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BROWN.TXT
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1992-01-19
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71 lines
Edmund "G" Brown
At 53, Jerry Brown may not be the oldest candidate for
the Democratic nomination, but he surely has one of the
longest track records. And hands down, the most unusual.
The question about Jerry Brown is: Has he been out of
office (and out of sight) long enough to put the "Governor
Moonbeam" behind him? Or does he want to?
Brown's idiosyncratic behavior as governor earned him
that sobriquet. He gained a reputation for being quick to
seize the latest trendy issues--then to forsake them by
failing to carry through.
As governor of California from 1975-83, Brown led the
life of an ascetic. He drove a cheap blue Plymouth and
refused to move into in the shiny new governor's mansion
left him by his movie-star predecessor (Ronald Reagan).
In his 8 years out of office, Brown lived for a time in a
Zen Buddhist monastery in Japan and worked with Mother
Theresa in Calcutta. Before entering politics, he had
studied to be a priest.
In addition to being elected governor twice (first at
35), he ran twice for president and once for the US Senate.
Counting primaries, he ran 17 campaigns in just 13 years. BROWN 3 of 6
Brown's return to politics began in 1989 when he was
elected chairman of the California Democratic Party.
He was widely criticized in 1990 for not doing enough to
help get out the vote for Dianne Feinstein, who was narrowly
defeated for governor by Republican Pete Wilson.
Brown resigned as state Democratic chairman in February
1991 to run for the US Senate. He was the front-runner in
the polls (though behind in fund-raising) when he announced
his renewed interest in being president instead. The
announcement came in a 5000-word, 10-page letter to his
followers in place of the usual news conference hoopla.
Brown's Program
As governor, Brown pursued a generally populist agenda
before tripping up on the tax-cutting Proposition 13, which
he opposed at first.
He drew both praise and scorn for his liberal ideals,
unconventional management style and fascination with the
future. At one time, he was involved in a high-profile
relationship with singer Linda Ronstadt.
He opposed nuclear power and the death penalty, but
shocked fellow Democrats with his fiscal conservatism--down
to carrying his own bags at the airport.
During his administration, California liberalized laws
for marijuana possession.
His hesitancy to use pesticides in the Medfly infestation
in 1981 on environmental grounds and his appointment of
death-penalty opponent Rose Bird to the state Supreme Court
lost him favor.
With his popularity declining, Brown ran for the Senate
in 1982 but was beaten handily by Republican Pete Wilson,
who later became governor.
Brown's Campaign
Brown announced he would run for president Oct 21 a long
way from his West Coast home. He chose the historic backdrop
of Philadelphia's Independence Hall, offering himself as a
candidate in the tradition of Thomas Jefferson.
He says he is running as a political outsider.
"What I see for the Democratic Party is a restoration of
its original spirit and theme as expressed by Jefferson,
which was an anti-incumbent, anti-elite message to
re-empower the working people." Brown says he won't accept
individual campaign contributions over $100.