When Jerry Brown finally made his candidacy official last week, we couldn’t resist suggesting a few campaign slogans for the former governor who would be governor again, and urging readers to do the same.
They did. As of Thursday, readers had logged more than 400 comments in response to “Suggest your own Jerry Brown campaign slogan,” posted Tuesday on The Bee’s editorial page blog, The Swarm (www.sacbee.com/swarm).
Reading through these items, you can understand why editorial cartoonists and stand-up comics are celebrating Brown’s latest political foray.
With a history that includes Zen Buddhism, Linda Ronstadt, Rose Bird, a radio talk show and labels such as “Governor Moonbeam,” the 71-year-old Brown offers a rich vein of material to mine.
Some readers offered slogans that were inventive but pushed the boundaries of good taste. (“If it’s Brown, flush it down.”) Others took shots at GOP rival Meg Whitman, with lines like, “Because California is too important to go to the highest bidder.”
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also took some pops, as you can see from the slogans that follow.
In the spirit of good fun and a spirited gubernatorial campaign, here are some slogans offered by The Bee’s editorial board and readers for the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for governor:
Editorial board suggestions:
• “Fighting for California even before Cheap Trick was a band”
• “Still Zen after all these years”
• “Why Gerrymander when you can Jerrymander?”
• “A retread we can believe in”
• “Back to the future with Brown”
Sampling of reader suggestions:
• “Remember, I gave you the Bird!”
• “Experience a billionaire can’t buy!”
• “Vote for Jerry because inexperience obviously hasn’t been working”
• “My résumé is as longer than some people’s memories”
• “Gov. Moonbeam before Gore invented the Internet!”
• “Vote Brown – launch a Scud and run for Nevada”
• “Sometimes warmed over really is better”
• “BROWN – easier to spell”
• “Jerry Brown, California’s last straw”
• “What a long strange trip it’s been”
Don’t worry. There will be equal opportunity for the public to suggest campaign slogans for Whitman and Steve Poizner, the GOP candidates for governor.
Stay tuned to The Swarm for another interactive session of slogan brainstorming.
GIVE US YOUR SLOGAN
To read more slogans or to add your own, go to Tuesday’s blog post “Suggest your own Jerry Brown campaign slogan” at www.sacbee.com/swarm