Rated Very Worst AG by libertarian group

From Eric Dondero:

Democrat Attorney General and candidate for Governor of California Jerry Brown was recently rated the "Worst AG in the Nation," by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Now he's responding by seeking to write CEI off as a fringe operation, and linking the Institute to corporate interests.

From the Examiner:

The nation's worst state attorneys general abuse the power of their office for political ends, undermining the rule of law. In recent years, many state attorneys general have "usurped the roles of state legislatures and Congress by using lawsuits to impose interstate and national regulations and extract money from out-of-state defendants who have little voice in a state’s political processes,” as I explain in a recent study, The Nation’s Worst State Attorneys General.

Here are the six worst state attorneys general in the nation:

1.Jerry Brown, California
2.Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut
3.Drew Edmondson, Oklahoma
4.Patrick Lynch, Rhode Island
5.Darrell McGraw, West Virginia
6.William Sorrell, Vermont

Brown: libertarian group works for oil and tobacco interests

From the LA Times, "Focus shifts to Brown's attorney general role" July 22:

“It’s a right-wing operation; in fact, I think it’s pushed by the same people — oil, tobacco kind of interests — that don’t like reasonable regulation,” Brown told his hosts on KGO-AM (810). “Certainly I’ve strived to achieve a balance between vigorous enforcement but refraining from excessive intervention in pushing our regulatory framework so it becomes suppressive.

“What these people want is a dismantling of the basic protections of our society, particularly in terms of the environment.” Brown added. “When they say libertarian, they mean free them from any kind of restraint or reasonable regulatory framework.”

Brown’s spokesman added that the groups’ list seemed to find the most fault with Democrats. "It’s a nonsense report,” he said

Praised in the 1970s by left-libertarians

Ironically, there was a time in the 1970s, when Brown was viewed as libertarian-oriented himself, fiscally conservative, advocating austerity in government spending, and legalization of marijuana.

Wrote Garris, "25 Years ago in Reason" (Reason On-line):

"Jerry Brown[is] more libertarian than the average politician, and much more so than any recent Governor of California. He is more fiscally conservative than many so-called conservative leaders, and yet is a good liberal on civil liberties questions."

—Eric Garris, "California's Other Governor"

Though, oddly, he backed his libertarian side with a call for mandatory national service and support for the military draft.

Photo from a 1970s Newsweek cover of Gov. Brown with then girlfriend Linda Rondstadt