https://youtube.com/watch?v=k2wEAIFTSpY
Vice president Joe Biden was in New York City on Wednesday to deliver a eulogy at the funeral of former New Jersey senator Frank Lautenberg, who died Monday at the age of 89. In the course of his remarks, Biden made a joke at the expense of former senator Strom Thurmond, represented the state of South Carolina in the upper chamber for 48 years. Biden told the the dignitaries assembled at the Park Avenue Synagogue, “I knew Strom Thurmond so well that, literally, I was asked to do his eulogy. I did his eulogy,” Biden said. “This is a lot easier,” he added, sparking uproarious laughter from the crowd. Thurmond’s run for the presidency on the Dixiecrat ticket opposing federal intervention in state affairs, particularly on the issue of Jim Crow laws, and his opposition to civil rights legislation in the 1960s left a controversial legacy.
Lautenberg was elected to office in 1982 and, after serving three terms, he retired, but regretted the decision. Running again for the same seat in 2002, he was reelected and served until his death.
His passing creates an opening for his Senate seat in New Jersey, and governor Chris Christie announced yesterday that he will announce a temporary replacement to fill the seat in advance of a special election to be held in October. That will precede November’s election, in which Christie himself is on the ballot.