Van Jones At Power Shift 2011: 'While They're Stuck On Stupid In DC, Your Generation Is Rising'

From Brad Johnson, The Wonk Room:

In a passionate keynote address, green jobs leader Van Jones exhorted the 10,000 youth climate activists at the Power Shift conference in Washington DC to “shift the power” and lead the clean power revolution. He argued that both parties need to be held accountable for their failures, and that activists must explain that the climate movement isn’t just about “hippie power” but that it is a vision of liberty and justice for all.

Van Jones had harsh words for the national political establishment. “You have to be wise enough to hold both parties to high standards,” he said:

While they’re stuck on stupid in DC, your generation is rising.

Van Jones also discussed President Barack Obama, who hired him as a green jobs adviser but then let him go after Jones’ politics and person came under a relentless barrage from Fox News’ Glenn Beck. Jones argued that President Obama is like the friend who has the potential to be an A-plus student, but is only getting C’s and D’s. Jones told the assembled youth from campuses around the nation they can be a “hero for making sure your friend gets an A-plus on his presidency.”

Van Jones described how we have a civilization “fueled by death” — fossil fuels from plants and animals that died millions of years ago:

We pull out of the ground death. We burn death in our power plants. Why do we get shocked when we get death in our sky as global warming, death in our oceans as oil spills, death in our children’s lungs as asthma and cancer?

The strongest moments of his speech came when he discussed America’s basic principles, in the context of arguing with “your uncle Joe” who watches Fox News at the Thanksgiving table. “Don’t you believe in liberty?” Van asked. “Shouldn’t we have the right as Americans to be energy producers?” he asked. “Shouldn’t we have the right and liberty to be free from energy companies who dictate how much we pay, what air we breathe?” Coal and oil companies try to divide us with cultural stereotypes and political ideology, when a green economy is actually the truly American economy:

The stereotype is that solar power is just hippie power. But it’s also cowboy power, farmer power, rancher power, and Appalachian mountain power!

Van Jones addressed the Tea Party movement that sees him as a “terrorist” and “communist.” “I’m glad our sisters and brothers in the Tea Party are talking about liberty,” he said. However, he said, they’re missing something important. The Pledge of Allegiance doesn’t just talk about liberty being integral to our nation:

The Pledge of Allegiance says liberty and justice for all!

With his voiced raised to the diverse crowd, Van Jones said “justice for all” includes justice for minorities, justice for women, justice for gays, and justice for the poor.

“Shift the power!” Van Jones concluded to thunderous applause.

Follow @PowerShift11 on Twitter.

Comments

[vetxcl]

08:33 PM on 05/10/2011

If I were rating this article on enthusiasm alone then I'd have to say : Good message Mr. Van Jones. Yet, I find it to be idealistic. Unless and until this country becomes a true dictatorship, there will always be compromises that have to be made.

[trucker clock]

03:04 PM on 05/10/2011

Listen to van jones... great idea, he is so fake. So I am hearing that global warming is caused by "the man" designed to hurt minorities, women, gays and the poor. hmmm sound logic.

climate change? of course always has been, always will be... manmade global warming... snake oil. should we cut down on pollution? yes, should we send money for carbon credits to algore so he can buy a mansion on the ocean? not so much. hey! I thought gore said that the oceans were going to rise... then why buy oceanfront property? hmmm.

[frankwatson]

03:26 PM on 04/26/2011

Thank the lord for talk radio & Fox News who wage a quiet ongoing battle to combat the Liberal propaganda, lies and coverup by the mainstream media of extreme anti capitalist leftists like Van Jones who have been encouraged to come out of the woodwork by this gang of new left wing radicals that have hijacked the Democratic party. What ever happened to the moderate Democrats? They've been run out of Dodge.

[KarlaElisa]

05:55 PM on 05/03/2011

yeah....your god is huge on capitalism, ain't he? bet he wrote and inserted the 2nd amendment into the US constitution himself as well.

if you think left wing liberals have hijacked the democratic party you're nuts. they're ALL on the same side: the side of big business. your a pawn and you'll never matter to any of those politicians, no matter what letter comes after their names.

furthermore, the planet is DYING. we're poisoning it, raping it's resources at mach speed. those resources are a FINITE thing. our soil, our air, our water....our ability to produce food...but you don't care. so long as nobody craps on your lawn your just fine with life as it is. you disgust me.

[CivilDebate10]

05:03 PM on 04/25/2011

I actually listened to his speech on Democracy Now. Thank goodness this guy was run out of government. He seems to have nothing to offer except rehashed class warfare 1960's cliches.

[Rebrebreb]

09:42 PM on 04/19/2011

Van is the man. We want to be free from the oil addiction. We want alternatives!
Put Van back in the White House.

[frankwatson]

03:28 PM on 04/26/2011

If the Obama administration were honest they would have kept a radical marxist like Van Jones in the White House. After all he represents their views. Radical views that this administration hides from the American public with the aid of the left wing mainstream media.

[tpondering]

09:54 AM on 04/19/2011

As usual a lot of posters dismiss the message because they don't like the messenger. I don't know much about Van Jones but the snippets in this article are poignant and meaningful. The whining about who's good or who's bad is always the distraction from the message. I can't think of anyone who is completely baggage free who gets any public speaking time. It would be one thing if he says "Send me money and I will fix it" and maybe he is saying that, but he is right about "clean" energy and its hard to argue that our current crop of politicians aren't stuck on stupid. It is also hard to argue that we are not a culture that thrives on death and at the same time are victims of it. What I pollute with is OK as long as it only kills someone else or some other species I never heard of. Sure our way of life depends on energy, but we keep giving ground on our health and environment to get it. So flail away at each other. The folks who are getting rich off our declining quality of life prefer we keep that distraction up so we don't notice who the bad guys really are.

[shakesome]

12:56 AM on 04/19/2011

,"The only solution..
To Cracker pollution..
is a worldwide Marxist, I mean socialist, I mane GREEN revolution."

[shakesome]

12:48 AM on 04/19/2011

Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Che, Van the man.

[DrMandible]

10:44 AM on 04/19/2011

Someone's been watching too much Beck.

[shakesome]

12:38 AM on 04/19/2011

"We pull out of the ground death. We burn death in our power plants." Van Jones, droppin' mad science! Waiting for him to make some memorable backronyms I can tag on the block.

[vazzy13]

10:12 PM on 04/18/2011

Love this guy, was very disappointed when Obama folded to Faux pressure...which seems to becoming a habit...grrrrrr!

Go Van, you rock!

[risingsun4995]

02:59 PM on 05/10/2011

That's because giant corporate media outlets have the power to misinform the public and slander reputations. And nothing will stop them from crushing anything that get's in the way of that power. That is unless we create, join and or put our money into organizations that bring change that we believe in.

[humandecency]

01:28 PM on 04/18/2011

Love his comment that Obama is an A student getting Cs and Ds. There is no justification for all of Obama's compromising (e.g., Salazar appointment that led to Gulf Oil catastrophy; proposed nuclear plants on Texas coast in hurricane zone). To follow Obama's policies you'd have to be your own worst enemy.

[dennisrs]

05:35 PM on 04/18/2011

A student, doubtful more like a con man but that isn't that the basic skills of a career politician.

[hang319]

12:57 PM on 04/18/2011

Bravo to him!

[Ken Willis]

11:33 AM on 04/18/2011

I like him. Power to the people.

[Jim Biggs]

11:46 AM on 04/18/2011

most uneducated do

[hang319]

12:58 PM on 04/18/2011

In reality, you know that the exact opposite is true

[KarlaElisa]

05:57 PM on 05/03/2011

?

[Nofuzzydreams]

11:17 AM on 04/18/2011

He follow the narrative - everyone else is stupid except me. What if he is the stupid one when our foremost concern at this time should be competing with China? In 20 years when we have re-established our footing and China becomes richer, may be both can go after some of the causes. It is an insignificant amount of time in geological and evolutionary context but a long time in a generations life.

[hang319]

01:07 PM on 04/18/2011

Gee, I'm kinda reluctant to just let maybes infiltrate my mind, when the scientific and green energy communities have lots and lots of absolutes that we can grab onto to move our country forward and upon which we can re-establish our footing. It is less likely he is the stupid one here. How does one re-establish footing when one is regressing rather than progressing?

[dennisrs]

05:40 PM on 04/18/2011

I think anyone who admires Mao would have to be stupid.

[KarlaElisa]

05:59 PM on 05/03/2011

our foremost concern to you is money. perfect. i hope like crazy fuel shoots to 5 bucks a gallon, your water bill skyrockets and food prices hit the ceiling. let's see how peak oil, food and water shortages and an inability for you to continue your cush life here affect your 'lets go make some dough' attitude.

[MosesDidItBest]

09:11 AM on 04/18/2011

After all the hype in Washington, the battle of the "budget" is taking precedence over jobs and econic recovery is being trivialized in light of the GOP's and the Tea Party's disdain for the increasing govermental spending. A diversion as dangerous as ignoring scientic fact.

After the Bush Tax Cut extention, the bailouts, Jones is correct in pointing out that Washington is stuck on stupid.

After reading Paul Ryan's budget plan and his path to recovery, all I can say is that Jones is correct, they are stuck on stupid.

Cutting social programs that directly leave the poor in the cold, hungry and left to cope alone against runaway medical costs, yes, they're stuck on stupid.

Other nations have embraced the science of global warming, here it's a debate, or call it what it really is, stuck on stupid.

Relying on fossil fuels is poisoning our air, water and the public at large.

Green is the way to go.

[Fina Biscotti]

08:23 PM on 04/18/2011

Reports by SPAIN and SWITZERLAND - established that GREEN JOBS economy - is a FARCE.

Both Spain and Switzerland have completely scrapped their alternative energy programs = Green JOBS - because it is too expensive - to manufacture, implement, maintain - and are JOB KILLERS.