The political mind of Jerry Brown

I recently finished The Political Mind of Jerry Brown, a nine-part podcast series from KQED. Say what you will about Brown’s legacy, the man had an interesting half-century in politics: four terms as governor, three unsuccessful runs for president, an unsuccessful senate run, two terms as mayor of Oakland, and terms in several other statewide offices.

I enjoyed this podcast series and I think it’s worthwhile for any political history junkie—especially those with an interest in California. Listening reminded me how much I admire Brown’s outspoken nature, political pragmatism, and willingness to depart from convention. Here are a couple Brown quotes that stood out to me:

On fiscal discipline:

“Paying your bills with a fully-earned revenue stream is … completely deviant to the cultural norm of modern America… There is no constituency for fiscal restraint.”

Ep04 (“The Eye”), 14:25

On government overpromising and losing the public’s trust (recorded sometime during his 1976 campaign for president):

“The way you get confidence in government is for government to be honest with itself—not to oversell, not to build up promises that’ll never be fulfilled. At the same time, to recognize that there’s a lot to be done and we just have to keep working away while telling people what we can do and what we can’t. It’s a simple idea, but it’s one that’s increasingly novel in this age of over-expectation, overselling, and overpromising in the federal government.”

Ep09 (bonus episode), 17:37

What a remarkable figure. What a career.