DEMOCRATS CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' I by Dick Behn I the Flap Over Jimmy Carter' S ~'Ethnic State Boards and 'Commissions
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RE N EW TODAY 15, 1976 VOL. XII, No. 8 50 CENTS COMMEITUY: DEMOCRATS CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' I by Dick Behn I The flap over Jimmy Carter' s ~'ethnic state boards and 'commissions. Brown's ability purity" statements highlighted the vagaries to make a virtue of doing nothing is reflected of presidential politics. Carter's poly by his defense that time, is needed to ensure rhythms seemed to be cont~nuous highs, the appointment of quality personsj this tac meshing strong ambition, opportunity. and tic was labeled "positive nonperformance" by public relations cycles. But ~arter's suc , one journalist.' And when Brown does make cess has partly been attributable to the an appointment, he has the capacity to alien risky, high-wire nature of his act. He ate almost everyone-:-as he did recently when was a crowd-pleaser so long as he defied the he reappointed Raymond Procunier as the chair gods with his daring walk through the pri man of the Adult Authority of the state's par mary circuit. But one ~sstep constitutes ole board. Opposition and criticism ranged a quick fall from grace. from ultraconservative State Sen. H.L.Richard son(R) to spokesmen for the Prisoners Union. Carter's success and problems should the Cali£ornia Correctional Officers Associa constitute an important lesson for Califor tion, and the prison reform groups. nia Gov. Jerry Brown (D) , who has had s~ lar hick with his ambition, opportunity, and Admittedly, Brown's philosophical pro public relations cycles. For bachelor Brown. nouncements are politically appealing and sen the public honeymoon has lasted an inordi sible., He realizes that, there are limits to nately long time. fie has perfected the art the amounts of security that government can of doing nothing and making it seem DDt only provide an4 a desperate need for reinvigorated 'newSworthy but praiseworthy---the same way citizen initiative. Brown is more appealing that Carter had perfected the art of saying as a philosopher than as a politician, however. nothing atid maing it seem like "new leader Almost a year ago when Brown-for-President ship." talk was just beginning to be generated. Brown's top aide, Gray Davis. said."Be has· to prove Unlike Texas Gov., Dolph Briscoe(DJ, who himself as governor first." That he hardly makes do~ng nothing seem to be .~ study in. lazi~ seems to have done. Noted the Los Angeles ness, lack of direction. and inep,titude, Brown Tmes' Tom Goff last: November: does nothing with energy, drive. and style. --,- The 'lowered expectations' philosophy of Because Brown seems to have carefully con Gov. Brown. ~n the year since his election. ceived the philosophical underpiUnlngsof do appears to have had a much gr,eater impact ing nothing. it seems novel and exciting when on public opinion polls. politicians and he "doesn't do it." And ~f anything has char journalists than it has had on the institu- acterized Brown's first year in office, it has tions of government., ' been its lack of accomplishment. As Califor Brown. who squeaked into office one year nia pollster Mervin Field has said of Brown's ago. is given higher public approval marks ad~nistration. it ~s "almOst theater as much in a variety of polls today than any Cali as substance." But Robert Redford and "All fornia governor in the years since opinion the President's Men" not withstanding •. Wash polling cmae into vogue. ington. D.C. is something mOre than a Holly He is written about (usually with awe). wood set. he is analyzed and dissected. He is the repeat~d subje~t of state and nationsl pol~ Recent American history has been replete tical speCUlation. lie has become the ,proto with politicians who overdid everything. By type for an incr~s!~g number of new and contrast. Brown's approach does seem new and restructured 'rea~ist' ,politicians through exci ting. Even in California. however, there out the country. are problema that need attending ••• little Government in California. however. has things, like making executive appointments. not basically changed in the last year. Nor But 10ng delays· in gubernatorial decision has its thrust. making have left scores of vacant posts on , Despite Brown's pronouncements about un nounced his presidential candidacy. The man employment, for example, he has done little to ner of his announcement sought to minimize the deal with the high jobless rate in his own inevitable downturn in his pres~ relations cy state, ,claiming instead that joblessness is a cle.' (Even Ronald Reagan was never as popular federal problem. Even in his home state and in California after his abortive 1968 presiden among his own party, politicians are coming to tial run). Brown's ambition cycle.has been realize that Brown's philosophy masks a policy high and steady for some time, but the gover vacuum. On March 25, 22 Democratic legislative nor's opportunity cycle was beginning to curve chairmen. arrived at the governor's office to downward. The presence of frontrunner Carter discuss legislative priorities. When Brown in the Democratic race·somewhat invalidated kept them waiting a half-hour, three of them one, obvious rationale for Brown's candidacy. walked out. One who stayed said,"I think the There was a fresh, new anti-bureaucratic face state is afloat. There's no leadership in the in the field who was attracting voter att~ntion corner office." Said another,"He doesn't seem so why did the voters need another, namely Jer very interested in the job. It was just an ry Brown? empty ritual. He seemed to be thinking of national politics and not about California Any call-of-the-people r~tionale along issues." Recently, California GOP Senate those lines would doubtless seem phoney so Minority Leader George Deulonejiam summed up Brown's announcement was deliberately low-key, Brown's deficiencies by observing,"JerryBrown coming ostensibly in response to the persis spent his first year in office asking a lot of tence of four reporters rather than as a cal penetrating questions and this year people are culated "media event." That method obscured beginning to look for answers while he's de the Carter problem, fit Brown's own unconven cided to run for President instead." It must tional political image, and undercut the inev be admitted, however, that most Californians itable "what-has-this-man-done-that-he-deserves are still awed by the questions---about 86 per -to-be-President" stories in the news media. cent were favorably awed, according to the Such stories are the natural counterreaction. last Field Poll. to the media's "look-at-this-new-face-maybe-he . ,;,;)ought-to-be President" stories. And when Brown's philosophy was detailed last fall the "what-has-he-done1' stories did appear, , in an interview with sociologist Gregory Bate- they focused, by default, on the enactment of son: the fa~labor collective bargaining statute, 'This is the way I see it---thfs is the which was widely hailed at the time of passage way it is folks.' I think people are looking but is now out of funds and out of operation. for that ••• if you just get them to see that Brown's objections to amending the laws have core, then I think you'll tap the strength blocked new funding ~nd further implementatipn. that's there. And that is done by stating clearly the obvious. I think all the prin Even Brown's rationale for how he decided ciples are there: Equality, work, sharing to enter the Democratic presidential contest things, avoiding waste, adventure, destiny, is revealing: all of that. All we have to do is let it I, as governor, follow the policy of try come out. People are looking for a state ipg to deal with what's in front of me so I ment of what is, so they can come to terms can come to grips with that rather than wor with it. And instead of being given that, ry about what may be down the road a week they're given a lot of second-rate rhetoric or a month later. That's not to say I'm that they don't even hear.any more. not aware of things that may be looming. I don't feel I'm cOlIDDitted to soine,th~ng It's appealing stuff and it has a sort unless I say I am. And that's why I 'don,' t of "Jimmy Carter" quality to it, admittedly like to make a decision today and change it with a more philosophical than spiritual em tomorrow and the day after change it back phasis. But when it comes to details, even again. So I let possibilities emerge in my sympathetic observers {like the Nation's Geof mind. frey Cowan note:"The governor's desire to be As usual, Brown makes it sound sensible and' involved in all aspects of his administration laudable; the problem is that nothing gets limits the initiatives that can be taken by done. activists whom he has asked to run his agen cies ••• The larger problem is that, while the The shakiness of Brown's political tight governor is unassailably hard-working and wire act was illustrated in March by the de bright, he can't be everywhere at once and, feat of Gov. Daniel Walker(D) for renomination in any event, doesn't have as much experience in Illinois. As Chicago Tribune columnist (or in many cases, personal commitment) as Michael Kilian wrote:"Abraham Lincoln was do the people he has appointed.~ right and Gov. Dan Walker was wrong.