Why Jerry Brown should be seriously considered

[DSYoungEsq]

I would never vote for Jerry Brown. I don’t believe he’s totally beyond the Governor Moonbeam days.

And he’s a fossil now, anyway.

[adaher]

@ElvisL1ves

The response was to adaher’s “we”. The subject has been discussed extensively.

I agree with Elvis here. I didn’t take it as personal.

A lot of Americans are racist, sexist and anti-intellectual. Not enough to defeat a good Democrat. Bad candidate selection explains 75% of Democratic losses in Presidential elections.

[adaher]

@John_Mace

Yeah, too old. I mistakenly listed Feinstein as a potential candidate, but she dyes her hair, and doesn’t look her age at all, so she tricked me!!

Jerry is too old. I would hope neither party nominates anyone over 70.

I have no problem with it, although it depends on how well the candidate is functioning. Sanders seems pretty decrepit to me, but Biden and Brown look hale and hardy.

[John_Mace]

An elderly, recycled candidate from years past is just the thing the Dems need to forge into the future! Is McGovern still alive? He’d make a great running mate if he is.

Campaign Slogan: Vote for Brown; before it’s too late!!

[adaher]

Brown isn’t recycled, he’s reborn. His stature has grown tremendously since he last ran for President.

[asahi]

@Tamerlane

He couldn’t win.

I’m a fan and would happily vote for him, despite how many times he annoys me with policies I disagree with, which has been reasonably often - from his park service cuts, to the delta water project he endorses, to his boondoggle of a bullet train. But I respect his vision, his independence( he’s the big dog and shoves around and ignores his own party with impunity, despite their super-majority )and his undeniable competence. He’s been a surprisingly effective governor this time around and he was a pretty decent mayor before that.

But like I’ve said before I’ve met the man in passing and IMHO he has the media charisma of a particularly rounded rock. At times he can be sanely articulate, but at others he just comes off like a robot. And that ‘Governor Moonbeam’ thing is an albatross around his neck at a national level. However much he has outgrown that persona it will cling to him in national narratives like a skunk’s odor. Also, y’know - age.

I’d be happy to be proven wrong, but I just don’t think he is viable outside of CA.

If Bernie Sanders can get a following, Governor Moonbeam can, too. And unlike Bernie, he has a track record of being an executive in the most populous state and, contrary to what is often said, is actually a pretty diverse state politically. Jerry Brown has had to work with broad coalitions to get legislation passed and signed into law. Bernie has not. Brown, however, is simply too old to run.

[kaylasdad99]

@watchwolf49

If Jerry Brown ran on the platform of doing everything as President the exact opposite of how he runs California … maybe he could get elected …

Please explain the “Moonbeam” appellation. Is it because during the 70’s he referred to the planet as Starship Earth?

[E-DUB]

Due to his strong advocacy for the space program. I believe Mike Royko tagged him with it.

[Thing_Fish]

@adaher

True, if Biden runs that’s Brown’s main “lane”, just as if Sanders runs there’s no point in Liz Warren getting into the race.

But if the primary options are a callow establishment pick who might not be ready for prime time, like Booker, and Bernie Sanders, then that gives Brown a good opening.

But according to the article he’s not running. He should though.

He’s too old. Biden and Sanders are also too old, but he’s even older.

I think if he did choose to run he’d be more in Bernie’s lane. My impression has always been that he was very well thought of in progressive circles. Personally I would happily vote for him if he weren’t, you know, too old.

In conclusion, he’s too old.

[Translucent_Daydream]

@adaher

A lot of Americans are racist, sexist and anti-intellectual. Not enough to defeat a good Democrat. Bad candidate selection explains 75% of Democratic losses in Presidential elections.

I agree with you on this 100%. They need someone like this but 50 ish.

[kenobi_65]

@E-DUB

Due to his strong advocacy for the space program. I believe Mike Royko tagged him with it.

From a 2010 New York Times article on Brown – you were right about it being Royko, but it was more meant to be a dig at Brown’s non-traditionalism:

For the uninitiated, ‘Governor Moonbeam’ became Mr. Brown’s intractable sobriquet, dating back to his days as governor between 1975 and 1983, when his state led the nation in pretty much everything — its economy, environmental awareness and, yes, class-A eccentrics.

The nickname was coined by Mike Royko, the famed Chicago columnist, who in 1976 said that Mr. Brown appeared to be attracting “the moonbeam vote,” which in Chicago political parlance meant young, idealistic and nontraditional.

The term had a nice California feel, and Mr. Royko eventually began applying it when he wrote about the Golden State’s young, idealistic and nontraditional chief executive. He found endless amusement — and sometimes outright agita — in California’s oddities, calling the state “the world’s largest outdoor mental asylum.”

[silenus]

*He found endless amusement — and sometimes outright agita — in California’s oddities, calling the state “the world’s largest outdoor mental asylum.” *

I always thought that was more than a bit hypocritical coming from someone who voluntarily lived through Chicago winters.

[John_Mace]

I don’t know Jerry and have never met him, but I’m friends with some members of his extended family, and let’s just say that his family is “extended” enough that we might see more Browns in CA’s future. What say we let him pass the torch to the next generation and have a peaceful retirement when he’s done in Sacramento.

And watch out for that Gavin Newsom guy! He’s very ambitious!!

[Kolak_of_Twilo]

@John_Mace

I don’t know Jerry and have never met him, but I’m friends with some members of his extended family, and let’s just say that his family is “extended” enough that we might see more Browns in CA’s future. What say we let him pass the torch to the next generation and have a peaceful retirement when he’s done in Sacramento.

And watch out for that Gavin Newsom guy! He’s very ambitious!!

Isn’t Newso more interested in the Governor’s office at the moment?

Eric Garcetti on the other hand seems to be considering a run. I’m not that familiar with him but he seems popular in L.A.

[dalej42]

Antenna TV shows classic episodes of The Tonight Show, they’re showing Johnny Carson from November of 1979. “Jerry Brown is our governor…” That was mixed in with jokes about Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

[adaher]

Thing is, he’d be matched against someone who was famous at exactly the same time, probably a lot more of a household name than Jerry Brown.

And while Brown might be older, he’s definitely got more of his mental faculties left than his opponent.

[foolsguinea]

I really like Jerry Brown. I wish he’d been the nominee in 1992. But he’s really old, even older than Bernie Sanders. It’s not a good idea.

[adaher]

I can concede the point, but only if compared to people actually running. If Bernie Sanders is the frontrunner in 2020, I don’t think it much matters how old his competitors are, as long as they can stop him. Likewise, if all the young Democrats run and they all look like Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz, then an older guy who actually knows what he’s talking about and can tell us about what he’s actually done might be an advantage.

That’s why if he wanted to run, and this goes for Biden and Warren as well, then he should. I know a lot of Democrats are excited about some young guns, but I’ve been there. In 2010 we elected some very promising Senators and governors. And then in 2016 we got to see them look dumb, weak, or generally ineffective on a debate stage. Every. Single. One. Not an Obama among them. Given how rare Obamas and Clintons are, chances are none of those young Democrats will be any better than adequate by the time 2020 rolls around.