25 Random Things About Jerry Brown
Controversial official portrait of once (and future?) Governor Jerry Brown
California Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Jerry Brown is the latest person to succumb to the 25 Random Things craze that’s sweeping across Facebook.
How did I know this? I saw a Tweet on the JerryBrown2010 Twitter profile.
6. My official portrait as Governor was quite controversial and the legislature refused to hang it. My Father said if I didn’t get a new one, I could never run again. It is now hanging and I am still running. (Facebook: Jerry Brown’s 25 Random Things)
Embracing the latest meme sensation and promoting it through the hot new social medium (at least among hack and flack elites) is a defiant response to those critics who wonder “does California need the same governor in 2011 that it had in 1975?” as my old boss Garry South recently put it.
Does tapping new channels to communicate with voters indicate that Brown would not be the same governor he was in the days before many of Facebook’s most fervent users were born?
Does use of young technology demonstrate a young spirit? Does use of a fresh political medium show a mind open to fresh policy ideas?
Now, after two years as state attorney general, this Democrat who first ran for office in the era of Janis Joplin and the Beatles is remaking himself yet again. This time, Brown’s quest is to recapture the job he won 35 years ago: governor of California.
But Brown is already facing a quandary that could bedevil him in this, his 12th campaign: How does a man so closely identified with California’s past show that he is best fit to lead the troubled state into the future? (LA Times)
If the answer to the haters isn’t in the use of such technology, maybe an answer lies within the 25 Random Things. I’ve pulled a few out below:
I’ve seen lists of “25 Random Things About Me†that people are sending around Facebook. I thought I would share my own list with you.
3. In 1958, I took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Later, Pope John XXIII dispensed me from these obligations.
12. I worked with Mother Theresa in India at the Home for the Dying.
14. I sued Richard Nixon’s lawyer for helping the President cheat on his income tax.
18. I knocked my opponent to the canvas in a 3 round boxing match at Senior Fight Night.
Those few items show a leader of restraint and compassion; who respects the rule of law; and who will put on gloves and throw blows. But perhaps the most salient of the 25 Things is number 24:
24. The first time I became Governor, I followed an Actor (Ronald Reagan).
The whole list is absolutely worth checking out. Brown leads a life unlike any officeholder. So head over to Jerry Brown’s Notes on Facebook, and see what he has to say.
Ed. Note – Jerry’s not the only one Twittering. If you want to follow Reelpolitik’s tweets, find them at http://www.Twitter.com/Reelpolitik. Also, I will NOT be doing 25 Random Things.
5 Responses to “25 Random Things About Jerry Brown”
If (or should I say when) you become Governor, will you choose an old Plymouth as your car, and will you sleep on a matress on the floor? I guess we’ll need to upgrade your standard of living a little. We muat consider that you’re not a single person any more, and an austerity philosophy can be taken to extremes at times.
Love the portrait, looks like Alice Neel did it… who’s the artist?
When Jerry Brown was Governor of California, his innovation raised many standards in CA that other states then followed. I can only admire his choice to forego the governor’s mansion and drive his own Plymouth when we are watching CEOs squander fortunes while traveling in jets and staying at resorts.
I don’t understand the question of Jerry Brown having been a former Governor — since when is experience a negative? Also, Brown has not been twiddling his thumbs since then… he went on to (as his 25 things cite) work under Mother Theresa’s direction, drop the crime rate in Oakland as mayor beyond even his own goal, serve as Attorney General…
Austerity and breaking from the norm is exactly what CA needs right now.
I’m very excited about Jerry’s run again. I remember long long ago, my mother worked for him when he was first governor and I’ve heard some of the funniest stories about Jerry through my mom. I hope I can be big help for his campaign, since I live in the Bay Area. The irony is my mom (Lynne Williams) is running for governor in Maine the same year and she started her politics experience with Jerry Brown.
Great choices!