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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

When ex-governor Jerry Brown saved the Irish peace process

Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 06:19 PM

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Jerry Brown can take some credit for getting Bill Clinton involved in the Irish issue, the former president's most successful foreign policy initiative.

As he runs for governor of California Brown can reflect on the fact that,on Ireland at least, he has done some good, even if by accident.

In April 1992 Brown was running against Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Irish Americans anxious for a new candidate to push for U.S. involvement in Northern Ireland had zeroed in on Brown and his opponent, the Arkansas governor.

By the time of the New York primary Brown had proven much tougher than expected. He had just won the Connecticut primary and was heading into New York under a full head of steam

Brown has Irish roots, his great-grandfather came from Thurles County Tipperary. He was an ex-seminarian, who was set to be a Jesuit at one point. He was also getting favorable reviews from Irish American groups around the country.

The Irish American lobby had arranged a forum organized by New York Assemblyman John Dearie at the Sheraton Hotel in midtown.

Clinton's people however, would not agree to attend unless they were sure that Brown would too.

Irish activist and top Democratic operative John Connorton confronted Brown outside a fundraiser on West 72nd Street.

Brown knew Connorton and stopped to talk. Their conversation was later carried in Conor O'Clery's book "The Greening of the White House"

Connorton told him he had to attend the Irish Forum the following night.

"There'll be a lot of Catholics there, right" asked Brown.

"Right."

"You think I should do it?"

"I think you should do it."

"OK"

When told Brown was attending Clinton did too.

It was there that Clinton answered the fateful question whether he would give a visa to Gerry Adams of the time.

"I would support a visa for Gerry Adams" he told Martin Galvin of the IRA leaning news paper the 'Irish people'

On the night Clinton arrived on time but Brown was ridiculously late finally reaching La Guardia at 11.p.m

At the time Brown had French guru Jacques Barzaghi by his side who didn't want Brown to attend.'

"Zherri why are we doing zis" he pleaded according to the O'Clery book

Connorton who was in the car with them said they needed to get going.

The driver got lost in Queens but they eventually arrived at midnight, Brown agreed with what Clinton had said and said he believed one day an American president would go to Northern Ireland.

In that, at least, he was proven right.

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SeamusMor | Oct 17, 2010, 11:51 AM EDT

PittsburgKid has it right! Make babies not bombs; use ballots not bullets to vote the Brits out. What could be more fun?

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SeamusMor | Oct 17, 2010, 11:46 AM EDT

I have not seen a greater disconnect between a headline and a story since "Dewey Wins!"

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powerpoint | Oct 15, 2010, 07:23 AM EDT

Never vote for political dynasties, an unfortunate feature of Irish politicans in Ireland and the USA.Look @ how hopeless the 2 Bushes were.As for large kirish famil;ies, is it any wonder th economy cannot cope with 80,000 school leavers and grads trying unsuccessfully to enter the labor market each year.Pass the durex!Technology and cheap capital are increasingly replacing labor as factors of production.

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Monsoonman | Oct 15, 2010, 12:10 AM EDT

No offense take Maloney, if we get brown it will just get us to bankruptcy faster, then we can wipe the slate clean and put our fiscal house back in order. Reduce government size by 50% to start with, privatize almost all gummint "services".

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maloney | Oct 14, 2010, 10:07 PM EDT

California deserves brown. Sorry about that monsoon.

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Kerryman1 | Oct 14, 2010, 01:18 PM EDT

Killowen, right on. Get them out, fairly rapidly. Articles 2 and 3 of our constitution were handily swepy away in the shuffle, and my grandfather didn`t hide under a gooseberry bush for 3 days ouitside Clonakilty for his effort to be so dishonoured. Seamus.

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killowen | Oct 13, 2010, 11:26 PM EDT

The island of Ireland is unfree, a state with its heart torn from its breast left with a headless poodle look - Bard of Armagh, Irish myths of Ulster slave incorporated in a UK oneness ..... England's symbolic claim on Ireland as manifest on their St Patrick's cross on Union Jack and Irish harp on Royal standards, medals, buildings - such flag waving in the breeze across the breath of commonwealth and USA - that sliver of an ireland makes for a honkey dory Anglo-Saxon security. The 30 years of dying yielded nothing. Proof of such will be queenie's visit in eire in 2011. A visit that cements for unawares that Ireland is but an English province/shire.

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Pittsburghkid | Oct 13, 2010, 11:01 PM EDT

The Irish Catholics are winning in Northern Ireland, but it has nothing to do with the IRA. The Irish Families are out producing the Protestants in children. I have followed the raise in percentage of Irish Catholic verse Irish Protestants. The Catholic are out producing the Protestants, and will be the majority. The fighting is actually counter productive for the Catholics. Instead of demostration an electronic sign should be posted in every Catholic neighborhood, that keeps tract of every Catholic and Protestant birth. The theme of Northern Ireland Catholic Civil Rights is that the oppression will come to an end, through strong & large Catholic Families. Instead of money for bombs, the money should go to help raise Large Catholic Families. The real enemy of the Northern Irish Catholic is alchol, and drugs not the Protestants.

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texastim | Oct 13, 2010, 08:23 PM EDT

AS a young man I had the pleasure to meet Jerry Browns father, Gov. Pat Brown, when he visited a festival at our parish , Our Lady of the Rosary, in Palo Alto. He sure looked the part of an Irish politican, big ruddy face and full of gladhanding charm, really quite impressive. Jerry on the other hand has always had a rather pecular air about him, I do believe there was a moniker attached, Gov. Moonbeam, when he was Californias governer some years back. I do believe if he had married Linda Ronstadt(?), he would have been a much more popular figure and quite possibly been elected President. As it is, he is much better than the CEO of Ebay, Meg Whitman. She comes off as a really prissy rich and quite racist republican, certainly not someone the good people of the Golden State would tolerate.

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Monsoonman | Oct 13, 2010, 08:13 PM EDT

brown was a two term governor previously and was the one responsible for letting public employees unionize. He also singlhandedly shut down the building of new highways in california and appointed a supreme court justice to the bench who was so incompetent she was recalled by voters a few years later. Brown severly wounded california with his first two terms, if he is elected again he will finish the private sector with a bayonet thrust. The only thing left in california will be the illegals, the public employees and the various forms of welfare recipients who are starting to be the majority of voters anyway.

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willieboy | Oct 13, 2010, 07:42 PM EDT

Governor MOONBEAM to the rescue. What a load of crap...

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borefield | Oct 13, 2010, 05:18 PM EDT

I think Jerry Brown is a dishonest mean loud mouth. I hope he does not win in CA.

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plasticpaddy | Oct 13, 2010, 04:41 PM EDT

"George Bush's own negotiating team coming along and putting the final touches on final peace negotiations" What an idiotic statement from FlaIrishLad. Really shows how much you knwo about the Good Friday Agreement. It wasn't finished by Bush, or any of his people. Read a book

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plasticpaddy | Oct 13, 2010, 04:39 PM EDT

Oh Fast Eddy, the day will sometime come when you post something coherent on here.

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kevinhayes | Oct 13, 2010, 03:46 PM EDT

California is yet again going to show that it cannot be bought. Queen Meg has put $141 million of her own money into her campaign (and got an additional $30 million from corporations) and still trails Brown by 4 to 5 points. She is getting desperate, saying that she will reform public pensions, which I agree needs doing, but with the huge exception of fire/police that she will give a free pass to. She deserves to lose for that alone.

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