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Why Jerry Brown’s Biographer Thinks ‘Moonbeam’ Is Unfair Why Jerry Brown’s Biographer Thinks ‘Moonbeam’ Is Unfair
(1 day later)
Good morning.Good morning.
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On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he and other leaders in the five members of the so-called Western States Pact, had asked Congress for $1 trillion in “direct and flexible” relief to help state and local governments pay firefighters, health workers and teachers in the face of plunging tax revenues.On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he and other leaders in the five members of the so-called Western States Pact, had asked Congress for $1 trillion in “direct and flexible” relief to help state and local governments pay firefighters, health workers and teachers in the face of plunging tax revenues.
“Red and blue states alike all are faced with the same Covid-19 math,” leaders from the states, including Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada, said in a letter to Congress. “The moment requires unprecedented partnership from all of us.”“Red and blue states alike all are faced with the same Covid-19 math,” leaders from the states, including Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada, said in a letter to Congress. “The moment requires unprecedented partnership from all of us.”
The request comes after Mr. Newsom said the state anticipated a $54.3 billion budget deficit — a catastrophic reversal. Later this week, Mr. Newsom is expected to release his updated budget proposal, which, as CalMatters reported, will almost certainly involve deep cuts.The request comes after Mr. Newsom said the state anticipated a $54.3 billion budget deficit — a catastrophic reversal. Later this week, Mr. Newsom is expected to release his updated budget proposal, which, as CalMatters reported, will almost certainly involve deep cuts.
[See which counties in California have the most coronavirus cases.][See which counties in California have the most coronavirus cases.]
We often link to sites that limit access for nonsubscribers. We appreciate your reading Times coverage, but we also encourage you to support local news if you can.We often link to sites that limit access for nonsubscribers. We appreciate your reading Times coverage, but we also encourage you to support local news if you can.
Today is Election Day in California’s 25th Congressional District. The race to fill the seat vacated by Katie Hill, the Democrat who stepped down last year, will be closely watched as a kind of microcosm of nationwide battles that will be fought in November: It’s a contest in an important swing district, and all eligible voters received vote-by-mail ballots, which have been at the center of fierce partisan fights.Today is Election Day in California’s 25th Congressional District. The race to fill the seat vacated by Katie Hill, the Democrat who stepped down last year, will be closely watched as a kind of microcosm of nationwide battles that will be fought in November: It’s a contest in an important swing district, and all eligible voters received vote-by-mail ballots, which have been at the center of fierce partisan fights.
Senator Kamala Harris isn’t clamoring to be Joe Biden’s running mate. [The New York Times]Senator Kamala Harris isn’t clamoring to be Joe Biden’s running mate. [The New York Times]
“When we walk into an E.R., what they sometimes see is not a patient who is suffering from respiratory illness, they see a black man here who needs something.” [The New York Times]“When we walk into an E.R., what they sometimes see is not a patient who is suffering from respiratory illness, they see a black man here who needs something.” [The New York Times]
Elon Musk said he’d restart Tesla’s Fremont factory, in defiance of Alameda County’s shelter-in-place order, which he previously railed against as “fascist.” [The New York Times]Elon Musk said he’d restart Tesla’s Fremont factory, in defiance of Alameda County’s shelter-in-place order, which he previously railed against as “fascist.” [The New York Times]
In a school year unlike any other, are digital test-proctoring services invasive? At least one U.C.L.A. student thinks so. [The New York Times]In a school year unlike any other, are digital test-proctoring services invasive? At least one U.C.L.A. student thinks so. [The New York Times]
Major League Baseball has proposed an 82-game season starting in July — without fans. [The New York Times]Major League Baseball has proposed an 82-game season starting in July — without fans. [The New York Times]
See images of socially distanced Mother’s Day visits to a Los Angeles nursing home after months away. [The New York Times]See images of socially distanced Mother’s Day visits to a Los Angeles nursing home after months away. [The New York Times]
My colleague Conor Dougherty talked to the author of a new book exploring Jerry Brown’s life and legacy:My colleague Conor Dougherty talked to the author of a new book exploring Jerry Brown’s life and legacy:
California has never had a leader like Gov. Jerry Brown, and it seems unlikely to ever again.California has never had a leader like Gov. Jerry Brown, and it seems unlikely to ever again.
Though Mr. Brown was sometimes caricatured as the flaky “Governor Moonbeam” who gave wandering and philosophical speeches, a new biography by Jim Newton, a journalist, author and lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, presents Mr. Brown as a contemplative politician whose spirituality guided his approach to governance. The book, called “Man of Tomorrow: The Relentless Life of Jerry Brown,” goes on sale today.Though Mr. Brown was sometimes caricatured as the flaky “Governor Moonbeam” who gave wandering and philosophical speeches, a new biography by Jim Newton, a journalist, author and lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, presents Mr. Brown as a contemplative politician whose spirituality guided his approach to governance. The book, called “Man of Tomorrow: The Relentless Life of Jerry Brown,” goes on sale today.
I spoke with Mr. Newton recently. Here’s our conversation, edited and condensed:I spoke with Mr. Newton recently. Here’s our conversation, edited and condensed:
Jerry Brown hated talking about his legacy when he was in office, so let me start by asking, how would you describe his legacy?Jerry Brown hated talking about his legacy when he was in office, so let me start by asking, how would you describe his legacy?
His leadership on the environment is probably the philosophical realm in which he will be remembered, especially outside of California and particularly on climate change. Also, not so much in his legacy, but in his life, he upended the assumption that a search for spiritual understanding is confined to the conservative part of American politics. He is a living example of (spirituality) being consistent with liberal political principles — that ideas like mercy and humility bend themselves toward or within a liberal point of view.His leadership on the environment is probably the philosophical realm in which he will be remembered, especially outside of California and particularly on climate change. Also, not so much in his legacy, but in his life, he upended the assumption that a search for spiritual understanding is confined to the conservative part of American politics. He is a living example of (spirituality) being consistent with liberal political principles — that ideas like mercy and humility bend themselves toward or within a liberal point of view.
I don’t think people have historically taken Mr. Brown’s spirituality, particularly as it relates to governing, as seriously as you do in the book.I don’t think people have historically taken Mr. Brown’s spirituality, particularly as it relates to governing, as seriously as you do in the book.
The popular conception of Jerry Brown’s spirituality was formed in the 1970s, and was realized in the nickname, Moonbeam. It’s an unfair nickname, I think. It was also the wrong time to take the full measure of him. He was 38 years old, and he’s lived a whole political lifetime since then. His search for a belief system was taken too lightly and was conflated in this idea that California itself was not to be taken seriously. He kind of got mixed in this stew of hippies and the Summer of Love, none of which really applied to Jerry.The popular conception of Jerry Brown’s spirituality was formed in the 1970s, and was realized in the nickname, Moonbeam. It’s an unfair nickname, I think. It was also the wrong time to take the full measure of him. He was 38 years old, and he’s lived a whole political lifetime since then. His search for a belief system was taken too lightly and was conflated in this idea that California itself was not to be taken seriously. He kind of got mixed in this stew of hippies and the Summer of Love, none of which really applied to Jerry.
When people heard he’d studied to be a priest and then gave it up, when people heard he was interested in meditation and then Buddhism, it felt like he was hopscotching around spiritual disciplines. In fact there is a strong through line in all of that, which is that these are disciplines that ask questions about a man’s relationship to nature, man’s relationship to God, the right way of proceeding, humanity’s place on the Earth.When people heard he’d studied to be a priest and then gave it up, when people heard he was interested in meditation and then Buddhism, it felt like he was hopscotching around spiritual disciplines. In fact there is a strong through line in all of that, which is that these are disciplines that ask questions about a man’s relationship to nature, man’s relationship to God, the right way of proceeding, humanity’s place on the Earth.
At the same time, you present Mr. Brown as very ambitious politically, so it’s this mixed portrait.At the same time, you present Mr. Brown as very ambitious politically, so it’s this mixed portrait.
There’s a quote from his former adviser Nathan Gardels, which is that there’s a part of Jerry that always wanted to be president of the United States, and there’s a part of Jerry that always wanted to be a monk. For Gardels, the moment those come together was when he was mayor of Oakland. I think it’s no coincidence that Brown kind of comes into himself in those years. He’s experiencing politics not as an abstract intellectual exercise but as the actual delivery of services.There’s a quote from his former adviser Nathan Gardels, which is that there’s a part of Jerry that always wanted to be president of the United States, and there’s a part of Jerry that always wanted to be a monk. For Gardels, the moment those come together was when he was mayor of Oakland. I think it’s no coincidence that Brown kind of comes into himself in those years. He’s experiencing politics not as an abstract intellectual exercise but as the actual delivery of services.
Updated August 4, 2020 Updated August 6, 2020
In the book you write that “the standard of successful leadership is not the elimination of all problems but rather proof of progress.” Returning to the idea of legacy, it seems to me that it’s just so much harder to define Jerry Brown’s legacy than it is to define the legacy of his father, Pat Brown, who built tangible things like the state university system and the California State Water Project.In the book you write that “the standard of successful leadership is not the elimination of all problems but rather proof of progress.” Returning to the idea of legacy, it seems to me that it’s just so much harder to define Jerry Brown’s legacy than it is to define the legacy of his father, Pat Brown, who built tangible things like the state university system and the California State Water Project.
Jerry Brown has been asked his whole professional life to compare himself to his father, and he resents it a little bit. It’s not an entirely fair comparison, because they governed in different times. Pat governed in a time of growth. What do you do if you’re a governor who’s managing growth? You build things. Jerry Brown comes to office in the ’70s, and to some extent again in the 2010s, when the challenges were in the opposite direction. It’s easier to please people when you’re growing benefits and budgets than when you’re having to deny people.Jerry Brown has been asked his whole professional life to compare himself to his father, and he resents it a little bit. It’s not an entirely fair comparison, because they governed in different times. Pat governed in a time of growth. What do you do if you’re a governor who’s managing growth? You build things. Jerry Brown comes to office in the ’70s, and to some extent again in the 2010s, when the challenges were in the opposite direction. It’s easier to please people when you’re growing benefits and budgets than when you’re having to deny people.
So I think Jerry Brown’s periods of governance are about governing in a much more mature place. This is especially true in the third and fourth terms, when the budget and economy were a wreck. He stabilized them and helped turn them around.So I think Jerry Brown’s periods of governance are about governing in a much more mature place. This is especially true in the third and fourth terms, when the budget and economy were a wreck. He stabilized them and helped turn them around.
Pat Brown got an aqueduct named after him. What should we name after Jerry Brown?Pat Brown got an aqueduct named after him. What should we name after Jerry Brown?
A spiritual retreat. Not a monastery, I guess, because that sounds too severe. But a meditation center. A place of learning.A spiritual retreat. Not a monastery, I guess, because that sounds too severe. But a meditation center. A place of learning.
In the margins of the book I wrote, “He’s a seeker who just happened to be governor.”In the margins of the book I wrote, “He’s a seeker who just happened to be governor.”
I hadn’t thought of the word “seeker,” but I think that’s right. If Pat’s a builder, Jerry’s a seeker.I hadn’t thought of the word “seeker,” but I think that’s right. If Pat’s a builder, Jerry’s a seeker.
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Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, went to school at U.C. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles — but she always wants to see more. Follow along here or on Twitter.Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, went to school at U.C. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles — but she always wants to see more. Follow along here or on Twitter.
California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley.California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley.