A First

Here's a first for Nettertainment: I'm linking to Erick Erickson at RedState because he's slamming the "new" GOP "Pledge For America" for being milquetoast garbage. While I diverge from Mr. Erickson on political issues (all?), I admire his integrity here towards his own side. As he closes, "I will vote Republican in November of 2010. But I will not carry their stagnant water."

And, of course, in the Internet Age we find out immediately that:

In a draft version of The Pledge that was being passed around to reporters before the official release, the document properties list "Wild, Brian" as the "Author." A GOP source said that Wild -- who is on House Minority Leader John Boehner's payroll -- did help author the governing platform that the party is unveiling on Thursday. Another aide said that as the executive director of the Republican leadership group American Speaking Out, Wild's tasks were more on the administrative side of the operations.

Until early this year, Wild was a fairly active lobbyist on behalf of the firm the Nickles Group, the lobbying shop set up by the former Republican Senator from Oklahoma, Don Nickles. During his five years at the firm, Wild, among others, was paid $740,000 in lobbying contracts from AIG, the former insurance company at the heart of the financial collapse; $800,000 from energy giant Andarko Petroleum; more than $1.1 million from Comcast, more than $1.3 million from Exxon Mobil; and $625,000 from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc.

I actually don't find the Democratic water at all stagnant. I like that there are healthcare reform benefits going into effect tomorrow. I like that Obama/Clinton have Middle East peace talks going again. I'm all for rescinding the Bush Tax Cuts for those who are doing estimably well while so many Middle Class and less fortunate Americans are not. I was delighted to hear Obama's old friend from Harvard grad, Elizabeth Warren, on NPR today talking about how she's setting up the new Consumer Protection Bureau to help average families across America keep more of their money from unscrupulous and predatory business practices.

California is a state without the media narrative enthusiasm gap. Jerry Brown is pulling ahead of Meg Whitman in the polls, while she's spending upwards of $115 million. Barbara Boxer is looking good against Carly. We need to keep the enthusiasm growing, beat back this reactionary threat that wants to (in the Pledge itself) dismantle the very health insurance reform advances we'll start experiencing this week. (And yes, there will be glitches, dodges and learnings as it works through the system -- and that's important to go through as well, pragmatically.) Their agenda is something the Dems and the White House should run against: it's a rollback agenda.

American moves forward, GOoPers. It's what's took our nation from frontier to superpower.

Give it a rest.

Go, Jerry, Go

Does Meg Whitman really know what she's getting herself into?

Taking the offensive for the first time in his campaign for governor, Jerry Brown tried to counter Republican momentum by issuing a challenge from the state Democratic convention podium Saturday for his GOP opponents to debate him before the primary election in June.
...
He jabbed repeatedly at Republican Meg Whitman, the billionaire former head of EBay who has put $59 million of her own money into her gubernatorial campaign.

"Campaigning and democracy is not about buying hundreds of millions of dollars of 30-second TV ads," Brown told the delegates, vastly exaggerating her spending. "When we live in a democracy, we're not consumers of advertising. We're agents of democratic choice. We're actors in a historical drama."

Alluding to commercials aired by Whitman and her fellow Republican Steve Poizner, who trails her in polls for the June 8 primary, Brown said: "Come out from behind those glittering poppy fields, those beautiful car crashes over the mountain. Let's set up some honest debates."

Poizner's campaign immediately accepted Brown's three-debate proposal; Whitman's campaign at first said she was open to the idea but later declined.

Good for Poizner, and Brown's offer gives him increased legitimacy while Whitman again looks like a neophyte. Brown has clearly identified her weakness, which is that she is not yet fully formed or fully confident as a candidate, just as a rich citizen wanting to buy the Governorship.

Hence his calling her out makes her look weak in every possible way. If she's not ready to debate, how can she be ready to lead? Especially a state in as much trouble as my beloved California -- there's no time for learning on the job when we're cutting teachers and state parks while tuitions and other fees are shooting up.

As I've said earlier, Brown will win because the state will need a practiced hand. He was a successful Governor in the past, even cutting state budgets when the root-of-all-evil Proposition 13 passed during his administration. Why would the state take a chance on another novice?

Sure, she made a fortune as CEO of Ebay. But she can't even hold an open press conference yet?

Or debate her rivals?

Brown is the New Back

Bellweather?

Millionaire mall developer Rick Caruso, a longtime Republican fundraiser and pal of Arnold Schwarzenegger, said in an interview with the Huffington Post on Tuesday that he is backing Jerry Brown for governor.

Caruso -- who raised money for both Bushes -- said he believes Brown is the most qualified candidate to navigate California's political labyrinth during these troubled times.

"I want to make it clear that this is not a reaction by any stretch of the imagination to my buddy Arnold," Caruso said. "I think Arnold has done a great job, given the circumstances."

"Some of my other Republican friends might question this once the word gets. But I think they'll understand that because Sacramento is so screwed up, you need someone who knows the system. Jerry Brown has been on the ground and in the weeds."

Caruso added that he will hold a fundraiser for Brown at his Brentwood home on Feb. 2. He said he hopes it will raise tens of thousands of dollars from both Republicans and Democrats.

"It should be an exciting evening," Caruso said.

Caruso's stunning decision is a blow to the ambitions of ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman.

If not Jerry, then who?