Van Jones open thread: Your reactions?

Uncategorized

Speaking for myself.

Now normally I don’t get fired up over something unless it deals with Israel-Palestine or something similar, but Van Jones’ resignation struck a nerve in me, as I’m sure it did with others who follow Green Mountain Daily. I wrote something similar over at Blue Hampshire, but here’s what I wrote.

Van Jones was one of rare true progressives in the Obama Administration. He was one of the rare people I respected. Now he’s gone because he said something that politicians say all the time about the opposite party.  So where was Obama? Why didn’t he speak up? Where was the rest of the administration? Where was the rest of Democratic Party? Did they realize who they had on their side?

More below the fold.  

As for signing the petition on whether the Bush Administration had a hand in the 9-11 terrorist attacks, I don’t see anything wrong with that. I think there are a lot of questions that remain unanswered what happened that day. I don’t think there’s anything controversial with signing something like that. In fact, Jane Hamsher writes today that “35% of Democrats surveyed believed as of 2007 — that George Bush knew in advance about the attacks of 9/11.” So it’s not like Jones is alone on this. There’s so much more Hamsher writes about this. I’ll leave it for you to check out.

John Nichols, of The Nation said it best today about Jones and the Democratic Party’s capitulation.

“President Obama and his aides let the right spin a fantasy about a man who led the highly-regarded Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and was recently listed as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential player’s of 2009.

In so doing, they allowed Glenn Beck to define the administration.

This won’t make the Obama presidency stronger; nor will it position the president to work more effectively with Congress on issues such as health care reform – let alone “green jobs” initiatives.

The right now knows they can make this administration blink. And they will keep poking and prodding White House aides and appointees until Obama and his inner circle push back.”

But the person who said it best today was a well-known anti-racism activist Tim Wise.

Tim Wise said the following about Jones’ departure.

“If you think it’s merely a coincidence that the right has sought to make [Van] Jones such an issue–rather than some of the other administration officials they are now threatening to “expose”; (two of whom are white)–then you haven’t been paying attention to Republican and conservative politics for the past forty years. This is what they do. It’s the only language they speak, at least fluently.”

Wise titled this article “The Afrikaner Party Draws First Blood: Van Jones, Barack Obama and the Audacity of Capitulation.” I think that title is 100% accurate about the state of the Obama administration today. The Obama administration seems to me like the party that is willing to throw  any respectable leader, even a civil rights leader, under the bus if it meant winning elections. If standing for what’s right and what’s principled means losing elections, then the Democratic Party, my party, will compromise their integrity.

I realize that politics is not perfect.  But if I were in Obama’s shoes, I’d draw the line, keep Jones in my administration and tell the bloviators at Fox and co. to #@! off. I would not expect the Obama administration to believe what Beck says on his shows, nor react to what he says. They know Jones well and what he’s all about. The fact that they can’t stand up for a man like him, doesn’t say much about the party and the president I voted for. Thankfully my former governor and current Senator have the courage to stand up for him. Where’s Leahy and Welch? Hopefully they’ll have something to say.  

Maybe Alternet’s Don Hazen was right. Jones is too classy to be involved with the Obama administration. I’m sure he’ll do a lot more outside of government than to work with a bunch of weak-minded politicians.

Not a good weekend for being a Democrat.  

12 thoughts on “Van Jones open thread: Your reactions?”

  2. They caved to a handful of right-wing loudmouths.  The reasoning was probably, “we don’t need this right now,” but that doesn’t excuse cowardice.

    What did they expect?  The Right will look for any excuse – or make one up if they can’t find it – to smear people.   And if the Obamans think throwing Mr. Jones over the side will appease them, then they’re fools.   It will be like sharks tasting blood.

    The smears will continue, enabled by the MSM and magnified by the Echo Chamber.

  3. the Dems, and bloggers, would throw the likes of Jones overboard because they think he’s a distraction from passing health care reform. That’s the consensus I’m getting. I think it was Jane Hamsher who said it best about what Van Jones means to the health care battle and how the Obama administration doesn’t get it.

    “If there is going to be a serious progressive movement in this country capable of standing up for health care against an industry that spends $1.4 million a day on lobbying, we can’t just look to the members of the Progressive Caucus and say “hey, you, get something done.” They need cover. They need to know that they will be supported. And people like Van Jones who have given their lives to causes we say we value like prison reform and environmental advocacy need to know that they will be defended, and not handed over to Glenn Beck as an acceptable casualty in the battle for K-Street dollars.”

  4. Conservative politics in DC is not about what’s good for the US.  Its about distracting us from what is really important like health care and energy policy in an effort to weaken Obama.  Its about taking back the house in 2010 and having a serious shot at Obama in 2012.  This attack, then, makes sense in that context.  Remember the game “King of the Hill”?  Its about pulling the guy down who is on top.

  5. Jack Turner of Jack & Jill Politics.

    Van was the kind of guy that gave me real confidence in this administration’s seriousness. President Obama meets with generals every day and sees scary reports and wants to get re-elected. I can always make some politics-based allowances for his underwhelming actions. Van, however, was truly one of us. He got it. And to give someone like him power gave me more faith in the president. So when the lynch mob came after Van, it was a test. The same test so many Democratic administrations have failed time and time again. When the going gets tough, do you back your people, or do you fall back on excuses.

    This White House, this administration and this president failed Van, failed its supporters and failed to honor the efforts of millions that got them into office in the first place. What’s the point of having power if you don’t use it? When will this White House realize that nothing it does will ever be acceptable to the loud-mouthed, ignorant minority? When will it learn that you cannot negotiate with terrorists??

    I’m heartbroken over Van’s departure because it’s these little meaningless concessions that undermine people’s faith in the system. You get folks all riled up about change. You empower a man who embodies that change. And they you let him be run out of office by fucking Glenn Beck? So Glenn Beck is running the White House now? Is that how it’s gonna be? Just tell me that I knocked on all those doors for nothing, and I can start the grieving process, but don’t pretend this will solve anything.

    Any questions now people?

  6. The Obama administration’s action on this has been plaguing my political thoughts for the past couple of days. I saw Van Jones speak in Washington last year and it was one of the most powerful public speeches I have ever witnessed. It was, incidentally, the same speech from Powershift ’09 that Beck ran on his program.

    Now I know that the slightest spin that goes out of control is capable of bringing down an entire administration… and they are smart to be cautious of such an event–but I don’t think that the Van Jones affair was worthy of such a hasty dismissal.

    He was, WITHOUT A DOUBT, the best qualified to advise the president on green jobs and was also one of the most progressive voices in the administration.

    What boggles my mind is the logic the right uses. For example:

    They claim that Jones’ close proximity (not really) to the pres. is indicative of Obama’s true support of Communism. They simultaneously conveniently ignore the fact that Larry Summers, Obama’s Director of the National Economic Council was the foremost advocate of the disastrously free-market reforms in the former USSR, which ultimately led to the current culture of crony-capitalism there… but that’s another story.

    My point– It was just a racially charged attack meant to drown out his healthcare reform speech. This was the same deal with the “Education Indoctrination” fanaticism. It’s all a hail Mary attempt by the right wing to distract the public from what is likely to be a fiery and focused call for a strong healthcare bill.

  7. “no drama Obama”

    Of course there is drama, but it’s all about what Obama’s gonna do today to toss overboard those who worked so hard to get him elected.

    Semi-right wing milquetoast, that’ll do a better job of describing.

Comments are closed.