day after day, year after year, decade after decade- for the hard-working people of our beloved state. The people of Connecticut know- and America is learning- that Joe Lieberman is as fine a public servant, and as decent a man, as exists in public life today. We in Connecticut have been proud to call him one of our own. So permit me to say, on behalf of those of us who know him best, the people of the Constitution State: Al Gore could not have made a better choice. There is a saying that if you want to know where someone is going, look where they've been. Joe Lieberman has devoted his life to the simple and noble principle that we are put on this earth to ease the burdens, and lift the hopes, of others. Even before he first ran for public office, Joe Lieberman rode south to help register African-Americans to vote. Because for Joe, civil rights was not just a political position. It was- and is-- a deeply held personal belief. As Connecticut's Attorney General, Joe Lieberman became the people's advocate. When the people in North Haven, Connecticut saw a factory polluting their neighborhood, who did they call to protect the air, water, and land? Joe Lieberman. When women in Connecticut wondered if anyone would do anything to collect unpaid child support, who did they call to protect the needs of children? Joe Lieberman. When consumers in Connecticut were gouged by big oil, who did they call to protect their wallets? Joe Lieberman. When they were ripped off by stores that fixed prices, who did they call to protect competition and the free market system? Joe Lieberman. And on November seventh, who will America call to be its next Vice President? Joe Lieberman. But beyond all that he has done, I want you to know who he is. Joe Lieberman is a good man. A caring man. A man of unerring commitment: to his faith, to his family, and to that great guiding principle of his public life: helping people. As Al Gore's partner, he will provide a new kind of leadership for this new century. Leadership that focuses on solving, not avoiding, people's problems; that sows unity, not division; and that brings progress, not partisanship, to the life of our nation. Eighty-two days from today, Connecticut will lose a Senator. And I will lose a colleague. But both my state and I take great solace in knowing that on that day America will gain a great and gifted leader. And we know where he will take America- because we know where he has been. And to that end, Mr. Chairman, I now move to suspend the rules of this convention and pass by acclamation the nomination as Vice-Presidential candidate of the Democratic party my Senate colleague and my dear friend: Joe Lieberman. | |||||||||||||||||||
