◼ Jerry Brown, the one-time progressive icon who palled around with paladins of the progressive movement like Noam Chomsky, has sold out. - Jim Lacy/The Blaze
◼ Once a crusader against big money, Gov. Brown is collecting millions - LA Times
Brown, 76, built his career crusading against big money in politics. In his first run for governor, in 1974, he refused donations from lobbyists and co-authored a ballot measure that put California's landmark Political Reform Act on the books, banning direct contributions from lobbyists and requiring detailed disclosure of other donations.
A generation later, campaigning for president in 1992, Brown challenged Democratic rival Bill Clinton to join him in capping donations at $100.
These days, as he seeks a fourth and final term as governor, Brown is back in the fish factory, as it were, collecting millions of dollars from donors with a stake in decisions he makes as governor.
Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, have asked donors to give his campaign $54,400, the legal maximum, and to donate to the state Democratic Party, which has no contribution limits.
The party, for its part, has transferred more than $4.7 million — nearly 20% of the governor's reelection money. No other candidate in the state's last four gubernatorial contests has received as much money from a party.
At the same time, Brown has raised more than $10 million in a fund he uses to promote Propositions 1 and 2 on next week's ballot. Much of that money has come in checks of $100,000 or more, from such sources as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Philip Morris USA Inc., labor unions and construction contractors.... keep reading
