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Can Jerry Brown shed 'Gov. Moonbeam' label?
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 3/3/10 | Carla Marinucci,Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Political Writers

Posted on 03/03/2010 11:44:34 AM PST by SmithL

Democrat Jerry Brown, at 71 years old, is offering himself to California voters as the pragmatic, moderate and mature gubernatorial candidate with the experience to bring the state back from the brink of disaster.

But with four decades in public service and a reputation as a political chameleon, the attorney general must try to shake the one word that critics have aimed at him for the past 35 years: "Moonbeam."

Moments after Brown, who was governor from 1975 to 1983, delivered a three-minute video Tuesday announcing his candidacy, his GOP opponents began reviving memories of the nickname as shorthand for Brown's perceived failings: too liberal, too unorthodox, too unpredictable - just too out there.

But some political observers called Brown's campaign launch yet another brilliant effort to repackage the Brown legacy.

"If I were a headline writer at the New York Post, I'd probably have written it: "Moonbeam goes mainstream," quipped Bob Gardner, a political advertising veteran who heads the Advocacy Group, a crisis communications and advertising firm in San Francisco.

Peering straight into the camera during his campaign video, Brown delivered the messages of a practical realist, a centrist and even a libertarian - arguing for no new taxes, smaller government, more local control, an end to "poisonous partisanship" and budget-balancing gimmicks, along with some painful straight talk about California's dire financial situation.

Brown was given the Moonbeam label in the late 1970s not just for his idea for a state-owned communications satellite but because he broke the political mold. He opted to live in a one-bedroom apartment instead of the governor's mansion, turned down the state-paid limo to drive his own Plymouth, and was so austere that other California politicians loved to recount stories about his thriftiness.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: goldenstate; governormoonbeam; helovesit; jerrybrown; moonbeam; moonbeam2mainstream; why; whyshed
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Jerry Brown was a subject for famed photographer Richard Avedon in '76
1 posted on 03/03/2010 11:44:35 AM PST by SmithL
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Lord of the Fruit Flies!


2 posted on 03/03/2010 11:45:07 AM PST by SmithL
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To: SmithL

He’s worse than moonbeam.....the guy is a complete idiot and on the take all the time.


3 posted on 03/03/2010 11:48:06 AM PST by RC2
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To: SmithL

shed it? He should copyright it. think of the branding possibilities...


4 posted on 03/03/2010 11:51:56 AM PST by the invisib1e hand (yeah, you can quote me.)
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To: SmithL

Does he want to shed his MOONBEAM label? This ‘branding’ may be good for him, especially in liberal Northern California.


5 posted on 03/03/2010 11:52:38 AM PST by muglywump (Seven days without laughter makes one weak.)
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To: SmithL

Wasn’t he like the Mayor of the Planet Venus the last 10 years or so?


6 posted on 03/03/2010 11:53:22 AM PST by NavyCanDo (Palin 2012 Teleprompter Not Required)
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To: SmithL

Nope.

Once a Moonbeam, always a Moonbeam.


7 posted on 03/03/2010 11:53:36 AM PST by Howie66 (The one redeeming thing about liberals: their tendency to kill their own.)
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To: SmithL

71 year old moonbeam! How will Californians KNOW when senile dementia sets in with this guy?


8 posted on 03/03/2010 11:53:44 AM PST by jim35 (Tea Party former Republican)
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To: SmithL

He would be the last piece of complete breakdown in California. I remember ‘moonbeam’ very well.... never forgot. You think it’s bad now...


9 posted on 03/03/2010 11:54:03 AM PST by BigFinn
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To: SmithL

Brilliant! Hopefully Californians will remember his days as Governor Moonbeam, and understand that he is illegally acting as the California Attorney General.

On another site (pacoenterprise.blogspot.com) there was a contest of sorts to come up with a name for the Lefties like they use for the Tea Party folks. You might have a viable entry. See Java Jive to post this.


10 posted on 03/03/2010 11:55:03 AM PST by oneamericanvoice (Support freedom! Support the troops! Surrender is not an option!)
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To: SmithL
As a reminder of his past governorship the CA GOP needs to use his professional portrait that hangs at the state capitol for election fodder.
11 posted on 03/03/2010 11:55:19 AM PST by notpoliticallycorewrecked (According to the MSM, I'm a fringe sitting, pajama wearing, Freeper)
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To: NavyCanDo
What? Being part of the “looney left” is now in fashion...
12 posted on 03/03/2010 11:56:59 AM PST by mneville
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To: SmithL

“I am governor Jerry Brown, my aura smiles and never frowns...” - California Uber Alles < Dead Kennedys >


13 posted on 03/03/2010 11:57:23 AM PST by a fool in paradise
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To: BigFinn
As a follow up... he is hiding his past record as the 'moombeam'...

And if Jerry Brown has anything to say about it, don't go looking for public records from his administration -- those are kept under lock and key at the University of Southern California.

14 posted on 03/03/2010 12:01:20 PM PST by BigFinn
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To: SmithL
But so many Californians deserve his leadership...seriously.
15 posted on 03/03/2010 12:03:20 PM PST by Niteranger68 ("Obama voters will pay dearly!")
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To: SmithL

The moniker “Gov. Moonbeam” is not going to hurt Brown with Liberals anyway.


16 posted on 03/03/2010 12:04:12 PM PST by BunnySlippers (I LOVE BULL MARKETS . . .)
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To: SmithL

No.


17 posted on 03/03/2010 12:05:09 PM PST by rlmorel (We are traveling "The Road to Serfdom".)
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To: RC2
Exactly, I see the SF Compost which is dying so fast it may not make it to Nov 2010 is trying their best to re-brand this utterly corrupt and incompetent fool .
This goon was the idiot who started the massive state union labor force and kicked off all the massive regulatory boards, etc....
Calif mess was created by this vile creature and he just recently bankrupt Oakland and ran off !

Wasn't this guy involved in a child molesting case in the Tahoe in the 60/70 “s ?

18 posted on 03/03/2010 12:05:48 PM PST by ncalburt (e)
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To: oneamericanvoice

Yes, he did not meet the criteria to be AG !


19 posted on 03/03/2010 12:06:56 PM PST by ncalburt (e)
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To: SmithL

I’ve heard that he’s lost his mind; his wife runs the department or so rumors say.


20 posted on 03/03/2010 12:07:14 PM PST by ExTexasRedhead (Clean the RAT/RINO Sewer in 2010 and 2012)
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