California Politics: The Mystery of Jerry Brown Continues

At least for reporters. When Jerry Brown was Governor of California, he was dubbed "Governor Moonbeam" because he made a habit of challenging conventional wisdom in terms people were not accustomed to hearing from politicians. Political reporters even today find him a challenge, relying as most of them do on the conventional wisdom of the moment, which has never been adequate to processing what Jerry Brown was about.

Brown studied at a Jesuit seminary as a young man, intending to become a priest. And his worldview was heavily influenced by the kind of reflective Catholic theology, critical perspective on the failures of worldly society and the strong business-like and pragmatic streak for which the Jesuits are famous. Jesuit priests are good at saying things that your first response is, "No, something's not right about that." But then you find yourself unable to think about the topic again in the same way as before. Brown is also like that.

This particular comment wasn't one of that type, but it was enough to mystify the reporter: "Cites shocked by cuts" San Francisco Chronicle 01/10/04:

At least one mayor was sanguine about Schwarzenegger's proposal [to cut state funds to cities]. Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, a former governor who later studied Zen meditation in Japan, expressed optimism by saying, "I've left gloom and doom to the '70s. We're now on to the empire of hope."

"He's got a big gap and he's got to close it," Brown said philosophically. "It's par for the course in gubernatorial budget-making. It's not the final document; it's an opening set of moves."

For those whose minds aren't blown by a phrase like "empire of hope," it's pretty obvious that Brown is hoping to overturn the proposed cuts to local services in the legislative debate. That's what he's "sanguine" about, not the cuts Schwarzenegger wants.

It's also pretty obvious when he says that Schwarzenegger's budget is "par for the course," he's reminding those who actually can hear what he says (which most reporters apparently can't) that Schwarzenegger's promises during the recall to be different and to balance the budget by not raising taxes and not cutting services, but only eliminating the famous waste, fraud and inefficiency, were just bogus.