re: #3 Political Atheist
Start in the middle. That’s the concept I like most. Start where we probably belong and will wind up anyway and break the habit of horse trading style negotiating in the internet age.
I believe most of President Obama’s proposals have started in the political middle (or close to it, he’s no radical). Except the Republicans have always tarred them as far left, therefore setting the “compromise point” of what policy gets enacted well to the right of center.
As for calling Jerry Brown a fiscal conservative, I like that. He believes that government should tax what it spends. If the people want more services, taxes should be raised to pay for it, as is common sense.