Politicians From San Francisco

"There's nothing wrong with being an anarchist."

"Government, no less than the individual, must live within limits. It is time to bring our accounts into balance. Government, as exemplar and teacher, must manifest a self-discipline that spreads across the other institutions in our society, so that we can begin to work for the future, not just consume the present."

"In this decade government at all levels has increased spending faster than the true rate of economic growth… The cure for inflation has been administered with a vengeance. Yet most people feel worse, not better, about their government benefactor. The elderly find their fixed income eroding in half; those about to retire fear their future pensions will never keep pace. Ten million California workers see their wages rise but not as fast as prices. Those on welfare obtain larger grants but find more expensive groceries."

"Jerry has given hypocrisy a bad name."

"Jerry has no political or ideological anchor."

"Oftentimes Jerry will run for an office and not want to do the things that are part of that office."

"He's totally into power."

"Jerry is perceived by most legislators as very selfish."

"The governor is the worst administrator ever to come down the pike."

"He's very ambitious and will do anything to be in power."

"I don't know who Jerry Brown is anymore. There's been so many evolvements."

"I don't like to talk about Jerry Brown. I don't like him."

"I don't think Jerry Brown is committed to anything but Jerry Brown."

"Admit it-the world is mighty wacky. Dan Quayle is a heartbeat away from bravely leading us into the New World Order. Our intelligentsia are running around declaring that we have reached both the End of History and the apex of political evolution-we're the kings of the global jungle. At the same time, sensing new opportunities, the forces of reptilian nationalism-from Pat Robertson to militant mullahs, from David Duke to the ancient reactionary movements of Eastern Europe-are crawling out from under their rocks, getting facelifts, and learning how to use teleprompters and Stinger missiles. Meanwhile, back in the cradle of democracy, the "opposition" response to all this is to offer a choice between Jerry Brown and None of the Above."

"The mistrust of our public institutions and mere anxiety about our future economy are more the order than the exception. Three quarters of the people do not trust their government. More than half of the eligible citizens in California again decided not to vote in the last election. Why? Why the anti-government mood? I asked this same question four years ago and now I believe I understand. Simply put, the citizens are revolting against a decade of political leaders who righteously spoke against inflation and excessive government spending but who in practice pursued the opposite course."

"Many regulations primarily protect the past, prop up privilege or prevent sensible economic choices."

"There is an overblown rhetoric and overblown expectation that if there is a problem there must be program to solve it."

"I listened, and I've come to the conclusion I just don't trust him."

"I do not believe he believes what he is saying."

"He is by an order of magnitude the most self-absorbed politician I have ever dealt with."

"[Jerry Brown is] a desperate man."

"I don't think you can take much of what he says seriously."

"Jerry Brown was just a nut."

"[Jerry Brown] is the most self-serving, inept politician that I have ever met in my 35 years in politics."

"That man [Jerry] is like 500 pounds of Jello."

"When Proposition 13 passed overwhelmingly in California, Californians were very pleased. And they felt no pinch at all, not knowing that, thanks to Jerry Brown, there was an incredible surplus in the coffers. So life went on as it always had, with the sunshine, and orange trees, and smog-and everything sort of went on. And about a year ago, the truth had to be revealed, that the surplus had been used up. And now the cuts are taking place in services that people took for granted. That's the California way of life. And people are having to come to grips with what that means for the handicapped, the aged, the poor, the children, and the minorities."

"For them to call for a ceasefire is Mr Putin’s message. Make no mistake, this is directly connected to what he would like to see. Same thing with Ukraine. It’s about Putin’s message. I think some of these protesters are spontaneous and organic and sincere. Some, I think, are connected to Russia. Seeds or plants. I think some financing should be investigated. And I want to ask the FBI to investigate that."

"Go back to China, that’s where your headquarters is."

"I want him to do whatever he decides to do."

"Never before had a president of the United States so brazenly assaulted the bedrock of our democracy, so gleefully embraced political violence, so willfully betrayed his oath of office."

"Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6th. [pause] He did!"

"But let us not forget who saved democracy that day. [pause] We did!"

"The parable of January 6th reminds us that our democracy is only as strong as the courage and commitment of those entrusted with its care. And we must choose leaders who believe in free and fair elections and who respect the peaceful transfer of power. [...] The choice couldn't be clearer. Those leaders are Vice President Harris and Governor Walz."

"had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race"

"Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?"

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is similarly enamored of this rhetoric of bipartisan comity in the face of a Republican Party whose members are caught in the grip of a cult of personality marked by conspiratorial thinking and an open contempt for electoral democracy. “It might come as a surprise to some of you that the president I quote most often is President Reagan,” Pelosi said at the ribbon-cutting for the Washington branch of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. “The good humor of our president was really a tonic for the nation, the gentleman that he was.” And last month, she told an audience in Miami that she wants a “strong Republican Party” that can return to where it was when it “cared about a woman’s right to choose” and “cared about the environment.” Of course, the ideologically moderate Republican Party that Pelosi seems to want resurrected was largely dead by the time she entered national politics in the late 1970s, bludgeoned into submission with the notable help of Ronald Reagan, among other figures."

"I think there’s a deeper divide, between a politics that sees the grass roots as an asset to use and cultivate versus one that treats it as a complication to manage. It’s a “leader knows best” approach that may squander the Democratic Party’s advantage of enthusiasm and drive against a corrupt and unpopular president. It even seems as though for Democrats like Pelosi, the only political actions that truly matter are either in the legislature or at the ballot box. It’s an understandable view for a leadership class whose political memories stretch back to the devastating Democratic losses of 1968 and 1972 (to say nothing of 1980 and 1984). But it’s also bred of a deep aversion to risk-taking, even when circumstances warrant bold action."

"A large number of proud Jewish Americans — raised to believe in civil liberties and open discussion — are appalled by the campaign to muzzle Rep. Ilhan Omar, as well as Speaker Pelosi’s role in it. We’re also appalled that human-rights-abusing Israel is virtually off-limits to debate. … Rep. Omar has made a simple and undeniable point — that AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and the funding it influences exert extraordinary power over Congress. Disputing that point is flat-earther terrain. The Capitol Hill farce of an “anti-hate” resolution would provide still more evidence on behalf of her argument. Unfortunately, all the vague media references to Rep Omar’s “anti-Semitic remarks” obscure how truthful and non-hateful those comments were."

"in 2002 and 2003, top Democrats, including current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, raised almost no formal objections to torture techniques, including waterboarding, after being briefed on it by the CIA."

"A woman is like a teabag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water."

"The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided"

"The leadership of the party, the Clintons, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Tom Perez, are creations of corporate America. In an open and democratic political process, one not dominated by party elites and corporate money, these people would not hold political power. They know this. They would rather implode the entire system than give up their positions of privilege. And that, I fear, is what will happen. The idea that the Democratic Party is in any way a bulwark against despotism defies the last three decades of its political activity. It is the guarantor of despotism."

"I don't think people are buying such a performance. I also don't believe that people are buying Pelosi's little kente-cloth, "take a knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter" trick either...."

"Paid leave should be a national right, rather than a patchwork option limited to those whose employers have policies in place, or those who live in one of the few states where a leave program exists"

"[She is] as effective as any legislative leader I’ve seen in managing a diverse and often contentious group of folks with a lot of different points of view.”"

"Influence and enemies go hand in hand. I learned this lesson explicitly from Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to become Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and someone I admire greatly. In the summer of 2019, she invited me on a congressional delegation to Ghana. During the flight, she told me about her journey: from her first campaign in 1987 when she was elected to Congress to becoming the highest-ranking female elected official in United States history, not once but twice. Then she turned the conversation to me. "It is really moving to see the number of people who come out to support you," she said. "Yes, but every time I'm attacked, the attack seems to be amplified by the support," I replied, confiding in her because it might make more sense to her than to most. "Sometimes I wish I could shoo them all away and take the beating myself so that I don't continue to feed the craziness." She sighed and looked at me with a maternal gaze, one that had a lot of knowledge behind it. Nancy is the kind of person who, by the time we landed, knew Ghana's economy down to the percentage change in its cocoa bean exports over the last year but who also put a blanket around me when I fell asleep in my seat. "The amount of money that is spent on ads and anything else to try to take me down is mind-boggling," she said. "The truth is, it is a badge of honor to have many people invested in one's failure. If they weren't this afraid of your power, they wouldn't work so hard to erode it." To hear that message from the powerful being she is meant more than words can express."

"In Munich this past weekend at the Security Conference the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, nailed her anti-Chinese colours to the mast. Despite being a liberal on many issues and the leader of the fight to impeach President Donald Trump, she has joined forces with Trump in preaching that the West must not allow itself to be penetrated by Huawei’s 5G phone technology, (which is cheaper than any Western counterpart). But she appeared to have no response to a former Chinese ambassador to the UK who asked what was wrong with Huawei seeking Western markets when Microsoft, Google and Facebook were such big players in China. The Chinese government didn’t feel its security was threatened by them. He could also have added that if they do anything that the Chinese government doesn’t like China is always able to deal with it... China has not gone to war since 1979. It has not used lethal military force abroad since 1988 ... China does not fly through US airspace."

"The American people deserve to know the truth, that Nancy Pelosi bears responsibility as the Speaker of the House for the tragedy that occurred on January 6th And it was only after Republicans started asking these questions that she refused to seat them."

"("Do you think Nancy Pelosi should be House speaker?") Leader Pelosi is an incredible person and has done an incredible job. But at some point we have to make decisions on whether or not we want to be able to get someone there that can speak to the various challenges and issues of my families back home in the 13th Congressional District. They’re my priority. And right now the stance around Dodd-Frank, the stance around a number of issues are troubling for me. And so that’s why I have been very much saying that probably not. I haven’t spoken to Leader Pelosi. I don’t want to use this as, you know, giving you some general, generic response. I can tell you I most likely want to lean toward someone that will be more in line with the civil rights issues of my district."

"There was a strange aftertaste to many of the calls for grand social reform in 2020. As the coronavirus crisis overtook us, the left wing on both sides of the Atlantic, at least that part that had been fired up Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders, was going down to defeat. The promise of a radicalized and reenergized left, organized around the idea of the Green New Deal, seemed to dissipate amidst the pandemic. It fell to governments mainly of the center and the right to meet the crisis. They were a strange assortment. Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Donald Trump in the United States experimented with denial. For them climate skepticism and virus skepticism went hand in hand. In Mexico, the notionally left-wing government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador also pursued a maverick path, refusing to take drastic action. Nationalist strongmen like Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, Narendra Modi in India, Vladimir Putin in Russia, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey did not deny the virus, but relied on their patriotic appeal and bullying tactics to see them through. It was the managerial centrist types who were under most pressure. Figures like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in the United States, or Sebastián Piñera in Chile, or Cyril Ramaphosa in South Africa, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Ursula von der Leyen, and their ilk in Europe. They accepted the science. Denial was not an option. They were desperate to demonstrate that they were better than the 'populists.' To meet the crisis, very middle-of-the-road politicians ended up doing very radical things. Most of it was improvisation and compromise, but insofar as they managed to put a programmatic gloss on their responses—whether in the form of the EU's Next Generation program or Biden's Build Back Better program in 2020—it came from the repertoire of green modernization, sustainable development, and the Green New Deal."