Living the American Green

And so ends the very short chapter of Van Jones in the White House

(editors note: this was written very quickly, in the heat of the moment on hearing what I consider very very bad news.  Now, not so angry, I really only feel sad.  Still, read on!)

Van Jones resigned today from his position of Green Jobs Czar at the White House.  He had been there a little over six months before a mob of crazed republican attackers focused on him.  It only took folks calling him names: a communist that once called the Republicans a bad word, and poof: he gets run out of town on a rail.

“On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me,” Jones wrote. “They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide.”

Jones said that he had ”been inundated with calls – from across the political spectrum – urging me to “stay and fight. But I came here to fight for others, not for myself.  I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past.  We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future.”

This man has as much power as you give him

I would love to say a few words here that would make me unfit to be a Czar, (for those of you who don’t know, one of the reasons Van is unfit to serve is because he called republicans assholes in a speech) but that seems like playing at their game.  Instead, I’d like to say a few other things.

Van Jones was, and still is, a hero of mine.  As many of you who read this space know, I think the world of his ideas.  I love his inclusive, hands on, leave-no-person-behind vision for the future of America.  His book spoke to me of economic justice without having anyone suffer, and of a freedom from the worry of Global Warming.  Having read his book, listened to his speeches, and received his emails for years, I can say he is in no way a communist, or a socialist.  At all.  In fact, I often felt he went too far toward the free market — perhaps to make his ideas palatable to an America that turns green in fear at either of those words being turned against them.  50 years later, this McCarthyism hackjobbary has got to end.

The Party that just crucified Van Jones for saying the word asshole and for associating with a know “Truther” in the 9/11 crazytimes movement is the same party that had the second most powerful member tell someone to “Go F*&% Yourself” on the floor of the Senate.  This is the same party where many MANY elected officials still to this day are considering lawsuits against Obama for not being born in this country.  Glenn Beck, who led the charge against Jones, alternates his time between grimly prognosticating about and encouraging armed rebellion, and calling Obama a racist.

Why was Jones, a generally well liked dude, even on Glenn Beck’s radar?  Because Jones was associated with a group called ColorofChange.  ColorofChange called Beck on calling the president a racist, and Beck — in full personal vendetta style — took Van Jones down and forced his resignation.  What alternative universe do we live in where he has so much power?

The hypocrisy runs so thick, and so complete, that I am forced to wonder at the delusion to make it through a day believing what Beck professes to believe.  The Green Collar Economy was condemned as a socialist plot before anyone even bothered to figure out what it was, and what it meant.  Instead of taking the time to figure out why it might be a win-win to go green, people would rather throw stones at every new idea then allow someone who is not their own to gain any semblance of power.

But the Obama White House sure stuck to their guns!  I’m so proud of the way they defended their man, of the way they went to bat for a supporter and loyal ideas man.  I love how they called out this rank hypocrisy for what it was, and at least fired a warning shot that the people in the White House can not be controlled by a hate spewing insano pundit.

Oh, wait.  They did none of those things.  They made a craven political calculus, and sold Jones out faster then you can say “Communist Sympathizer”.  We’ve seen the wackjobs on the right get more and more wack-jobby of late, calling Obama a brain washer for the age old  tradition of talking to kids on the first day of school, and painting every single human left of William F. Buckley as some sort of deranged socialist.  I just wonder: why does this stuff stick?  Why don’t people stand up against this sort of thing?  It’s completely absurd that Jones was forced to resign, but it’s even MORE absurd that anyone has the ability to “force” anything!

America seems to really like the idea of Death before Dishonor.  They love people who don’t change course, even when the course is fundamentally wrong.  I don’t need my leaders to be stupid and unable to compromise, but this makes them look like the spineless cowards that the Republicans have always said they were.

The most frustrating part of the process is that Van’s ideas are now being repudiated because he once knew a communist and once said a bad word.  All of his amazing thinking, all of his plans and his charisma and his strength are now worse then useless.  The entire (extremely capitalist) green collar movement has been tarred and feathered on the national stage.  It’s amazing that all my hope for real fundamental change in this country was crushed after six months, and its even MORE amazing that it was done by the party that was so completely repudiated at the polls.

The entire movement took a step back today, not because the things that Van suggested didn’t work, but because some holier then thou fucks decided to crush him and the rest of us let them.

The only reason that I can’t quit this whole process is that doing so would mean that these people were allowed to be right.  Well, it won’t happen.  I’m going to work longer, work harder, then ever before.  I am going to make sure that everyone – EVERYone – who called for Van’s head does not get any more chance to hold elected office.

My question is this: Does Glenn Beck speak for you?  If so, why?  What vision does he put forward that you find attractive?  What version of America does Beck and the folks that give him a platform to spew his nonsense actually espouse?

If not, why are you letting him change who the President of the United States chooses to advise him?