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Ear to the Ground

Obama’s Green Jobs Adviser Gives In to the Smears

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Posted on Sep 6, 2009
Van Jones
earthfirst.com

Before joining the Obama administration, Jones had won praise as a tireless advocate for disadvantaged people and the environment. His unique perspective is now gone from the White House.

It looks as if the insanely organized smear campaign against Van Jones has finally worked. Jones, President Obama’s special adviser for green jobs, resigned Saturday after being viciously attacked for his past civil rights activism and for signing a petition that questioned U.S. involvement in 9/11. —J.C.

The Washington Post:

“On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me,” Jones, special adviser for green jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said in a statement announcing his resignation just after midnight Sunday. “They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide.”

He continued: “I have 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.”

Jones issued two public apologies in recent days, one for signing a petition that questioned whether Bush administration officials “may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war” and the other for using a crude term to describe Republicans in a speech he gave before joining the administration.

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By KDelphi, September 7, 2009 at 8:04 pm Link to this comment

Starting with Rev Wright, and continuing, (Rev Perry, Clinton, Summers, Geithner, Salazar, on and on , literally ad nauseum)the Obama Administration gives the Left the finger everyday. Or Has Emanuel do it.

I am wary of the “Green Jobs” idea, but, hell, he could have been there to do alot more than that. Guess he was too liberal for Obama.

Hilda Solis has been “tamed” also.

You tow the line or dont let the door hit you in the ass with Obama, it seems.

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PatrickHenry's avatar

By PatrickHenry, September 7, 2009 at 4:50 pm Link to this comment

By jack, September 7 at 3:32 pm #

Wow, you made a very good anology about the Anthrax and the veiled threat of its use against those who would wish to investigate 9/11 and all the roads leading to and from that tragic event.

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By Folktruther, September 7, 2009 at 11:38 am Link to this comment

Elements of the Bushite Adminisration were most likely complicit in the 9/11-anthrax public relations mass murder, and used it to kickstart the War on Terrorism.  This hs been an historical disaster.  Obama was elected, on CHange You Can Beleive In, to change Bushite poliices.

Instead, he and the Dems are continuing them.  But he cannot sell out the American people with any kind of militance in his Administration.  Especially someone who wants a new investigation of 9/11, when the 9/11 truthers have uncovered so many loose ends that incriminate the US power system.  Especially the Gop assholes.  So Obama has done his thing to tamp down any Dem rebellion.  Leading the US down the road to barbarism with his inspiring rhetoric, charming family, and Dem bullshit.

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Tony Wicher's avatar

By Tony Wicher, September 7, 2009 at 9:56 am Link to this comment

RE PatrickHenry, September 7 at 11:17 am #
“I’m glad 9/11 keeps presenting itself it the most
unusual ways.  Don’t expect major media to cover it
for any length of time.”

PH,

In fact, the 9-11 truth movement thanks Fox News for
breaking the blackout on the movement in the
mainstream media. They used it as a club against
Obama, but in the process they moved both Jones and
Obama a little closer to us, and us a little closer
to the mainstream, which is where we need to be.

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Night-Gaunt's avatar

By Night-Gaunt, September 7, 2009 at 9:43 am Link to this comment

Don’t forget that Clinton is a right winger and was a “flunky” for the PTB too. So that wasn’t an improvement. I was disappointed that Glenn Beck and those that support him and the reich wing president just let him go. Van Jones should have just told his detractors to “shove it” and do the business of the People. As for calling Republicans “assholes” well Cheney did much worse didn’t he?

Van Jones was one of the few anomalies in the Obama administration that could have made our proto-fascist empire to-be a little greener. Now what will he do?

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By Salih Eser, September 7, 2009 at 9:40 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

9/11 failure
latest victim of 9/11 Mr. Jones resignation proved one more time politics have always been above everything. In fact, if we look back with a open mind alot of questions have been unanswered.
9/11 is proof of the biggest failure ever after Pearl Harbor, which raises alot of questions. What went wrong and why? Have we failed not to see what is about to happen? Prior to 9/11 was there any ignorance and or failure and by whom? There was plenty of it. Usually before any event there have always been warnings. Was their any warning that 9/11 was about to happen and was this warning taking seriously? If it was taken seriously and what steps was taken by the intelligence community and the Government? Even though intelligence was there, had it been communicated to the proper government office and what did Government do with this intelligence, was it ignored or not taken seriously and why? The only way to get to the bottom of it will require intelligence communities to come out and lay down all the facts and if it was any failure on their part, it should be made public. If I remember correctly ex CIA agent Mr. CLARK made a stunning statement “Has your government let you down? What motivated him to say that and why no one asked further questions regarding that statement? Is it because everybody is afraid the truth? In conclusion, 9/11 victims and families not only deserve but must be told the truth. For them nothing can be more compensating than anything else. Also, if we are living in a country that claims to be just and stand for the truth then we have to prove it to ourselves by getting to the bottom of this question, What went wrong and why?

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By Tony Wicher, September 7, 2009 at 9:13 am Link to this comment

By Russian Paul, September 6 at 3:02 pm #
We already knew Obama has no balls, but if THIS measly
smear campaign was all it took, that is really
disheartening.

        x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Imagine, I thought Obama was going to be a Clinton with
some principles. Instead he turns out to be a complete
wuss with even less principles than Clinton. So far, at
least.

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Tony Wicher's avatar

By Tony Wicher, September 7, 2009 at 9:01 am Link to this comment

RE PatrickHenry, September 7 at 11:17 am #
“Given the significant amount of information now
availible which was not included in the initial
inquest, a reinvestigation is warranted for 9/11.”

          x x x x x x x x x x x

PH,

You bet it is. The discovery of the nanothermite in
the WTC dust is the absolute nail in the coffin. If
the truth of this does not come out, the United
States is finished as a country.

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By jack, September 7, 2009 at 8:32 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Of course the petty useful fools on the so-called Right had to grandstand this - red meat rots fast, tear into it fresh - as for 9/11, he’d have been shut up forever, same way most of Congress was done, with a single phone call: “You know we’ve yet to solve the Anthrax case and we’re not certain we can guarantee your family’s safety. Would be wise to never again question 9/11.”

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PatrickHenry's avatar

By PatrickHenry, September 7, 2009 at 8:17 am Link to this comment

I’m glad 9/11 keeps presenting itself it the most unusual ways.  Don’t expect major media to cover it for any length of time.

We can’t have a presidential appointee questioning the validity of the governments story on 9/11 in close proximity to the president.

Given the significant amount of information now availible which was not included in the initial inquest, a reinvestigation is warranted for 9/11.

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By Miguel, September 7, 2009 at 7:58 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

....later days comrade….take obama with you out the door too….

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Fat Freddy's avatar

By Fat Freddy, September 7, 2009 at 7:49 am Link to this comment

We’re at the point where getting qualified people to fill appointed positions is nearly impossible. Although, the “Republicans are assholes” comment probably would have interfered with his ability to properly don his job, since he would undoubtedly have had to deal with Republicans.

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By Diane, September 7, 2009 at 12:45 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

If the so-called progressive media was doing it’s job by reporting on the growing volume of evidence that the government’s theory that 18 guys with box cutters CONSPIRED to attack the US is a lie…. then the public would understand Jones was just stating the obvious.

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Tony Wicher's avatar

By Tony Wicher, September 7, 2009 at 12:35 am Link to this comment

You can bet that the 9-11 truth movement is contacting
Jones as we speak.

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By wanked, September 6, 2009 at 10:10 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I’m sure rahm had a lot to do with Mr. Jones’s sudden departure. They’re just using beck as an excuse to remove a corporate foe. Gots to keep the coffers full now dont we barry. Hope? Nope. Change? Not for the better,,,

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By herewegoagain, September 6, 2009 at 7:12 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

And to think that all Obama had to say was, “Let’s see, Republican legislatures are questioning my birth certificate, calling for other Republicans to ‘slit their wrists and be blood brothers,’ accusing me of wanting to kill their grandma, and urging citizens not to fill out the US census. I think we’re even. Mr. Jones will be staying on in my administration.”

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By libhomo, September 6, 2009 at 5:20 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

People should see the big oil/coal puppet strings controlling Jones’ critics.

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By Paracelsus, September 6, 2009 at 3:56 pm Link to this comment

I wish that Van Jones could have stayed on, although I am suspicious of the green jobs agenda in regard to “global warming”. I am a skeptic in regard to anthropogenic climate change. But I do see that liquid fuels are becoming more scarce, and developing alternatives would be helpful. As to 9-11, we need a real investigation as the collapse of three buildings in NY do look like controlled demolitions.

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By stcfarms, September 6, 2009 at 3:13 pm Link to this comment

Jones can do more good outside the government than he can trying to cut
through the red tape in Washington. Since his boss is a paid flunky for the
powers that be and the energy companies I think he made the right choice. If
he needs a job I will hire him.

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By chris, September 6, 2009 at 1:32 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I can’t believe he resigned. No body is perfect but you have to have a real tough skin to be in politics.

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Russian Paul's avatar

By Russian Paul, September 6, 2009 at 12:25 pm Link to this comment

Apparently, the man who led this smear campaign against Jones is Rep. Mike
Pence, who took in thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Erik
Prince. As Scahill succintly puts it, “Should Pence resign for cavorting with and
accepting campaign cash from a man who allegedly ‘views himself as a Christian
crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe,’ in
the words of a former employee?”


http://rebelreports.com/

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By Russian Paul, September 6, 2009 at 12:02 pm Link to this comment

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.

WTF? Just deny it and move on like a normal politician, it doesn’t take any time or
effort. This is just another example of Obama rolling over and doing whatever he
is told. We already knew Obama has no balls, but if THIS measly smear campaign
was all it took, that is really disheartening.

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By M. Martin, September 6, 2009 at 11:22 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

The real story here, that almost no one seems to be noticing, is that the hyperbolic mis-characterizations of Jone’s past involvements—particularly the gross misstatements about the 9/11 truth petition—have gone completely uncorrected and without comment.

Van Jones should singularly poor judgment in letting himself and the administration get backed into this corner—but that neither excuses the witch hunt that Fox News successfully pursued against him, or the Obama administration’s absolute willingness to serve as accomplices after the fact to *whatever* actually happened while Dick Cheney was running the country (not that we will ever know what that was)...

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