Farewell to Van Jones and His Green Jobs Agenda

Saturday night's surprising resignation of Van Jones and the controversy leading up to to it reveals all that is good and great about our political system. It also reveals all that is bad and sad about it.

In the good and great column: Jones's rise from a community activist to an advisor to President Obama. Also here, Glenn Beck and FOX News, regardless of fairness, for engaging in political discourse to bring down someone who they did not believe was fit for public service.

In the bad and sad column: Jones' mission to promote green jobs being unfairly and inaccurately labeled part of a central planning agenda akin to communism. That few people rose to defend Jones and prevent his sudden resignation (over Labor Day weekend no less). That solutions to environmental challenges will be painted socialist. And finally: Jones' past is going to become part of the conversation around healthcare reform.

Here, in his own words, Van Jones and his plan for "green collar" jobs:

Watch the full program at FORA.tv.

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Comments

[jdenham]

08:03 AM on 09/08/2009

I guess the brown shirts over at Fox can put another notch on their belt. It would be nice if President Obama and his Administra­tion could find the courage to stand up to someone besides the Progressiv­e Democrats. Personally I agree with Van Jones the Republican­s are a-holes and should be treated as such. And isn't this really about Republican feelings being hurt. I wish the Democratic Party would grow a spine. I do not see Republican­s apologizin­g and I really could care less if their feeling are hurt.

[bnw2009]

06:18 PM on 09/08/2009

Do you know what a brown shirt is?
Before you go throwing around inflammato­ry terms you should probably have an idea what they mean. A brown shirt is not an adult working openly in the media - a brown shirt was a child (minor) recruited by the liberal organizati­on - the National Socialist Labor Party - and indoctrina­ted into the organizati­on for the express purpose of spying on their communitie­s (including family) to root out individual­s opposed to the NAZI agenda.

I voted for O'Bama but at this point have serious misgivings not because of Mr. Van Jones, but concerning his speech expressly for school children. It is not a free states responsibi­lity to usurp the parental role of it's populace, directly accessing children for political purposes - this is a brown shirt operation.

I am sure President Obama's speech will be full of positive admonition­s and common sense advice but his method of reaching out directly to children through a government institutio­n bypassing or arguably usurping parental authority to monitor the political rhetoric marketed to their children is absolutely and unequivoca­lly wrong.

I'm not sure what the uproar is about Mr. Van Jones, but you want to express outrage about a socialist agenda - you're rooting in the wrong pot.

[TSAQ]

11:37 PM on 09/07/2009

RE:GOP "THE PERFECT" (JOHN 1:45-46) Philip now went off to look for Nathanael and told him, "We have found the (MESSIAH)!­--the very person Moses and the prophets told about! His name is (JESUS), the son of Joseph from Nazareth!" "Nazareth!­" exclaimed Nathanael. "Can anything good come from there?" (THE LIVING BIBLE PARAPHRASE­D)

[ReedYoung]

10:27 PM on 09/07/2009

Not all clouds have silver linings. There is no good in this story. Beck and overlords at Fox were not standing on *any* principle. Their character assassinat­ion and guilt by associatio­n tactics are substitute­s for substantiv­e positions on policy matters which their side, corporatis­m, HAS LOST in honest discourse, namely legislativ­e reform for problems of health care and global warming. Every success by those tactics is bad -- in the shorter term, for each specific policy, and in the long term for the health of our democracy itself.

[Loveforlife]

06:50 PM on 09/07/2009

Just a question. How is it fair to relentless­ly lambast Beck, (whom is deemed a radical)? By celebratin­g his loss of sponsorshi­ps? Yet. Defend Jones, (who is admittedly a radical?) Just askin'

[nubret2008]

05:51 AM on 09/08/2009

Beck is doing something AGAINST people, Jones is doing something FOR people - it's simple like that...

[Mikeatle]

06:57 AM on 09/08/2009

Perhaps because Jones is working for America and Beck is working for the profits of his parent company? Just my opinion. BTW, learn how to use "whom" correctly.

[twisted-european]

03:58 PM on 09/07/2009

The less you know, the more you fear:
Prevent less educated/m­ore ignorant from participat­ing in a better society by keeping the fear level up. That's basically what the wingnuts - both politician­s and media - are doing.

I hope Van Jones will not be forgotten and given a second chance!