The White House announced the resignation of top environmental adviser, Van Jones, who had talked smack about Republicans and signed a petition supporting the 9/11 conspiracy theory.
Van Jones issued a statement decrying “lies and distortions” and a “smear campaign” that he claimed was waged against him by conservatives even though Jones was forced to apologize in recent days for some past statements, including a speech posted on YouTube in which he called Republicans “assholes.” (Editor’s note: *snicker.)
“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 in his resignation letter. “But I came here to fight for others, not for myself,” Jones added. “I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past.”
Nicknamed the “Green Jobs’ Czar,” Van Jones is the founder of Green For All, an organization that promotes green-collar jobs for the disadvantaged. He also authored the 2008 New York Times best-seller, The Green Collar Economy.
September 7th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Well, it’s too bad he had to go because he sees the situation clearly. Everyone that makes it up that high has to know he must be politically correct and choose his words carefully. It’s really interesting what the right wing distortion machine is making of this. They continue to prove that what he said in answer to the lady is essentially true. All of them also seem to want to prove that the bumper sticker–THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT IS NEITHER–is also essentially true.
September 8th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
I’ve looked up Van Jones and his “activities” since hearing a friend of mine talk critically of him and the Obama administration’s decision to appoint him. He has well-documented principles, his associations are not a secret and he strongly supports his beliefs. None of this was a secret when Obama appointed him and he and his staff knew what they were when appointing him. I think Obama appointed him as a fully reasonable and well-informed agent. Obama knew who Jones was and appointed him because he reflected what he wanted to see happen in the “green jobs” sphere. This being said, I believe it to be sad that Jones feels it necessary to step down as special adviser to the president. I feel that Jones represents explicitly the values that won Obama my vote and he would have been a valuable member of Obama’s team no matter what distractions talk show hosts come up with. I hope that this does not set a precedent for his advisers. I don’t want to see these guys going down without a fight. I want to see them stand up to there detractors and present arguments for their cases, not back down as soon as there is disagreement. I want very much to see the causes I support defended by people I voted for.