FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog

Brown who had not practiced law for over a decade before he won an election as California Attorney General has postulated a weird legal theory (in his brief before the court) as to why the California Supreme Court should overturn the vote of the California people restoring the traditional definition of marriage (one man one one woman).

Jerry Brown’s brief is here.

Nonetheless, the attorney general’s brief surprised some legal scholars.

Santa Clara University law professor Gerald Uelmen, an expert on the state high court, said Brown’s argument “turns constitutional law on its head.” Uelmen said he was unaware of any case law that supported Brown’s theory.

He added that he expected the state Supreme Court to reject the argument. “I think it is much too radical for this court,” he said.

Goodwin Liu, associate dean and professor of law at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law, said it was “extraordinary for the chief law enforcement officer of the state to decline to enforce a law — even on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.”

“The chief law enforcement officer of the state is charged with enforcing laws, even laws with which he disagrees,” Liu said.

“Whether or not it will carry the day,” he added, “I have no idea.”

Under Brown’s legal theory, Flap doubts the California Constitution could ever be amended.

The issue before the court “presents a conflict between the constitutional power of the voters to amend the Constitution, on the one hand, and the Constitution’s Declaration of Rights, on the other,” Brown wrote.

The issue “is whether rights secured under the state Constitution’s safeguard of liberty as an ‘inalienable’ right may intentionally be withdrawn from a class of persons by an initiative amendment.”

Voters are allowed to amend other parts of the Constitution by majority vote, but to use the ballot box to take away an “inalienable” right would establish a “tyranny of the majority,” which the Constitution was designed, in part, to prevent, he wrote.

Just call anyting an “inalienable” right and you can withdraw the people’s right to change the Constitution.

How stupid is this?

If the California Supreme Court rules in favor of this preposterous theory and overturns California Proposition 8 all of the members of the court will either be recalled or thrown ot of office at the next confirmation election.

The Yes on 8 campaign filed a brief telling the court that because the new law holds that only marriages between a man and a woman are recognized or valid in California, the state can no longer recognize the existing same-sex unions.

“Proposition 8’s brevity is matched by its clarity. There are no conditional clauses, exceptions, exemptions or exclusions,” reads the brief co-written by Kenneth Starr, dean of Pepperdine University’s law school and the former independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton.

Stay tuned as reply briefs are filed with the court by January 5th.

Exit answer: Kenneth Starr

Then, in walks Jerry Brown and his wife and campaign manager, Anne Gust, and Joe Trippi - Howard Dean’s guru of online campaigning. A few minutes later Peter Coyote walks in.

Jerry was singularly focused on Dianne Feinstein. Every other line was an inquiry about my assessment or Rose’s assessment or Peter’s assessment or anyone else’s assessment about Dianne’s candidacy for governor.

He didn’t seem at all worried about Gavin Newsom.

Finally I asked Jerry, “Are you really deadly serious about running for governor?”

“I am, I am,” he said.

So I told him: “Then you should announce. Make it serious.

“Dianne is not going to run in a crowd of people,” I said. “Newsom is already in and John Garamendi is in. If you add your name to that list, Dianne will announce her chairmanship of the Senate Intelligence Committee and stay in Washington.”

And, Brown’s former chief of staff and recalled California Governor (replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger) Gray Davis is fundraising for Jerry.

Davis sent a note last week inviting donors to a reception he is hosting at his home for Brown this Tuesday.

“Jerry has done a great job as California’s attorney general,” Davis wrote to invitees. “Please join us in supporting his re-election campaign.”

Donors are asked to give from $2,000 to the legal maximum of $12,000.

Officially, the money raised must go toward Brown’s reelection campaign for attorney general.

But Brown, who served two terms as governor before term limits were in place, is making noise about running for the state’s top office again. And any funds he raises for his reelection campaign can easily be transferred to a run for governor. Brown has already stripped his 2010 campaign account title of any reference to attorney general. It’s simply “Jerry Brown 2010.”

Flap knows that Jerry Brown is a GO unless his health fails. But, will a retread Brown be able to beat either Steve Poizner or Meg Whitman?

Stay tuned……

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is the early favorite on the Democratic side of the 2010 race for governor, and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman is attracting attention in a likely battle for the GOP nomination, a new Field Poll shows.

The survey, which was taken before last week’s election and lists the favorability ratings of possible candidates to succeed Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, “is a little teaser for when we start to look closer at the governor’s race next year,” said Mark DiCamillo, the poll’s director.

Many California voters aren’t ready to shift their attention to an election that is more than 18 months away, but the fall campaign already has had an effect on San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose opposition to the same-sex marriage ban apparently hurt his statewide standing, according to the survey.

On the GOP side, more than two-thirds of registered voters have no opinion about Whitman, former San Jose Rep. Tom Campbell or state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.

“It’s basically a level playing field for all of them,” DiCamillo said.

Here is a poll summary:

Flap thinks that on the Demcorat side the nomination will be between Dianne Feinstein and Jerry Brown since they are both seasoned polls who can raise the mega $ millions it will take to run a statewide campaign.

Both appeal to the LEFT with Brown a little more fringe left than DiFi. However, both candidates are OLD and the newly registered young Democrats and independents (who vote in California Democrat primary elections) may be drawn to the sex scandal plagued duo of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

A multi-way race will not be advantageous to either Brown or Feinstein - look for some early knock-out blows sponsored by the big Labor unions like SEIU.

On the GOP side, Meg Whitman will be the nominee if she wants it. Campbell and Poizner are light-weights politically and although Poizner can self-fund, Whitman has the $ mega-bucks to match him dollar for dollar, plus more. Whitman is new and fresh but can she read a teleprompter?

Meg Whitman was also highly visible in the Yes on California Proposition 8 campaign which had the support of California conservatives. Flap believes Campbell favors gay marriage and Poizner remained neutral during the Prop 8 campaign.

Stay tuned as early posturing begins and don’t forget there may be a darkhorse GOP candidate should Whitman decide to sit this one out - Mitt Romney.

Stay tuned…….

• Driving California businesses to distraction with global warming exactions

and……

• Cynically altering the ballot designation (title and summary) for the California Protect Marriage Constitutional Amendment - Proposition 8.

Both are political moves to shore up his radical left-wing base against fellow Democrat San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Gad, it is the 1970’s all over again.

Maybe this will revive an otherwise moribund California GOP?

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