Did you support (or would you have supported) Bill Clinton or Jerry Brown in the 1992 primary?

[oberliner]

Poll question: Did you support (or would you have supported) Bill Clinton or Jerry Brown in the 1992 primary?

[oberliner]

1. My response

I supported Bill early on. He really stood out in the early debates as the one candidate who I felt genuinely had a chance to beat Bush (who was quite popular at the time).

[Xipe Totec]

2. Gov Moonbeam?

Not even if I was a lunatic.

[shanti]

9. yeah

that's what the repukes called him :eyes:

[Xipe Totec]

11. I hope you're not implying

what I think you're implying.

[stevedeshazer]

17. Well, it does seem odd that you would refer to Brown in the same way Limbaugh did

:shrug:

[Xipe Totec]

20. Yea, that does seem odd

that me and several other million Americans would call him Moonbeam.

Must be some sort of secret cabal or something.

[stevedeshazer]

22. Why do you choose to call him that?

Since you speak for millions, you should take advantage of your big chance and explain it.

[shanti]

48. exactly my point!

n/t

[Xithras]

49. Lol! Lots of Democrats call him Moonbeam. Has nothing to do with 'Thugs

Kinda fits his quirky personality. During the last election, we were referring to him as Attorney General Moonbeam.

FYI, the Moonbeam nickname was coined back in the 1970's by a liberal Chicago newspaper columnist, not Rush Limbaugh. The name was coined after Brown proposed that California put up its own fleet of communications satellites and found its own space center to facilitate in-state communication. Even in pre-Prop 13 California, the idea was recognized as being staggeringly expensive and completely unfeasible. Some visionaries at the time were proclaiming that there would be a satellite dish on the roof of every California house to receive the unlimited free communications network, and that the space center and academy might one day train California moon colonists. Given the immense costs, very few people took the idea seriously, and the Moonbeam nickname stuck.

[shanti]

53. i'm a lifelong dem and

i've never called him that. you don't think it's an insult? pa-lease. i voted for him from the first time he ran for governor in 75 here in cali and always considered him an extremely intelligent, aware person, not a nutcase as "moonbeam" implies. from what i've heard, it's not dems throwing that term around...

[Xithras]

56. How does Moonbeam imply nutcase?

Of course he's an extremely intelligent person. The nickname reflects the pro-space technology political stance he took in the 70's, and nothing more. Even for his detractors, it's usually a roundabout way of calling him a hippy...which isn't exactly a bad thing either.

I've never seen the insult in it. To be entirely honest, until this thread came up I had no idea that ANYONE was offended by it.

[BrotherBuzz]

23. Only a lunatic would propose putting a satellite in orbit to provide emergency communications.

The “Governor Moonbeam' moniker was hung on him by Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko in 1978 because of Brown’s idea — which today doesn’t seem very odd — of placing a satellite in orbit to provide emergency communications for the state. Royko later apologized for the label, but it has stuck.

[Xipe Totec]

24. With respect,

The idea of satellite communications came from Arthur C. Clarke, not Jerry Brown.

Jerry Brown allowed himself to be characterized by the opposition and thus earned his moniker.

Ryoko is a name I recognize and revile, but Brown did no service to the Democratic party.


By focusing on tangential matters that should never have been the centerpiece of policy, he allowed the oposition to paint him as detached from reality.

[BrotherBuzz]

27. And Al Gore invented the internets

Your using the Moonbeam moniker plays right into the white-wing-wacko game plan; Rush is smiling. :shrug:

[Xipe Totec]

28. If we don't learn from our mistakes,

then when will we learn? :shrug:

[BrotherBuzz]

30. Only 29% of this nation refuse to learn from their mistakes

:shrug:

[Xipe Totec]

31. No, you're wrong there

Here we are, talking about Jerry Brown and Al Gore, instead of Bill Clinton; the only winning model we have over the last decade and a half. Why?

Why don't we look at the things we did right and try to repeat them, instead of focusing on the screw ups and insist that they should have been winning strategies?

Let's face it; Jerry Brown screwed up and lost. Al gore screwed up and lost (please, let's not revisit the popular vs electoral diatribe). Bill Clinton won. Twice.

Let's focus on the one winning pattern we have, and try to repeat it, instead of wallowing in our should'ves could'ves, would'ves.

[ToeBot]

57. Well that explains it. n/t

[Xithras]

52. The satellite wasn't the only reason for the name.

He also wanted to build a California focused space training center in the state to train people for the "space economy". Many pundits immediately picked up on the idea that it would be used to train moon colonists (a popular theme in fiction at the time). While Brown himself never made any claims to training colonists, the idea stuck.

When the satellite concept came up, it simply reinforced the belief in many people that he had his head in the stars (which could have been a good or a bad thing, depending on your political perspectives). Jerry Brown firmly believed that California's economy would benefit if the state became a center of space commerce, and that our future would be best served by looking up. Some people agreed with him, and some didn't, but that platform helped to spawn and anchor the Moonbeam nickname.

FWIW, I've used it for as long as I can remember, and I've never considered it to be derogatory. Then again, as far as I'm concerned...he was right!

[Xipe Totec]

63. We should learn from this, as LBJ learned from Pappy O'Daniel

in 1941 LBJ got ahead of the crowd, talking about issues his constituents didn't care about, and Pappy whooped his ass. LBJ learned a lesson from this that guided the rest of his career.

Jerry made the right call on satellites, but that makes him a visionary, not a politician.

To win, our candidate (whoever she is :evilgrin: ) needs to connect with the public. To do so, the candidate needs to be seen to reflect the majority view.

[Faux pas]

3. Jerry Brown was under appreciated. When he was Governor of

California, he didn't live in the mansion to save tax payers money. Any guy who campaigns riding in a bus and eating tuna sandwiches would get my vote every time. Simplicity is a beautiful thing.

[SmokingJacket]

4. Weirdly, I don't remember who I supported.

I think I supported Clinton, but it might be that I was just thrilled that *any* Democrat won.

That was a lifetime ago, seems like...

[oberliner]

5. Those were exciting times

Twelve years of Republicans in the White House finally brought to an end!

[ronnykmarshall]

36. One of the greatest nights of my life.

We had a street party in San Francisco's Castro Dist. I still have the video tape with me in the croud. It was a fantastic night. Not only did we elect Bill Clinton, but my beautiful state sent TWO women from Northern California to the senate. I hope to be able to repeat that night in November 2008. *sigh* What a great memory that is.

[Left Is Write]

15. I had the same reaction to the poll.

I remember the Gennifer Flowers stuff in the news, and I remember Bill Clinton coming out of seemingly nowhere.

I so happily punched my ballot for him in the general election, though, and there was a huge celebration at the bar that night during pool league play. :)

[LisaM]

6. I worked on the Harkin campaign

I was sorry he didn't go farther. A true progressive.

[oberliner]

7. I thought Bill would pick him for VP

I remember a lot of speculation around that possibility.

[proud patriot]

8. I voted for Tom Harkin in the 92 primary

Brown didn't run in that primary did he ..
I thought he ran in the 88 primary :think:

Cause I know I supported Jerry Brown as well :shrug:

edit:
I'm wrong, I think I voted for Jesse Jackson in 88.
My first vote was in 88 . Jerry must have run in 92
but must have already backed out by the time California's
primary came around .

[oberliner]

10. Brown got 596 delegates in 1992, second to Clinton

Harkin dropped out and backed Clinton very early I believe.

[proud patriot]

12. I edited my above post

I was so young 18 at the time . Didn't pay much attention back then .

[TahitiNut]

13. Brown, Clinton, Harkin, Kerrey, McCarthy, Tsongas, or Wilder?

:eyes: Anyone but Bush. I have always liked Jerry Brown and think he gets a bad rap.

Brown, Kerrey, and Harkin were most acceptable to me. McCarthy was a sentimental favorite but didn't get far. Tsongas was good, too.

Wilder was too conservative, slashing education funds to near death ... and seemed to enjoy the death penalty too much.

[stevedeshazer]

16. Yeah, I was Bob Kerrey

And very much for anyone but Poppy.

[bigwillq]

14. I would've supported Clinton

I could not vote yet in 1992

[AlCzervik]

18. Paul Tsongas, hw was my senator and i was a lifelong masshole until 7 years ago.

He was a good man.

[scarletwoman]

19. I caucused for Jerry Brown in Willow, Alaska. There were only 3 of us, everyone else went for Bill.

I really didn't "get" why people were so enthused about Clinton, but there it was...

sw

[Pab Sungenis]

21. I voted for Brown because

he was the only opponent to Clinton left. (I was a Harkin man early on.) I wanted to see a brokered convention, which might have put someone else in there.

Remember that at the time, Clinton was polling THIRD behind Perot and Poppy*.

[Raine]

25. I supported Simon

that's who I voted for in the primary.

[TahitiNut]

26. That was 1988, not 1992.

:shrug:

[oberliner]

33. Remember when the two Paul Simons were on SNL

That was really funny.

[TahitiNut]

35. Just the bow-tie alone on SNL was funny.

:silly:

[Raine]

38. Ops

yeah that's right, I got mixed up. :blush: THANKS for straightening me out.

Edit to add: I probably voted for Brown being a Californian but I'm not sure. :shrug:

[pansypoo53219]

29. was for clinton from the start.

knew he would win.

i did NOT support kerry for that reason. Dean would have creamed georgie.

[FreeState]

32. I was a republican then

I was a republican then and unfortunately blindly supported the old shrub...

[oberliner]

34. What made you cross over?

Who did you vote for in 1996?

[FreeState]

40. My Mormon mission turned me into a liberal

My Mormon mission actually was the catalyst for changing parties. I served in Europe for 2 years - when I got home I rethought everything based on what I had learned living "outside the greatest country on earth". I learned not only was American not #1 in everything but it actually needed to improve and the Republicans were all for the status quo. I learned about minorities and people of different faiths and life paths - I don't see how any honest person can vote republican after being exposed to so much diversity in thought, politics and people.

Oh and in 1996 I voted for Clinton:)

(As a side note I know a lot of return missionaries who are not liberal politically - it's not so uncommon outside of Utah anyway:)

[Sapere aude]

45. It is sad that so many Americans never see any other part of the world or see America from

another country's perspective.

We are great in many ways but backward in so many others. It would be great if the world could adopt the greatness of each country and remove the negatives. But what I might consider great another person would think is a negative. I think we are very sexually immature in this country and many Americans want us to become even more sexually immature, for example.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

37. Tsongas was my guy. Clinton was a noseholder both times.

And, remains so.

[Jed Dilligan]

39. Brown has shown his true colors

As mayor of Oakland and California AG. He's an old school, Roman Catholic authoritarian whose politics would be center-right in any other country in the world.

[oberliner]

41. What has he done as Mayor of Oakland?

I haven't heard much about his tenure there.

[Xithras]

54. Well, he quit the Democratic Party for one thing.

Most of the opposition to him comes from a Guiliani-style tough on crime crackdown in the Oakland projects, and his open support for redevelopment and gentrification activities that replaced poor black neighborhoods with much wealthier middle class households. Before Brown became mayor, Oakland had also been a "black city", with most of the government offices held by blacks and a system in place to ensure that government and major government supported projects went to local black and minority owned businesses. The first thing Jerry Brown did upon his election was to fire many of the top african-american employees (including the police chief and superintendent of schools), and dozens of other mangers and supervisors. Many of them were replaced with whites and latinos. He then disassembled the heavily affirmative-action oriented contract processes, and declared that he wanted to break the "African American hegemony on City Hall".

Obviously, these things didn't go over too well with many of his more liberal supporters.

[Jed Dilligan]

58. The military academy didn't sit well either,

nor did his opening move as AG (going after former black militants who haven't done a thing in almost 40 years.)

[Virginia Dare]

51. Really?...

that's surprising, I always viewed him as an unabashed liberal, a relative of mine was pretty close to him, so I was plugged into him in the 80's and early 90's, but I admit I haven't followed him much since. :shrug:

[WilliamPitt]

42. I voted Brown in the primary, Bill in the general.

[Sapere aude]

43. I voted for Jerry Brown.

[youthere]

44. Tom Harkin. And I STILL would support him.

[Nikki Stone1]

46. Paul Tsongas

That was my candidate

[bamacrat]

47. Granted I was 9, but had I had the right to vote it would and will always be for Bill.

[Virginia Dare]

50. I was always a big Jerry Brown fan...n/t

[deutsey]

55. My first choice was Harkin; I wasn't a big Clinton fan during the primary

but I was going to vote for the Democratic nominee against Bush I, no matter who it was (within reason).

[Catherine Vincent]

59. Big Bill all the way!!

[Vidar]

60. My first vote was a write in for Jerry Brown in '76. I'd vote fo him anytime.

[Greyhound]

61. I was an independent, but I would have supported Jerry Brown over Bill Clinton. n/t

[KamaAina]

62. The flat tax was the dealbreaker with Brown for me

until he came out for that, I thought he was well left of Clinton, and thus, closer to me. As mentioned upthread, subsequent events in Oakland and now Sacto. have proven otherwise. Brown's incipient authoritarian tendencies were neatly satirized in the Dead Kennedys classic "California Uber Alles".

Besides, I could tell we had a winner with Clinton, and it had been twelve long years in the scorching Reagan-Bush I desert. I thought Clinton was the man to put a stop to the madness, for once and all... :shrug: