Scandal ‘boring’? Arrogant Jerry Brown drinks his own Kool-Aid
Feb. 6, 2013
By Chris Reed
Sacramento is still buzzing over a bizarre and obnoxious scandal in which state parks officials hid $54 million while pressing to close 70 parks, and along comes another scandal in which Cal Fire hides millions of dollars while successfully pushing for a new fire-protection “fee,” and what does Gov. Jerry Brown do?
Put the scoop down. “I find it a relatively boring story, to tell you the truth,” Brown told reporters Tuesday.
Brown has been described as brilliant, eccentric, unique, worldly, weird, etc. But here’s what he’s been since winning passage of Prop. 30 in November: as arrogant as any California politician in a long, long, long time.
The governor dismisses people with sensible criticism of the problem-plagued bullet train project as “defeatists.” Yo, Jerry, does your putdown also hold for the Washington Post editorial page and The Economist, which think the project is nuts?
The governor acts as if temporary sales and income tax hikes have transformed California into a strapping model of robust governance. He completely ignores CalPERS and CalSTRS underfunding, the $10 billion plus the state owes the federal government for borrowing to pay unemployment benefits when the state program went broke, and the fact that another retirement benefit for state employees — health care — is $60 billion-plus underfunded.
Bullying those who don’t parrot his happy talk
California is not on firm ground. Jerry Brown has created a narrative that holds that it is, and he’s gotten journalists from the East Coast to buy the myth. The numbers, however, just don’t add up.
But challenge his narrative of the state being in a new, golden era, and he’ll mock you at a press conference, as he did with Brian Joseph of The Orange County Register. Raise questions about whether the state is as well-governed as he pretends, and he’ll belittle you, as he did the reporters on the Cal Fire scandal by calling their findings “boring.”
He used to be Gov. Moonbeam. Now he’s Gov. Insufferable Know-It-All.
Great, just great.
8 comments
Write a commentRelated Articles
Democrats Pushing More CA Food Stamps
MAY 10, 2011 By DAVE ROBERTS “I’ve never forgotten Jack Kemp saying the way we define compassion is not by
Come to California Mr. President
Katy Grimes: It’s difficult not to acknowledge President Obama’s latest world tour – he booked the entire Taj Mahal Palace
Gas tax could be cut
Golden State drivers might soon enjoy a little tax relief at the pump. The Board of Equalizati0n announced: Sacramento –
Chris,
Good story. Gov. Brown has convinced a lot of people that everything is shipshape. Thank you for sticking to the facts. I hope it does some good.
You’re the Molly Ivins of California.
Keep up the good work.
Dana Law
El Cajon
Well you have to be a arrogant a-hole when you spout off all is well, and know that you are really a total failure. And if he doesnt recognize this, well that doesnt put him in the brilliant category, does it?
Jerry is just playing the news media for the corrupt fools they are. He knows that they don’t care about a scandal if it doesn’t involve sex or some idiot Republican politician. He gets away with this because of Big Media duplicity and the general ignorance and apathy of a public more interested in cable TV talent shows than reality.
Kudos to Brian Joseph, a rarity among journalists in that he’s not a tendentious fraud. There are apparently a few real news reporters left at The O.C. Register although I’m sure the new corporate owners will find a way to purge them. After all, real news just upsets the readers and distracts them from all those warm and fuzzy human interest stories plastered all over the front page.
There are many more things to worry about than who did what in those two scandals. I am much happier learning that money has been found, rather than reported missing. The State should take the proper actions on this, but the public does not need to be updated continually. (Actually, I would like to know who took millions of dollars in artifacts from the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. Never heard any more about that did you?)
Why don’t you run for Governor, Chris, since you think it is such a win-win job. Jerry was raised in and loves CA, which is more than can be said for his last opponent, and others who have sought that notoriety in the past. I agree with him about the OCR. There really is no hope for those readers, who are being fed with and slurping up their daily bowl of Libertarianism.
Dys – That second paragraph described the OCR to a “T”. Stories about pets and children invariably get scores of comments, while their editorials sit there lonely and uncommented.
The Governor, as we all know, is stuck in the 70s……and no doubt thinks Hoiles is still the publisher.
Meanwhile, I see the OCR will be installing a paywall sometime this year. Meh.
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/203015/oc-register-readies-paywall/
“….I am much happier learning that money has been found, rather than reported missing. The State should take the proper actions on this, but the public does not need to be updated continually….”
– Said the woman in the bubble. LOL
Seesaw’s favorite Objet d’art:
http://tick-talker.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/See_no_Evil_Hear_no_Evil_Speak_no_Evil_1.jpg
SeeSaw says:
There are many more things to worry about than who did what in those two scandals.
==
Seesaw, your IGNORANCE in mind boggling.
And so is the ignorance of you both, jimmy and Rex, pretty mind boggling. If you can make accusations, I can make the same ones against you and throw them right back. That makes it very interesting for the other commenters, doesn’t it. You don’t have a credible thought in your own heads–you spend all your time insulting me.
I have already met up with the paywalls of the SacBee, the LA Times, and others. The loss of the readers is their’s–bet their advertisers are thrilled too.