Parsing Jerry Brown’s Fall Strategy

20 July 2010 |permalink | email article

A recurring question in California politics is why Jerry Brown is holding his fire until Labor Day, or later, to engage Meg Whitman in their nasty battle for governor. Chris Matthews, MSNBC’s “Hardball” host, asked the former governor how he can beat the billionaire former eBay CEO when she’s outspending him 10-to-1.

Brown said in San Diego last week that he would continue to sit back for the moment. But his absence from radio and television has allowed Whitman an early advantage but the major outlines of the fall campaign have yet to jell.

“Going forward, I think you’re going to see a very powerful campaign, but the key is really September and October, right before the election,” Brown said. But his failure to be more aggressive during the Dog Days of summer is one reason why prominent Democrats are concerned.

“The problem is whether the constant drumbeat from Meg Whitman puts Jerry’s image in an increasingly negative light over the summer,” said Bruce Cain, a University of California, Berkeley, political science professor and director of the University of California Washington Center. “Not responding her charges could put him in ‘a fairly deep hole.”

But Steve Glazer, Brown’s political adviser, well before Labor Day, is vowing to wage a hardball campaign aimed a branding Whitman a liar and ethically challenged corporate CEO. “When she says patently false things you force the character issue front and center. How can you avoid making that a central part of the campaign?”

Mike Murphy, Whitman’s chief strategist, called Brown’s strategy “tired and cynical,” suggesting that he will try to distract voters with a phony campaign of sleazy character assassination.

The stage is set for a particularly ugly fall campaign. Both candidates have high negatives: 42 percent view Whitman unfavorably, and 40 percent view Brown unfavorably.

Quotable

“I am a Christian and I am a conservative and I am a Republican, in that order. There is very little I agree with regarding President Barack Obama. On the other hand, I’m not going to let politicized rhetoric or party affiliations trump my values, and if he’s right on this issue, I will support him on this issue.” – Matthew D. Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a conservative religious law firm, indicating that many influential evangelical Christian leaders, contrary to conventional wisdom, appear willing to support Obama on an immigration overhaul. 


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