A States Rights defense against Jerry Brown

By Bernie Quigley

- for the Hill on 6/11/10

The Bay Area’s KCBS reports that a comment Jerry Brown made is causing a stir in the race for governor. Referring to Meg Whitman's willingness to spend up to $150 million of her own money to win the election, Brown told their reporter, "It's like Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels invented this kind of propaganda. He took control of the whole world. She wants to be president. That's her ambition, the first woman president. That's what this is all about."

Goebbels and Hitler and Stalin, oh my!

We are used to hearing Noam Chomsky refer to Israel as “Stalinist” and regular screed by a prominent New York Times columnist who was reminded of Hitler when he first saw Sarah Palin. Like Helen Thomas telling “them” to “get out of Palestine,” it is regular fare these days. Quite possibly they feel a greater comfort zone with Barack Obama as President. But we have been hearing this garbage from Jerry Brown for 40 years.

That he sees himself as being governor again is debilitating. But Brown could govern again.

California is on its last legs. It has already had its last chance. Throwing Gray Davis out of office in 2003 was the right thing to do. The economy of California was being compared with Argentina. But it was an admission of failure. Bringing in Arnold was the radical option but it was also the right thing to do; it was a Hail Mary pass when there were no other options. But the Governator could not solve the problem and California sank deeper into insolvency. Returning to Brown today, who was governor of CA between 1978 and 1983, would not only declare CA insolvent, but ungovernable.

California’s Inland farmers have been saying this for several years now. They have formed a committee to separate from the coastal cities which spends all their money and more. They have called for and will get now a constitutional convention to change their fate. One of the options discussed is to divide California into two or three separate states.

At the moment, CA has auspicious management options with Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina running for governor and senate. But if CA returns to the ‘60s with Governor Moonbeams – clearly it has never left – then the inland farmers have the right and responsibility to follow their own initiatives.