Jerry Brown’s Return Ought to Be U-Turned

I have put in my time in politics. I’ve worked on campaigns and with legislative staffs. Lately I’ve been content to root from the sidelines, but a new grass-roots enterprise may be in order: Jerry Brown is attempting to reactivate his political life, beginning with a bid for chairmanship of the state Democratic Party. Unless he presents hard evidence of a bone-deep transformation, I would hope that the party rejects the offer.

I’m not what you think. I’m a card-carrying Democrat, and my parents use the “L” word to describe my politics--anti-”Star Wars,” pro-environment, impatient for a more compassionate national agenda. But Jerry Brown has betrayed the trust that Californians, particularly those of my persuasion, gave him. In my book he did so in such grand style that he may have forfeited the right to reclaim it.

Brown ran for office espousing the values that I care about, with a welcome twist. The standard liberal mix of concerns was expressed with a competent, can-do emphasis. He was bright, he was savvy, and it appeared that he would be pragmatic. At last, I thought, the institution of the progressive Democrat will survive George McGovern. Compassion no longer need be equated with softheadedness.

But as Brown proceeded to execute the powers of his office, the promise that he presented began to erode. Many key appointees were people high on idealism but lacking in administrative ability and political savvy; when basic state problems arose, they floundered. The botched Medfly effort, for example, accomplished nothing for environmentalists while angering farmers and demonstrating ineptitude in crisis. Where was Jerry? Maybe running for President--clearly not running the show.

Then there was the appointment of Rose Elizabeth Bird as California’s chief justice. In selecting her over better-qualified candidates, Brown blew the chance to secure the reputation of the California Supreme Court--brilliant, well-tempered and compassionate, to boot--for the rest of the century. Instead, arrogance and lack of leadership created internal dissension and the firestorm of controversy over the death penalty. When Bird went down in flames, she took two fine justices and the court’s reputation with her.

Now important consumer protections are steadily being wiped off the books because, in Bird’s wake, an extremely conservative court sits in those seats. Jerry Brown is responsible.

Years after his departure from the Capitol, right-wing politicians make political hay with anti-Brown rhetoric. Jerry Brown is responsible.

Most painfully, an able state administrator, Michael S. Dukakis, is ridiculed as fuzzy-headed when he espouses compassionate objectives. Jerry Brown played a role in bolstering this image.

Had Gov. Brown turned his intellect and charisma to the job of governance, his accomplishments could have given the progressive Democratic label a positive cast. Not that diversion of a politician’s attention to short-term political advantage is a unique crime. But 16 years after McGovern’s defeat by Richard M. Nixon, the label game is played successfully against an effective governor like Dukakis. That is a signal that the institution of the compassionate Democrat is in deep jeopardy. There no longer is room for error when it comes to choosing our standard-bearer. There no longer is room to gamble on whether promises will be kept, whether images reflect actual substance.

The question posed by Brown’s reappearance is, of course, whether he has changed. Has he shown any repentance for his failings and the harm that they did? Have his Buddhist studies and retreats imparted a wisdom and self-awareness that will guide the use of his talents? Did his work with Mother Teresa deepen an authentic belief in serving others, instead of an agenda of self-aggrandizement? To date I have heard nothing from him indicating that this transformation has taken place.

Someday--someday soon, I hope--compassionate pragmatism will be given another chance in California. For voters to respond, however, they will want some evidence that they will not be burned. Hard-right conservatives in this state will embrace Jerry Brown’s return to California politics. He was the best thing that ever happened to them.

I hope that Democrats, including the Democratic Party, have better sense.