'Green Jobs' Adviser Van Jones Resigns

[Reba]

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's adviser Van Jones has resigned amid controversy over past inflammatory statements, the White House said early Sunday.

Jones, an administration official specializing in environmentally friendly "green jobs" with the White House Council on Environmental Quality was linked to efforts suggesting a government role in the 2001 terror attacks and to derogatory comments about Republicans.

The resignation comes as Obama is working to regain his footing in the contentious health care debate.

Jones issued an apology on Thursday for his past statements. When asked the next day whether Obama still had confidence in him, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said only that Jones "continues to work in the administration."

The matter surfaced after news reports of a derogatory comment Jones made in the past about Republicans, and separately, of Jones' name appearing on a petition connected to the events surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. That 2004 petition had asked for congressional hearings and other investigations into whether high-level government officials had allowed the attacks to occur.

"On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me," Jones said in his resignation statement. "They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide."

Jones said he has been "inundated with calls from across the political spectrum urging me to stay and fight."

But he said he cannot in good conscience ask his colleagues to spend time and energy defending or explaining his past.

Jones flatly said in an earlier statement that he did not agree with the petition's stand on the 9/11 attacks and that "it certainly does not reflect my views, now or ever."

As for his other comments he made before joining Obama's team, Jones said, "If I have offended anyone with statements I made in the past, I apologize."

Despite his apologies, Republicans demanded Jones quit.

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana said in a statement, "His extremist views and coarse rhetoric have no place in this administration or the public debate." Missouri Sen. Christopher Bonds said Congress should investigate Jones's fitness the job.

FOX News' Glenn Beck repeatedly denounced Jones after a group the adviser co-founded, ColorofChange.org, led an advertising boycott against Beck's show to protest his claim that Obama is a racist.

James Rucker, the organization's executive director, has said Jones had nothing to do with ColorofChange.org now and didn't even know about the campaign before it started.

Jones, well-known in the environmental movement, was a civil-rights activist in California before shifting his attention to environmental and energy issues. He is known for laying out a broad vision of a green economy.

Nancy Sutley chair of the council, said in a statement released early Sunday that she accepts Jones resignation and thanked him for his service.

"Over the last six months, he had been a strong voice for creating jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources," she said. "We appreciate his hard work and wish him the best moving forward."

Obama 'Green Jobs' Adviser Van Jones Resigns Amid Controversy - Political News - FOXNews.com

 

[jillio]

Trippi: GOP trying to turn Obama into another Jimmy Carter
Posted: September 6th, 2009 02:07 PM ET

From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart


Democratic strategist Joe Trippi said Sunday that he did not think Republicans were interested in working with President Obama in a bipartisan manner.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – A prominent Democratic strategist said Sunday that Republicans are trying to turn President Barack Obama’s administration into another “failed presidency” like that of former Democratic president Jimmy Carter.

“They’re going to keep gunning,” Democratic strategist Joe Trippi said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, referring to conservatives’ recent — and ultimately successful efforts — to target Obama’s green jobs adviser Van Jones over controversial comments he made before becoming a part of Obama’s White House team.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time - Blogs from CNN.com

 

[Reba]

Trippi: GOP trying to turn Obama into another Jimmy Carter
Posted: September 6th, 2009 02:07 PM ET

From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart


Democratic strategist Joe Trippi said Sunday that he did not think Republicans were interested in working with President Obama in a bipartisan manner.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – A prominent Democratic strategist said Sunday that Republicans are trying to turn President Barack Obama’s administration into another “failed presidency” like that of former Democratic president Jimmy Carter.

“They’re going to keep gunning,” Democratic strategist Joe Trippi said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, referring to conservatives’ recent — and ultimately successful efforts — to target Obama’s green jobs adviser Van Jones over controversial comments he made before becoming a part of Obama’s White House team.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time - Blogs from CNN.com

If Jones hadn't said and done those things no one would be able to "target" him.

 

[jillio]

If Jones hadn't said and done those things no one would be able to "target" him.

True enough. However, changing one's mind as new information comes to light is seen as a sign of intelligence, not weakness.

 

[Reba]

True enough. However, changing one's mind as new information comes to light is seen as a sign of intelligence, not weakness.

On what did he change his mind? The Truther stuff? The a**holes remark?

 

[sara1981]

updates:

Controversial Obama Adviser Jones Resigns
Controversial Obama Adviser Jones Resigns - CBS News

President Barack Obama's adviser Van Jones has resigned amid controversy over past inflammatory statements, the White House said early Sunday.

Van Jones, an administration official specializing in environmentally friendly "green jobs" with the White House Council on Environmental Quality was linked to efforts suggesting a government role in the 2001 terror attacks and to derogatory comments about Republicans.

The resignation comes as Obama is working to regain his footing in the contentious health care debate.

Jones issued an apology on Thursday for his past statements. When asked the next day whether Obama still had confidence in him, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said only that Jones "continues to work in the administration."

The matter surfaced after news reports of a derogatory comment Jones made in the past about Republicans, and separately, of Jones' name appearing on a petition connected to the events surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. That 2004 petition had asked for congressional hearings and other investigations into whether high-level government officers had allowed the attacks to occur.

"On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me," Jones said in his resignation statement. "They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide."

Jones said he has been "inundated with calls from across the political spectrum urging me to stay and fight."

But he said he cannot in good conscience ask his colleagues to spend time and energy defending or explaining his past.

Jones flatly said in an earlier statement that he did not agree with the petition's stand on the 9/11 attacks and that "it certainly does not reflect my views, now or ever."

As for his other comments he made before joining Obama's team, Jones said, "If I have offended anyone with statements I made in the past, I apologize."

His apologies did little to quiet Republican demands that the resign.

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana called for Jones to quit, saying in a statement, "His extremist views and coarse rhetoric have no place in this administration or the public debate."

Missouri Sen. Christopher Bonds urged Congress to investigate Jones's fitness for his White House position.

Nancy Sutley chair of the council, said in a statement released early Sunday that she accepts Jones resignation and thanked him for his service.

"Over the last six months, he had been a strong voice for creating jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources," she said. "We appreciate his hard work and wish him the best moving forward."

Here is teh text of Jones' resignation statement sent to Chair Nancy Sutley:

"I am resigning my post at the Council on Environmental Quality, effective today.

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

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.

It has been a great honor to serve my country and my President in this capacity. I thank everyone who has offered support and encouragement. I am proud to have been able to make a contribution to the clean energy future. I will continue to do so, in the months and years ahead.”

 

[sara1981]

updates:

Obama did not order Van Jones' resignation, adviser says
Obama did not order Van Jones' resignation, adviser says - CNN.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The resignation of Obama administration figure Van Jones, following controversies over a petition he had signed and his comments about Republicans, did not come at the request of the president, the White House senior adviser said Sunday.

"Absolutely not -- this was Van Jones' own decision," David Axelrod told NBC's "Meet the Press" when asked if the president had ordered the resignation.

The chairman of the House Republican Conference, Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, had called for Jones to resign or be fired.

"I think Van Jones did the right thing," Pence said Sunday about the resignation. "His extremist views and coarse rhetoric have no place in this administration."

Jones has frequently been dubbed a "green-jobs czar" for the administration.

"The president should suspend any future appointment of so called czars while the administration and the Congress carefully examines the background and qualifications of the more than 30 individuals who've been appointed to these czar positions," said Pence, speaking to reporters. "And the Congress ought to initiate a thorough inquiry into the constitutionality of this practice which has spanned Republican and Democrat administrations."

In a statement Saturday night, the White House said Jones was giving up his post at the Council on Environmental Quality, where he helped coordinate government agencies focused on delivering millions of green jobs to the ailing U.S. economy.

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

Adding that he came to Washington to "fight for others, not for myself," Jones said in the statement, "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."

The decision followed an uproar over a petition Jones signed in 2004 calling for an investigation into whether government officials deliberately allowed the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to occur.

In a statement last week, Jones said of the petition on the Web site 911truth.org: "I do not agree with this statement and it certainly does not reflect my views now or ever."

An administration source said last week that Jones had not carefully reviewed the language in the petition before signing.

Jones has also come under fire for comments he made, also before his White House job, including those in a video that can be seen on YouTube. In it, he uses a vulgar expression to describe Republicans. Watch what Jones called Republicans »

In 2005, Jones was quoted in the East Bay Express as describing the impact that the acquittals in the police beating case of Rodney King in 1992 had on him. "By August, I was a Communist," he says in the article, describing his sense of radicalization at the time.

In his statement last week, Jones said, "If I have offended anyone with statements I made in the past, I apologize."

One of the most prominent conservative voices condemning Jones in recent days has been FOX TV host Glenn Beck.

Jones is a co-founder of colorofchange.org, a group that recently has been pressing advertisers to boycott Beck's program after Beck called Obama a racist.

Colorofchange.org lists Jones as "inactive." He has not been involved with the group's recent efforts.

Though the controversies have taken center stage, Jones was previously known primarily for his environmental work. In May, he won the praise of former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, a Republican candidate for governor in California.

"I am a big fan. He's done a marvelous job," she says in a video on the San Francisco Chronicle's Web site.

Whitman now says she did not know Jones well and that he holds views she rejects.

Axelrod said Jones "is internationally known as an advocate for green jobs and that's the basis on which he was hired." He stepped down so that his previous comments would not distract from critical issues the administration is dealing with, and "I commend him for making that decision," Axelrod added.

Asked whether Jones was the victim of a smear campaign, Axelrod did not say either way, but did say "the political environment is rough, and so, you know, these things get magnified."

On ABC's "This Week," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama does not endorse the controversial actions by Van Jones from before he joined the administration, but added that Obama thanks Jones "for his service to the country."

Last week, when asked whether Obama still had confidence in Jones, Gibbs would only say that Jones continued to work for the administration. The response was considered a signal that Jones might have to step down.

 

[darkdog]

Wow, it's almost as if our concerns about Obama's radical nutjob associates are being vindicated right in front of our eyes. The fact that this freak had control over $30 billion of our money without having to go through the scrutiny of the Senate is disturbing.

Next target: Oh, so many freaks to pick. How about, oh... Mark Lloyd, the "Chief Diversity Czar" who praised Chavez's "incredible revolution" and thinks freedom of speech is a distraction from other communication policies.

 

[kokonut]

Wow, it's almost as if our concerns about Obama's radical nutjob associates are being vindicated right in front of our eyes. The fact that this freak had control over $30 billion of our money without having to go through the scrutiny of the Senate is disturbing.

Next target: Oh, so many freaks to pick. How about, oh... Mark Lloyd, the "Chief Diversity Czar" who praised Chavez's "incredible revolution" and thinks freedom of speech is a distraction from other communication policies.

Obama is setting a dangerous and reckless precedence. Which is why H.R. 3226 bill is being introduced requiring that these positions need to be confirmed and vetted by the Senate.

"Czar Accountability and Reform (CZAR) Act of 2009''.

http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cg...ISdocID=27404725635+2+1+0&WAISaction=retrieve

 

[kokonut]

This is the exact kind of lack of oversight and accountability seen in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debacle that led to a major economic downfall. Obama is intent on making this govt bigger, more convoluted, and increasingly hard if not impossible to follow and hold people accountable.

 

[jillio]

Bill referred to was introduced 7/15 and has been lying stagnant ever since. No doubt it will stay there.