(You can find Poizner’s remarks here. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

Willie Brown has been known to bring in big names, and it is really hard to say no when he asks you to come speak at one of his events, or any event really.  So, as you may have guessed, everybody was at his “Breakfast Club” this morning. Arnold, all the candidates, and, well, everybody except the reclusive Meg Whitman. You’ll have to forgive my camera work.

The speeches went as you would expect them.  Poizner, Campbell, and Brown all gave speeches. All of which I missed, however, I did get reports from a solid (Democratic) source, who called Tom Campbell the best of the bunch.  Jerry Brown’s speech was just a standard stump speech, and according to Carla Marinucci, Brown has no inclination to announce his candidacy anytime soon.  And Poizner, well, he was Poizner.  

Check out the full wrap over the flip.

Poizner apparently lectured the crowd, especially any educators in the group, about how principals ignored him when he cold-called schools wanting to teach.  Let’s rewind to get the background on this.  Poizner knew he wanted to get himself elected to something after he made a bunch of money in the business world. So, he started calling principals of many local peninsula schools. Shockingly, nobody called the crazy guy back who wanted to volunteer at the schools. Note to Poizner: You know how many pedophiles would have tried that game if we just opened up the doors to anybody with a halfway decent education? And just to show off how brilliant he truly is, he went ahead and listed off his accomplishments, and was shocked that a principal would find him unqualified for his own classroom. Because, in the Republican world, being successful in business makes you qualified for Everything!

I stood in at an impromptu press avail for Poizner with Carla Marinucci, and got a bit more information. He tweaked Whitman for not showing up at debates, and trying to wait until March. But the important, and kind of crazy part, was that Poizner said that he wants a clear mandate, and wants voters to buy into his (kind of scary) plans for the state. He doesn’t want the votes of those who don’t follow his plan for the state.  Kind of bold there.

Now, to Campbell, he delivered a speech saying that he was going to deliver “25 Whoppers” ie things that politicians say that have no real meaning. On the left and the right. From my source, I got some doozies like “You can lower taxes to raise revenue,” a direct shout out to Poizner’s “economic plan.”  And “Everything would be better if we ran the state like a business” was pointed toward Whitman, who has advocated that relentlessly.  Campbell pointed to the Legislature and said, how does that fit into a corporate structure?

Campbell is good, and if he can find some way to get through that Republican primary, he could be a very tough opponent for any Democrat, Jerry Brown or otherwise.  Of course, the fact that Campbell isn’t loaded in a race with two super-rich candidates is a major problem to his viability in the race. I actually think that his rhetoric could throw the race into a scrum even if he only runs as an independent.  But, again, money is the huge problem for Campbell. He just can’t raise enough to be really competitive.

And then Arnold struts on the stage, welcoming some elected officials saying how he loves the job. And four minutes into the speech he busts out with this line:

I’ve been hear four minutes, and nobody has screamed to kiss my gay ass yet. So I love this crowd.

Of course, this is a reference to Tom Ammiano’s remark at the SF DCCC gala event. However, I was unable to catch this part of the video, so you’ll have to do with his listing of reasons why he loves California. Sorry for the crazy camera work.

However, there was some substance to the speech. he discuss the stimulus package, of which he is a big fan. With $18.5 Billion already received, and the state expecting $50 bn. total, it is obviously a big deal. And to those who say it isn’t worth it, Arnold says to go ask the teachers who weren’t laid off whether it was worth it.  He also pitched California’s HSR, real HSR, not that 120 mph stuff they want to do on the East Coast. Arnold wants to get most, if not all, of the federal stimulus for HSR.

On water, Arnold outlined the problem, with most of the water coming from NorCal, and most of the users coming from SoCal. He clearly wants the Peripheral Canal. He framed it as part of Pat Brown’s infrastructural plan of the 1960s, and it was just one part that never got built.  Good idea, but those who have followed will remember that it was more than just funding that was blocking the construction of the peripheral canal. He wants the bond package to pass with both Rep and Dem support, and it will likely be around $10 bn.

He then goes on to praise ever possible aspect of Arne Duncan, Obama’s education secretary, for the “race to the top” scheme. He had always wanted to create the link between achievement and teacher pay, and this is how he is getting it done, by hanging federal cash over the heads of the CTA. He is also excited at the opportunity for greater public school choice, and to allow students from any area enroll in any school. Of course, this is hugely problematic for the neighborhood school concept and having schools in the bad parts of town across the state. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the motivated parents will move their kids to the good schools, while those who aren’t so caring let their kids sit in the bad schools. Making the good schools better, and the bad schools worse.  It’s a recipe to leave a whole group of children behind. But as I wrote in my notes: Arnold Hearts Duncan.

Arnold can’t pass up any opportunity to rail against the tax system, but he only lightly suggested the Parsky plan. It is clear that that particular plan is dead in the water, Arnold really wants to get some changes in before 2010 elections roll around. Whether these changes will be good for the state is an open question.