Van Jones Pushed Out of the Obama Administration
by Latoya Peterson
Over the weekend, I received the following email from Green For All:
Late last night, Van Jones resigned from his position with the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Many of us are left with pain and anger after seeing a leader of integrity, vision, and commitment targeted by hateful personal attacks. Van stepped down in service to our movement. He felt that fighting the attacks would draw attention to him and detract from our mission.
Now, our challenge is to turn our disappointment and anger into action and renewed resolve for our common goals.
Like the great social justice movements of the 20th century, our movement for an inclusive green economy is based in the most fundamental American values: equality, justice, and opportunity for all.
That’s why our opponents reduced the debate to fear, hatred, and division. They cannot win a debate about values. They cannot win a debate about solutions.
Our allies and friends may be redirected by these attacks, and focus on the rants of those who fear our vision. For Green For All, our struggle must be defined by the issues our opponents refuse to debate: ending global warming; lifting people out of poverty; restoring the economy; and bringing health to our communities. These are the challenges that matter the most.
Parnee over at Gawker has a good summary on why Jones was singled out:
[F]or both his activism and his charm he was rewarded with a White House job with the Council on Environmental Quality. He was tasked with making sure stimulus money for green jobs actually went to green jobs. And he’s a great person to have in this administration—he is a genuine environmentalist and the only special interest he’s beholden to is poor people. He is the sort of person we were all praying Obama would bring with him to DC, instead of Larry Summers.
And that is one of the reasons he is now being ritually and savagely demonized.
To understand why and how he’s being demonized, we have to look at the way information and misinformation makes it way from crazy blogs to crazy pundits to crazy citizens to, suddenly, the non-crazy regular media.
The “why” is simple: he is a genuine left-wing liberal with a White House job. He is black. He used to be radical, and probably still has radical sympathies (you know, caring about poor black people and all that). He is, in other words, fucking terrifying, if you frame his story right.
Parnee goes on to explain that Van Jones’ platform isn’t even being considered by his opponents. It’s all about his past – and specifically, as a Communist addition to Obama’s cabinet. (Which I am sure Jones found an interesting charge as he was clear about being a Marxist.) It was a blatant political play, and Jones stepped down.
This saddens me for many reasons, but most notably for the fact that someone with a good vision, a commitment to ending poverty, and ideas on how to shift environmentalism away from consumption and toward community based initiatives was targeted specifically to score points against Obama. It’s disgusting.
In Jones’ own words:
“I didn’t start out as an environmentalist. I started out helping urban kids in trouble and I burned out, going to way too many funerals and court cases that turned out badly,” Jones said in an interview. “I was just trying to get my own health back.”
“I went to these retreat Centers in Marin County, and it was a different world. They had all this organic food and solar panels and hybrid cars, and I was like — why don’t they have this in my neighborhood?” Jones said. “I thought, if we had these kind of jobs and services in Oakland, we’d probably have less violence. So I came up with a slogan: Green jobs, not jails.”
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
ashlynn wrote:
Goodness. Another hugely important voice of color, progress and positive change lost to the frenzied opposition …and in the name of what? “Freedom”? “Equality”? Justice and all the other cushy moral values indefinitely enjoyed by those of a certain race of a certain class of a certain gender? Honestly, I don’t know how much more of this bull I can stomach….somewhere along the line, this must stop.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 9:07 am ¶
ansel wrote:
I liked this part of Josh Kahn-Russell’s take on the whole fiasco:
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 9:18 am ¶
nathan wrote:
Honestly, Van Jones was one of the few selections Obama made that I applauded. He’s done great work, and it’s ridiculous that people like Glenn Beck could help push him out. It’s also troubling that people who spew hatred on a daily basis have enough power in this nation to force a public official out for questioning the previous administration and calling people “a-holes” once. To me this show just how weak progressives, or the left, or whatever you wish to call it, has gotten.
I seriously hope Van just dusts this off and gets back to the grassroots work for change he’s known for. And instead of hoping for Obama and the Democrats in power right now to change things, we should all be getting out there and joining grassroots efforts ourselves. Even Obama knows, and said so himself during his campaign, that great change for the better comes from the people.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 10:00 am ¶
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist wrote:
the United States is the only so-called “free” Western society that has such an irrational, pathetic fear of Socialists and Communists.
Americans, STFU and get over it.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 10:06 am ¶
elise.anne wrote:
I heard Van Jones speak at the Mobilization to End Poverty in DC with Sojourners. Lots of respect for the man.
I’ll be spreading the word. Thanks for the sad news.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 11:28 am ¶
A.D. Nix wrote:
I’m at a point where I can’t even read anymore about this because I just want to punch my fucking screen.
Two big ass steps back. Not only does this undermine a more inclusive narrative and more inclusive policies in the “green” space, but painting Van Jones as a Dangerous Racist Communist Radical Untouchable is going to make it harder to do some of the good shit he’s been trying to do.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 11:52 am ¶
Brandon wrote:
DIMA: you make a great point.
At some point I keep waiting for Democrats or liberals to embrace some of these terms and do a little education work. Here are some of the things from the past that were called liberal, socialist, and/or communist.
Progressives continue to give those words power by trying to disassociate from them, allowing the opposition to avoid any real exchange of ideas and engage in simple name-calling.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 12:21 pm ¶
JS wrote:
Why Obama feels he needs to respect the wishes of Beck and these other racist radical-hunters is beyond me. I seriously don’t know what he thinks he can get from appeasing them. It should be clear that the costs of continually abusing the trust of progressive grassroots activists will cost him far more than any points he lost with the Beckies by having someone like Van Jones.
This was a very cynical, cowardly moment, and I’m pretty disappointed with the whole thing. It makes it pretty damn clear whose perspective is ‘legitimate’ (theirs) and whose has no place in the White House (ours).
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 1:09 pm ¶
Thea Lim wrote:
@Brandon
Agreed. Obama did the same thing with being called “Muslim” during the elections – instead of saying “what’s wrong with that?” he just went into overdrive trying to distance himself from Muslimness. Granted he was trying to win a presidential election, but still it was disappointing that Colin Powell, of all people, was the only one to finally step up and defend Muslimness.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 1:24 pm ¶
Sean wrote:
Hmmm… With the current brouhaha over President Obama’s speech to school kids/Van Jones, it wasn’t all that long ago that certain behavior -as currently demonstrated by the far-right- would have been considered anti-American and treasonist. Weren’t some of these same people screaming “witch hunt” before a mob of people resigned from Dubya’s cabinet?
Gen John Ashcroft?
Don Evans?
Norman Mineta?
Alberto Gonzales?
Donald Rumsfeld?
Tom Ridge?
Colin Powell?
What happened to all the patriotism? Hell, I’m tempted to print out a bunch of t-shirts inscribed: “REMEMBER THE DIXIE CHICKS!”
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 1:28 pm ¶
RJG wrote:
In a way, I’m glad Van Jones left his position in the White House.
I don’t doubt for a moment that he still won’t be asked by the President to help in any way he can, and I strongly doubt that Van Jones would say no. Will it be more behind the scenes? Most likely. But I doubt that just because he resigned for an official advisory role that he will stop pushing for where he feels the White House should allocate money for green jobs.
Along with that, this enables Van Jones to have a stronger attack stance against Glenn Beck, who he’s already been hitting very hard. Van Jones was right that the left needs more assholes who don’t mind playing dirty, and that he’s glad to do the job, but at the same time it’s not normally the best thing for that person to have any “official” clout while being said asshole. Without a White House position possibly keeping him in check for public relation reasons, he can pound away harder at the people who need to be confronted and called out for the shit they say.
I hope this emboldens him and those who support him, more than discourage them from going forward. Official positions come with public relation interests holding one back, and in the end those interests might not be best for what Van Jones wants to accomplish.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 2:01 pm ¶
thewayoftheid wrote:
Having covered stories about amazing folks like Jones (and Majora Carter) for the enviro trade mag where I was once employed, I was very angry to find this in my inbox over the weekend.
And you know what? I’m still angry.
These people will not stop until they completely destroy PBO’s administration. Giving up Van Jones just made them thirsty for more. Beck and friends are already going in on the FCC “czar” on some “you’re next!” ish.
As a progressive, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t shook. But I’m ready to fight. Like I said: You can go back to 1952 if you want to, but I’ll be damned if you take me with you.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 2:07 pm ¶
Singlutionary wrote:
I used to work for an organization and we worked directly with Van Jones. I burned out on activism and so I didn’t even know that this was happening. How this person could be demonized is beyond me. Way beyond me. Its a shame and people should BE ashamed.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 2:55 pm ¶
inkst wrote:
@ Brandon: “Progressives continue to give those words power by trying to disassociate from them, allowing the opposition to avoid any real exchange of ideas and engage in simple name-calling.”
YES! It’s like they are going along with the dance while the right shoots at the floor.
I am so fed up with this silencing bullshit. Latoya, I know that you posted a ranting thread on Friday, but this crap is making me want to rant now. And honestly, I wish the Obama administration would stop acting like they are still in the middle of the campaign. I can’t stand the fact that they keep playing the same games with accusations about their intentions or how radical they are or how socialist they are or whatever. I understand trying to dodge that type of accusation in a tough campaign, but you’re president now! Yes, there is another election in 2012, but don’t become a total washed up moderate just to win it.
I agree with some other commenters, maybe it’s better that he’s out of that weird bubble and can just do his thing now…
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 3:23 pm ¶
Asada wrote:
seems like justice and equality for all is a little to much for Americans politically.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 3:57 pm ¶
Winn wrote:
I’m just going to glue my head to my desk from now on. What the hell is going on around here? Van Jones was one of the only Obama picks I was excited about, and the fact that someone who drinks through a crazy straw every day like Glenn Beck could drive him from his post is beyond frustrating. But I’m most frustrated with the Obama administration. What will it take for them to stop capitulating and caving in, especially as this continued appeasement parade only emboldens and strengthens the opposition?! I know Obama ran as a consensus, reach across the aisles, bipartisanship at all costs candidate, but have not the last six months taught him that that was a pipe dream? Let it go, and get to stepping to get your agenda going, despite the fact that it is far from the truly progressive agenda we hoped for. Instead of bending over backwards for foolishness, stand up to this bullshit and speak truth to power, for once. Please! I’m still holding out hope for the healthcare speech, but I’m prepared to be disappointed.
The only consolation is that Van Jones has been freed from his bureaucractic prison and can get back to doing what he does best. motivating and mobilizing from the ground up…
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 5:55 pm ¶
Kelvin wrote:
I mean the man did sign the document. He is a truther no?
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 6:26 pm ¶
7thangel wrote:
i’ve said a lot about van jones other places so i’m all out.
i’ll say this, in the month of august i was tempted to find out if being a socialist was illegal and punishable with imprisonment, because it sure as hell seemed like it. mccarthy would be slightly proud only because they haven’t gone far enough in red baiting.
and it’s nice to see the return of ‘the radical black nationalist’ meme, i was beginning to think they were a forgotten people.
it’s not enough for obama to actually man up, progressives need to step the fuck up too and quit waiting and being caught flatfooted.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 8:24 pm ¶
PatrickInBeijing wrote:
Nothing about this should surprise us. I am over being angry. Van Jones is an extremely classy, talented guy, and HE will land on his feet. It is the rest of us I am worried about.
We have let “black nationalism” become a word that means “demon” or “devil”, while at the same time, when Senators (a whole frigging buncha them) speak to “white nationalist” groups, we go, well, okay (meaning the MSM and general Americans here). Talk about double standards. We have to fight back.
The problem with the Democratic Party (in general) is that it is about power and not rocking the boat. People outside the party need to rock some of these boats. The right wing uses churches. There aren’t enough left churches. Many left organizations have issues (including racial issues).
But, seriously folks, if people don’t organize, everyone will die separately (as opposed to hanging together).
“Socialist” and “Communist” are also words meaning demons. There is no thought behind the rights usage of these terms, only anger and fear. It’s got to change.
I admire ColorOfChange for attacking Beck. Did we think he wouldn’t fight back? But the attacks against the right media and their corporate sponsors have to intensify or they will win.
Why is Jeff Sessions acceptable as a senator? John Cronyn? (as a start).
@everyone posting here, we fight back as well as we are able, or we are doomed (even me, I have to travel back, and don’t want to disappear some day).
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 7:49 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
I know Obama ran as a consensus, reach across the aisles, bipartisanship at all costs candidate, but have not the last six months taught him that that was a pipe dream?
Exactly. Bipartisanship cuts both ways. The right wing has made its naked, unmitigated, singular desire to destroy abundantly clear now.
Why bother.
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 9:41 am ¶
Manju wrote:
It pains me to see, at he very moment we’re marginalizing the racist right and mocking them with their racist birther conspiracy theories, the authoritarian left re-emerges to give us 911denialism, a phenomena not unrelated to anti-semitism or to enabling a dangerous form of religious jingoism.
it wouldn’t hurt if a word could be said about the victims of communism too, as last i check people are still being slaugterd in south india (among other places)by the very Maoist inspired insurgency groups people like van jones so glibly admired.
if there is a moral equivalence to fascism it certainly is communism. if birtherism has a counterpart, 911denialism fit the role. disgusting.
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 9:57 am ¶
atlasien wrote:
@Manju: Nice derailing attempt. Van Jones isn’t a truther. I haven’t seen a single piece of evidence that says he is.
As far as I can tell, his only crime was that he was part of a a large group of people that suspected Bush of knowing about 9/11 before it happened. They were somewhat vindicated when news of the “Bin Laden determined to strike within U.S.” memo came out. Of course, Bush disregarded it out of sheer stupidity and incompetence, not out of any nefarious design.
Truthers are indeed a plague, but they’re not as nearly associated with the left as birthers, deathers and teabaggers are associated with the right. There are plenty of far right groups that are also truthers. It’s a common meme among white supremacists.
Try again.
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 11:22 am ¶
Manju wrote:
“I haven’t seen a single piece of evidence that says he is. ”
he signed a 911truth.org pettion asking for an investigatopn into “evidence that suggests high-level government officials may have deliberately allowed the September 11th attacks to occur.”
“Truthers are indeed a plague, but they’re not as nearly associated with the left as birthers”
Prof Brendan Nyhan (democrat): “using the weighted data provided by Scripps (see update below), we can directly compare the proportion of incorrect or don’t know responses to the 9/11 conspiracy and Obama birth certificate questions There is an undeniable symmetry to the misperceptions, which skew in the expected partisan directions in both cases. The total proportion of incorrect or don’t know responses among Republicans on Obama’s citizenship (58%) is comparable to the proportion of comparable responses among Democrats on a 9/11 conspiracy (51%).”
http://www.brendan-nyhan.com/.a/6a00d83451d25c69e20120a550f15c970c-popup
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 2:17 pm ¶
Princezz wrote:
Yes, it is unfortunate Van Jones decided to resign after an evil smear campaign against him, but since this party is just getting started, it’s not surprising at all. Stay tuned, or not!
During his brief time on the hill as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Jones now has insider knowledge that will benefit him and others as he continues his work for this cause.
The upside is Jones did not let his ego dictate his decision to resign, and he refused to allow the controversy to distract from the bigger picture. In my opinion, he can and has accomplished more outside-the-box. He’s a trailblazer and trust he will continue to be sought by private and public sector agencies, businesses, companies and organizations for his knowledge and expertise. In essence, Van Jones has made a significant mark in history and nothing can change that fact, not even haters and naysayers.
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 2:25 pm ¶
atlasien wrote:
@Manju: the 2007 poll you cited is not a 9/11 truther poll. The wording came down to “35% of Democrats believe George W. Bush knew about 9/11 in advance. ” That isn’t the same thing as believing the government planned it, or that al-Qaeda didn’t do it. The fact is that on August 6, 2001, George W. Bush was given a memo saying “bin Ladin determined to strike in US”. He was warned by several experts. He chose to do nothing. I believe he disregarded their advice because he was stupid and lazy. Does that mean he knew about it in advance? I would have to put myself in the “unsure” category myself. It depends totally on the definition of “knew”.
From Skeptic magazine:
From stormfront.org 2006 9/11 poll (white supremacist mothership site, not linking to it):
Also, the petition Van Jones signed was truther-lite… it calls for a deeper investigation into the attacks and outlines possible willful government ignorance. The text has a mixture of serious issues and wacky conjecture. I think Van Jones shouldn’t have signed it — a lot of other famous people signed it that should have known better — but it’s not a hardcore truther document.
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 3:16 pm ¶
Manju wrote:
“the 2007 poll you cited is not a 9/11 truther poll. The wording came down to “35% of Democrats believe George W. Bush knew about 9/11 in advance. ” That isn’t the same thing as believing the government planned it, or that al-Qaeda didn’t do it.”
Actually the wording of the poll i cited was:
“There are also accusations being made following the 9/11 terrorist attack. One of these is: People in the federal government either assisted in the 9/11 attacks or took no action to stop the attacks because they wanted to United States to go to war in the Middle East.”
“Also, the petition Van Jones signed was truther-lite… it calls for a deeper investigation into the attacks and outlines possible willful government ”
the petition used the phrase: “high-level government officials may have deliberately allowed the September 11th attacks to occur.”
“From stormfront.org 2006 9/11 poll (white supremacist mothership site, not linking to it):”
That white supremacist groups have predictably adopted the theory (along with the authoritarian left and religious terrorists) should have made Van Jones even more suspicious.
“I think Van Jones shouldn’t have signed it — a lot of other famous people signed it that should have known better”
for me the existnec of Howard Zinns name would’ve raised another red flag, given his apologies for other totalitarian movements.
Also, accoding to the american spectator, Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), the revolutionary group formed by self-described “communist” and “rowdy black nationalist” Van Jones, held a vigil in Oakland, California, “mourning the victims of U.S. imperialism around the world” on the night after Sept. 11, 2001. ”
If a republican had held a vigil for the victims of ruby ridege and waco athe night after OK city, i’d be suspicious of his leanings.
The Spectator gors on to report Jones later said:
“Anti-Arab hostility is already reaching a fever pitch as pundits and common people alike rush to judgment that an Arab group is responsible for this tragedy,” said Van Jones, national executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 4:41 pm ¶
Kelvin wrote:
Truthers also include the sub group of individuals who believe that certain individuals knew about the specifics of the attack prior to the attack occurring. The PDB that was cited above is not evidence of knowing specifics. Did Bush and co screw up on a monumental scale in handling that PDB? Yes they did. Does the PDB amount to solid evidence of fore-knowledge of the 9/11 attack? No, it does not. The White House should have known what the Van Jones dude was all about. In the end, I can’t fault Beck for taking the fight to Jones. Even though Jones may have moved on from Color of Change, folks had to have realized that when you stoop to the level of someone like Beck and his fellow right wing nutjobs, you’ll get smeared in shit as well.
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 11:56 pm ¶
atlasien wrote:
I’m not an anti-communist jingoist so I see still fail to see the problematic nature of Van Jones’ actions. That vigil was in support of the 9/11 victims and in solidarity with Arab-Americans… the left’s primary concern right then was backlash against them, and even fears of internment camps.
I’m also a big fan of Howard Zinn.
Posted 10 Sep 2009 at 2:26 pm ¶
7thangel wrote:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/10/glenn-beck-strikes-again_n_281986.html
next up, mark lloyd http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2009/09/glenn-becks-new-target-mark-ll-002251.php, sunstein,
browner
and jarret
Posted 10 Sep 2009 at 5:30 pm ¶
mongo slade wrote:
This dude has done more than most do in their whole life. He should be taken as an example to all (especially children) that passion, forward thinking and hardwork pay off.
To have his name smeared all over tv in that negative light was not cool.
Brothas and Sistas like him need more main stream exposure, but by our rules. So when peeps (people that don’t research or read) hear what happened to Van – they’re aleady familiar with the dude and his good deeds.
Am I saying this right.
Posted 10 Sep 2009 at 11:09 pm ¶