(CNN) – California Gov. Jerry Brown said Sunday the difference between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama is clear, comparing the Republican nominee to a former presidential candidate who was unsuccessful in three White House bids.
"Romney almost reminds me of Thomas Dewey," Brown, a Democrat, said on CNN's "State of the Union." "He symbolized the wealthy East and then Truman was fighting more for the common man."
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In his 1948 bid against President Harry Truman, Dewey was known for being less conservative than congressional Republicans at the time and was challenged by some in his party to run a more forceful campaign. Despite a close race, Dewey failed to win enough votes to defeat the incumbent president.
Brown said it was evident from the Republican and Democratic conventions that the two current presidential candidates represent different factions of the American public.
"Now I'm not trying to compare Obama with Truman, but I do think (Obama) represents and he expresses more of the ordinary American and the struggles that the ordinary American is going through," Brown said.
The main difference, he argued, was Romney's plan to lower taxes – a proposal that Brown said would cause more damage to the economy.
Asked if he heard a compelling reason at the Democratic convention to re-elect Obama, Brown said the event last week in Charlotte, North Carolina, had a theme that was more geared to creating jobs.
"What I heard at the Republican Party is mostly bashing the president and talking about how they're going to, you know, lower taxes, which primarily (is) going to help the very wealthiest," Brown told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.
He continued: "Now what I heard with President Clinton, with President Obama, with Michelle, a real commitment to build the stuff that makes America."
Faced with a major deficit and financial struggles, Brown has led an aggressive effort in California to cut spending and to raise taxes, including a tax increase on the very wealthy in an upcoming ballot measure. He defended the tax hikes, which resemble proposals by the Obama administration, at a time when the state's economy is still struggling.
"It's either take the money from those who have even more than we can imagine and give it to our schools, or not," he said. "And whatever it is, I'll manage it and we'll make it work."
Asked if he plans on running for another term as governor, Brown said he’s “not slowing down.”
“I'm not slowing down, so I don't want to predict where I'll be, because we have a lot of – a lot of pitfalls to tend to over the next year or two,” he said. “But I think it's Obama says we're fired up and ready to go.”
From CNN Politics
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Elitist, snob, plutocrat, and privileged, are badges that lying Mittens, the birther for vouchers, wears with honor.
Gov Brown is correct. Ol' stiff Mitt the twit and lyin ryan will NOT win this election
Brown and Obama remind me of karl marx
The only difference is Romney is going to win
Mitt Romney doesn't care at all about the Middle Class,the Poor And the OLD. All he will care about Is the Rich and Big Business. PRESIDENT OBAMA CARE ABOUT THE EVERY DAY AMERICAN PEOPLE AND HE WILL HAVE MY VOTE In NOV.
Ryan/Romney plan? (Unless Norquist tells them to something worse).
Let me see.
Adults (average) pay $2000/yr more in taxes
Charter schools cost $6-$10 thousand/year per child K-12
Grammaw and Pappaw each pay $6000+ more with vouchers.
OK
then they can give each multi-millionaire a $250,000 tax cut.
Got it.
And Jerry Brown reminds us of.....who else? Obama with less likability.
Gov. Brown is such a disgrace. Democrats and union members voted him in and he shown why we do not need 70 plus yr old elected officials. California deserves better, but we are just blinded by stupid.
Senator Feinstein is just as bad, too. She will not debate her opponent, reason she is old! Democrats are getting what they deserve.
Republicans know this, they are preparing for 2016
Care to elaborate, kedwards? No? Didn't think so, but thans for playing!
Jerry Speaks? Now if he could only make a command decesion like getting the budget woes fixed. Instead he is waiting for the people to vote for it. Good luck with that. Romney may look like Dewey, I wonder who told Jerry, who looks like a flat tire. Oh well.
better than a comparison to Hugo Chavez
He continued: "Now what I heard with President Clinton, with President Obama, with Michelle, a real commitment to build the stuff that makes America."
What do you mean Governor Brown? the commitment they made 4 years ago was not REAL? Finally, they made the 'real commitment'..good to hear that. BTW, do you and Mr. Obama have any idea what is 'the stuff that makes America'? It might not be just speeches.
Jerry Brown aka Governor Moonbeam has done more than anyone to destroy California – my home. Although he refuses to economize anything in government beyond teachers, firemen, and police, he wants more tax money. His administration is an eerie replica of Obama's, with czars, civil servants by the hundreds of thousands with little or no utllity, toxic tax climate for business and excessive attention paid to social issues while the economy is tanking. Even if baldie gets his tax increase, the deficit is frightening. Time for another recall campaign to remove the great destroyer.
911.... We were attacked by Muslims from a foriegn country , resulting in a loss of some of our intended freedom for all Americans .
In November of 2010 Americas freedom was attacked again ,And 2011, and now 2012 ...... by the Tea Party and Republican Party ............ The Enemy With In .
As a result of 911 America has lost thousands of its young men and women in uniform and many more thousands were slaughtered and maimed when they returned home .
The clear and present threat now faceing America is a political party that wants to disasemble America as we know it , Useing a failed Fascist Ideology that has plaged America FOR THE LAST 33 YEARS . This time they are adding a new threat ........ Religion and an Insane Ideology that only benifits the most wealthy Americans , PLEASE DONT LET IT HAPPEN. ..... PLEASE VOTE FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA AND SAVE YOUR SELF AND YOUR CHILDREN .
Have any of mitts' five sons served in the armed services ?
A swiss bank account, thats used to prevent paying taxes to the United States.
Name just one effort, program, or idea that mitt stands for that indicates we should
have a goal other than making money for ourselves and the hell with those that can't
or won't
@Workers Unite
better than a comparison to Hugo Chavez and Paul Ryan .
@Marine1957 – so rather than spouting the usual anti-left rubbish, what would you do about it ?? Replacing the Dem's with Republicans is as futile as the rants here..
Today's GOP is NOT Reagan's party. He'd be too far LEFT for them. Today's GOP is run by right wing extremists and rich old white men, whose sole goal is self-enrichment, and total control. Have you read the RNC platform..?? it's social engineering with plutocracy as the goal. Control, control, control !! Anyone who seriously thinks Obama is going to take your guns away (and I'm talking assault weapons control) needs to go back down to second grade! And ACA (Obamacare) is a REPUBLICAN health care plan, right down the individual mandate that the SCOTUS upheld. The individual mandate is what destroyed Clinton's health plan... He refused to include that piece of GOP "add-on" into it. Get the picture here?
Historically – 3 times in the last 100 yrs – the Dem's have had to "fix" GOP excesses with the economy. The party of less taxes and smaller Govt has NEVER delivered that (it's easily verifiable) at either the State or Federal level. They have consistently INCREASED the size of Govt (Federal employees AND military) and RAISED taxes – with the the exception of Dubya's tax bill, which has not has it's intended job creation purpose. In contrast, the Obama administration has CUT 273,00 Federal jobs (Dubya added 50,000) and DEPORTED over 300,000 illegals in the first 3 yrs (Which is more that Dubya did in eight!). Get the picture yet?
It's simple math... you can't spend more than you have, unless you borrow. When you are in debt, you have 2 choices. Quit spending or increase revenue. Since NEITHER Party can agree on what expenses to cut (no-one wants THEIR pet funding cancelled) the only alternative it to raise taxes (increase revenue). NO-one likes tax increases, but reality is... the Ryan 20% tax cut is NOT viable. It adds more DEBT ($1,.5 TRILLION in the first year) which is in direct conflict with GOP ideology. The tax cut appeals to the right wing lemmings.. but reality is... we have to increase Govt REVENUE to pay down the National Debt.
Grover Norquist has forced very GOP Congressional Rep to sign his "no taxes" pledge. If they don't his organization will finance an opponent next election. Congress is in STALE-MATE mode.. nothing is happening and the GOP is pointing fingers at the POTUS and the Dem's. This cannot continue and putting Ryan/Romney in the white will solve nothing... as long as Congress still the House/Senate controlled by different parties. The GOP is NOT your solution.
The problem with Romney is that he can't connect with many Americans and it may just boil down to a popularity contest in which case Obama wins.
" Hugh difference in what this Guy is trying to say, is by far premature: Romney hasn't lost yet, and the very first time he has got this far. The guy upstairs won't even get this far!"
Ryan going ROGUE - it's coming folks. He wants the top of the ticket. Romney is REALLY in deep doo doo.