2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Lets be honest about Jerry Brown... [View all]zappaman
(20,606 posts)Because "WAHHHH, Governor Brown didn't endorse my candidate."
Grow up already and try a little reading about my Governor.
Lemme know when Arizona gets anywhere near this progressive.
I won't hold my breath...
Just two years ago, the idea that California could be a global model for anything was laughable. When Brown took office, the state was staggered by double-digit unemployment, a $26 billion deficit and an accumulated "wall of debt" topping $35 billion. California was a punch line for Republican politicos a cautionary tale, they said, of the fate that awaits the nation should it embrace Left Coast-style economic, social and environmental liberalism. On the campaign trail in 2012, Mitt Romney joked that "America is going to become like Greece, or like Spain, or Italy, or like?.?.?.?California."
But in astonishingly short order, America's shrewdest elder statesmen blazed a best-worst way out of California's economic morass. With a stiff cocktail of budget cuts and hard-won new taxes, Brown has not only zeroed out the deficit, he's also begun paying down the debt. "Jerry Brown's leadership is a rebuttal to the failed policies of Republicans in Washington," says Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress. "California is proving you can have sane tax systems, raise revenues, eliminate structural deficits and have economic growth."
A generation later, Brown has picked up where he left off. In 2011, he signed a law requiring California to generate one-third of its power from renewable sources by 2020 including a target of 1 million solar rooftops. He is also reshaping the auto industry, mandating that 15 percent of cars sold in California by 2025 be electric. (Since California has the largest auto market in the country, this mandate will have an influence nationwide.) "We're the most aggressive in the Western Hemisphere in terms of our clean-energy goals," he says. Cap-and-trade may be a dead letter in Congress, but Brown has launched one of the world's most advanced carbon-pollution trading markets, committing the world's ninth-largest economy to reduce its climate pollution to 1990 levels by 2020. "It can serve as a model for the rest of the country," says Rep. Henry Waxman, the ranking Democrat on the House energy committee.
The governor recently solicited a climate report through UC Berkeley, now signed by more than 1,300 scientists, that lays out the consensus on what's required to preserve "humanity's life-support systems." "We've got to wake up!" he insists. As he travels his state, Brown foists the document on every captive audience he encounters, whether it's a convention of nurses, a meeting with his state's top mayors even the president of China, where Brown traveled last spring.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/jerry-browns-tough-love-miracle-20130829
MARCH 2016
Governor Brown and California Democratic legislators raised the states minimum wage to $15 by 2022 with an agreement that also protects the budget and small businesses becoming the first state to reach this milestone. No Republican legislators voted for the law.
OCTOBER 2015
Governor Brown signed one of the nations strongest equal pay laws with bipartisan support to reduce the wage gap for women. California women earn 84 cents for every $1 a man earns for the same work.
OCTOBER 2015
California made clean energy history with the signing of Senate Bill 350, which boosts renewable energy sources like wind and solar to 50% and doubles the energy efficiency of buildings by 2030.
OCTOBER 2015
California Democrats passed SB 703, which prohibits discrimination against transgender people by companies doing business with the state, and SB 713, which aids transgender children in the foster care system to prevent homelessness, victimization, depression, and suicide.
OCTOBER 2015
Governor Jerry Brown responded to a devastating oil spill on the Santa Barbara coast by signing bills to prevent oil spills and strengthen the states response to future spills.
OCTOBER 2015
The California Motor Voter Act makes us a national leader on increasing voter participation by automatically registering California citizens to vote when they apply for, renew, or change their address on a drivers license.
SEPTEMBER 2015
California Democrats passed SB 588 to combat wage theft and ensure hardworking Californians are paid overtime and other earned wages. Wage theft by employers disproportionally affects women and people of color.
MAY 2015
California expanded Medi-Cal to cover all children regardless of their immigration status. The Health for All Kids Act will cover an estimated 170,000 children from families with low incomes.
MAY 2015
Gov. Brown signed the Climate Change Pact together with the leaders of other states and countries to reduce greenhouse gases and promote clean energy. Also known as the "Under 2 MOU," the goal is to keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius. As of December 2015 the pact includes 123 jurisdictions representing more than 720 million people and $19.9 trillion in combined GDP. We are building a global force of cities, states and even countries to reduce carbon pollution and protect the wellbeing of people everywhere, said Gov. Brown.
MAY 2015
California Democrats approved a 2015-16 state budget that increased per-pupil K-12 spending by $3,000, froze tuition costs at the UC and CSU systems through 2017, put billions of dollars into rainy day reserves, and expanded health insurance through Medi-Cal for children from low-income families, regardless of their immigration status.
NOVEMBER 2014
Californians approved Propositions 1 and 2 to safeguard California's water supply and to save money to protect schools and public safety services from budget cuts in future recessions.
NOVEMBER 2014
California Democrats added a seat to our 38-member Congressional delegation through our push into previously Republican-held areas. We delivered millions of doorhangers, slate cards, and mailers in targeted state and federal campaigns.
NOVEMBER 2014
California voters reelected Gov. Jerry Brown and again captured every constitutional statewide office and strong Democratic majorities in the California Legislature. The Los Angeles Times said California Democrats had much to celebrate. They swept all eight statewide offices [and] Gov. Jerry Brown trounced his Republican challenger.
APRIL 2014
Nearly 3 million uninsured Californians obtained healthcare in the first year of implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
OCTOBER 2013
California Democrats overcame years of Republican stonewalling and approved Assembly Bill 60 to issue state drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants and improve safety on our roads.
SEPTEMBER 2013
We gave more than 1 million working Californians a raise by raising the minimum wage from $8 to $10 by 2016.
AUGUST 2013
Governor Brown signed the School Success and Opportunity Act, ensuring transgender youth have the opportunity to fully participate and succeed in schools across the state.
SEPTEMBER 2012
We implemented online voter registration, making it easier for Californians to register to vote.
JULY 2013
We passed the Middle Class Scholarship, which slashed student fees at UC and CSU by up to 40% for families making under $100,000.
NOVEMBER 2012
We led the charge to defeat the deceptive Proposition 32, which would have handed more power to corporate special interests.
NOVEMBER 2012
California voters sent nine targeted Republican Congressional incumbents and challengers packing.
NOVEMBER 2012
California Democrats championed Proposition 30 to restore funding to California K-12 schools and community colleges and help end years of teacher layoffs and budget cuts.
JULY 2012
California Democrats passed the Homeowner Bill of Rights to help stop fraudulent foreclosures and predatory lending practices and repair the damage of the foreclosure crisis.
NOVEMBER 2011
It Gets Bluer effort increased Democratic Latino voter turnout in Fresno, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties and led to pickup of Legislative and Congressional seats in 2012.
OCTOBER 2011
Gov. Brown signed the California DREAM Act to open the door for all students to attend college, regardless of their immigration status. Most Republicans opposed the bill.
OCTOBER 2011
Operation Game Changer improved turnout in Los Angeles by converting 50,000 Democrats to become permanent vote-by-mail voters.
NOVEMBER 2010
Californians approved the majority vote state budget with Proposition 25. Californians "made it a lot easier Tuesday for legislators to pass a budget," said the San Francisco Chronicle. Without Republican blocking tactics, Democrats have delivered balanced, on-time budgets since 2011.
NOVEMBER 2010
Californians elected Jerry Brown as governor despite his being outspent 6:1. The San Francisco Chronicle said Brown defied a tsunami of spending by his billionaire opponent. Sen. Barbara Boxer defeated a former corporate CEO who had offshored California jobs, and Democrats swept every constitutional statewide office.
MARCH 2010
President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act to extend health insurance to an estimated 41 million uninsured Americans, despite unrelenting Republican opposition. The landmark law has since survived repeated Republican assaults and two legal challenges in the Supreme Court.
http://www.cadem.org/take-action/accomplishments