About "Governor Moonbeam"
In 1978, Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko nicknamed Brown "Governor Moonbeam" for his proposal for the State of California to purchase its own satellite that would be launched into orbit to provide emergency communications for the state (a similar program of leasing satellites was later adopted by the state). The "Governor Moonbeam" nickname quickly became associated with his quirky politics, which were considered eccentric and even radical by some in California and the rest of the nation. He was even the subject of "California Über Alles" by punk band the Dead Kennedys, a bizarre fantasy about Brown being an evil Zen fascist. Many of the concepts suggested by Governor Brown that were considered quirky at the time would later be considered forward looking and are now simply conventional. Almost twenty years later, in 1992, Royko would disavow the nickname, proclaiming Brown to be "just as serious" as any other politician.
