Jerry Brown
Re “Is Brown Up to the Job?” Opinion, Dec. 6: When truly democratic notions appear as trial balloons on the horizon, standard-bearers of the ruling class are obliged to shoot them down. Thus is global economy cheerleader Michael Clough conscripted by The Times to cast doubts on Oakland Mayor-elect Jerry Brown’s chances of success at revitalizing that city’s economy without giving all the benefits away to the corporate aristocracy. Using intentionally vague references to “anti-trade” leanings, Clough obfuscates Brown’s communitarian vision for a working urban model.
As a Libertarian, I don’t agree with Brown on all points, but I admire his spirit of self-reinvention. If he isn’t giving away clues to his strategy for an Oakland free from serfdom under international corporate feudalism, perhaps it’s because he knows the archers of the oligarchy crouch like Clough behind the parapets, waiting to shoot down populist imaginings before they can take flight.
GRIFF LAMBERT
Los Angeles
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
