Heyduke
01-31-2014, 08:31 PM
Governor Moonbeam (Jerry Brown) got his nickname in the late 1970's because he refused the governor’s mansion, and instead rented a little apartment room. He refused the limo service, and either walked around or drove a beater Plymouth.
Brown’s first term as governor began in 1978, when he succeeded Ronald Reagan. He quickly became known as a fiscal conservative. The American Conservative later noted that he was "much more of a fiscal conservative than Reagan”. His fiscal restraint resulted in one of the biggest budget surpluses in state history, roughly $5 billion.
That was then, and this is now, and Governor Brown has been back in Sacramento since he took over for the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in 2011. Arnold left the State in a bad way, but California’s economy has improved quite a bit, mostly because all of you are gadget freaks and social media hounds and app addicts. Brown has been doing a decent job, and California once again has a surplus. He’s even pushed back against his union supporters a bit, and tangled with his fellow Democrats over paying off some of the debt and creating a rainy day fund. He's always been tough on violent crime, but he's pressed the prison industry to release non-violent offenders.
Brown is like 75 years old now, but he looks like a 55 year old. He probably won’t run against Hillary, whose only real ‘accomplishment’ seems to be her gender. But Brown has never been stronger in the California polls (60%) at a time when Obama has suffered all time lows.
Brown once contemplated becoming a priest. He also traveled to Japan in 1982 to study Buddhism. He also visited Mother Teresa in India where he ministered to the sick in one of her hospices. He explained, "Politics is a power struggle to get to the top of the heap. Calcutta and Mother Teresa are about working with those who are at the bottom of the heap. And to see them as no different than yourself, and their needs as important as your needs."
Brown is the kind of guy that knows the sick and twisted things you have to do to remain in power, but still remembers why he sought that power in the first place. I give him a solid B+ grade as governor since 2011 (graded on a curve).
Brown’s first term as governor began in 1978, when he succeeded Ronald Reagan. He quickly became known as a fiscal conservative. The American Conservative later noted that he was "much more of a fiscal conservative than Reagan”. His fiscal restraint resulted in one of the biggest budget surpluses in state history, roughly $5 billion.
That was then, and this is now, and Governor Brown has been back in Sacramento since he took over for the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in 2011. Arnold left the State in a bad way, but California’s economy has improved quite a bit, mostly because all of you are gadget freaks and social media hounds and app addicts. Brown has been doing a decent job, and California once again has a surplus. He’s even pushed back against his union supporters a bit, and tangled with his fellow Democrats over paying off some of the debt and creating a rainy day fund. He's always been tough on violent crime, but he's pressed the prison industry to release non-violent offenders.
Brown is like 75 years old now, but he looks like a 55 year old. He probably won’t run against Hillary, whose only real ‘accomplishment’ seems to be her gender. But Brown has never been stronger in the California polls (60%) at a time when Obama has suffered all time lows.
Brown once contemplated becoming a priest. He also traveled to Japan in 1982 to study Buddhism. He also visited Mother Teresa in India where he ministered to the sick in one of her hospices. He explained, "Politics is a power struggle to get to the top of the heap. Calcutta and Mother Teresa are about working with those who are at the bottom of the heap. And to see them as no different than yourself, and their needs as important as your needs."
Brown is the kind of guy that knows the sick and twisted things you have to do to remain in power, but still remembers why he sought that power in the first place. I give him a solid B+ grade as governor since 2011 (graded on a curve).