By David Dayen, FIREDOGLAKE.COM
Jerry Brown tried to shake up the California Governor’s race by demanding debates with all the major candidates today, but at the same time responded to criticism for not being specific enough on the major issues facing California by talking about federal issues not under the gubernatorial purview and declining to give a position on the upcoming June ballot measures.
“I am not prepared to issue positions” on ballot measures like Prop. 17, the Mercury Insurance measure that would allow auto insurers to jack up rates for individuals if there is a lapse in their coverage, said Brown, the former Governor and current Attorney General, at a post-speech press conference. When asked again about specifically what he would do to bring jobs to the state, he cited getting banks to lend to small businesses. When told that was a federal issue, Brown said “I am a citizen of the Republic.” Pressed further, Brown said that he wold not favor new taxes unless people “want them and vote for them,” which he said was a “tough thing to say in front of this crowd.” He actually didn’t say it in his speech. He also proposed moving authority on local spending issues back to local control, decentralizing the state budget structure to a degree.
Brown said that people aren’t paying attention to the race and that “we will be more than competitive” on television in the fall. He suggested that people “will have all the information they need” to make their decision in November, and that “people will recoil from all the information” that they’ll have, an allusion to Meg Whitman’s prodigious spending. When asked why then he would call for more information through debates, Brown said they would be more substantive and of interest.
Brown didn’t seem terribly hopeful that Whitman or Poizner would actually accept the challenge. Asked if it was more likely that Whitman would release her tax return or agree to the debate, Brown said, “It’s a close question.” However, he added, “I wouldn’t have made the challenge if I didn’t entertain the possibility that they’d accept it,” and hoped it would “rise to the ministerial level” of negotiations between all the campaigns. “The Sherpas will meet next week.”
Certainly, the gubernatorial campaign won’t be dull.
No word on whether Peter Schurman, the former executive director of MoveOn.org who is running to the left of Brown in the Democratic primary on a platform of single payer health care and changing the 2/3 requirement for budget and taxes, would be allowed to participate in these debates. I’m guessing no.
Tags: Blog, candidates
