Say what? Even Willie Brown sees the groundswell coming!

Reprinted from The San Francisco Chronicle

October 4, 2009
by Willie Brown

Water issue could sink state Dems in 2010

A political earthquake is rumbling in the Central Valley over water, and it could cause a real tsunami for the Democrats in the 2010 elections if they don't handle it well.

That's the message I'm getting from my Blue Dog Democrat friends in farm country.

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Hanford (Kings County), told me unemployment in his district is running at 35 to 45 percent. The once-fruitful federal farm subsides are drying up and so is the water, with people blaming the Democrats on both counts.

The perception is that folks like Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, and environmental activists are orchestrating a policy out of Washington that says "yes" to water for the delta smelt and "no" to water for crops. Anger over putting fish before jobs in these lean times is running as strong as any anti-war, anti- Enron feeling we had up here in the Bay Area during the Bush years.

Not only could the fish fight lead to a split within the Democratic Party, it could also be just the issue Republicans are looking for when the environmentalists' best friend in the Senate, Barbara Boxer, faces re-election in 2010.

Speaking of the 2010 races, I called Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Campbell to invite him to the Willie Brown Institute breakfast Nov. 3.

He was at a Denny's somewhere in the valley, having breakfast with a would-be supporter.

"Now let me understand this," I said. "You're in a Denny's for a one-on-one? How important can that person be if you're in Denny's?"

I had to compliment him, however. Whatever you think of Tom's politics, he is the only candidate for governor who has clearly spelled out his agenda for the state. The rest are still talking in feel-good generalities.

~

Y'know what? I'm somewhat stunned, and really bemused. I've not often liked Willie.
However, I've never underestimated the sensibility of Willie Brown. Yes, I've questioned his veracity, his Patriotism, and his fashion sense (c'mon, a frickin' Rolls Royce in Oakland? Pimpalicious!) but never his intelligence. Too bad that the guys he backed for Prez don't see their own hubris, and are quite willing to pull down "the State that Willie built" in the name of their own "Hope & Change."

Willie, be sure that your retirement home in Beliz is set, and you've got plenty of brew packed away.

Obama, Pelosi, Boxer, and especially George Miller are so full of themselves that they can't see past their own bulging "squirrel cheeks." They're quite willing to destroy "the System" for their own gain, and their own egos.
We're glad to see that you're listening. See if you can get them to listen too, ok?