Jane Hamsher, of whom I happen to think is one of the better looking liberals out there —- can be accused of being many things, but a coward is not one of them.
Putting it point blank, the broad has got gonads. Big, Twelve Pound Gonads; For writing something like this right here:
Wow, is that a way to encourage your team or what.
If these groups, if these liberal leaders, let Jones just hang there while Glenn Beck pounds his chest and celebrates the scalp, we have no liberal institutions. What we have are a bunch of neoliberal enablers who have found a nice comfortable place in the DC establishment that they don’t want to jeopardize, a place on the new K-Street gravy train that they don’t want to lose. Dropping Van Jones from their rolodex is a small price to pay.
If there is going to be a serious progressive movement in this country capable of standing up for health care against an industry that spends $1.4 million a day on lobbying, we can’t just look to the members of the Progressive Caucus and say “hey, you, get something done.” They need cover. They need to know that they will be supported. And people like Van Jones who have given their lives to causes we say we value like prison reform and environmental advocacy need to know that they will be defended, and not handed over to Glenn Beck as an acceptable casualty in the battle for K-Street dollars.
So to all you liberal organizations in the “veal pen” — this is your moment of truth. I get all your emails. And the next Common Purpose meeting is probably on Tuesday. If you can’t get it together to at least put out a statement of support for Van Jones and condemn the White House for using him as a sacrificial lamb to right wing extremists that will devour us all if left unchecked, it’s time to add “proudly liberal only when it doesn’t matter” to your logo and be done with it.
Me and Jane Hamsher most likely agree on politics about as much as Marilyn Murray O’Hair and Billy Graham did on the Gospel of Jesus Christ —- But it is quite refreshing to see someone, especially someone within the ranks of liberals, standing up to the beltway crowd and telling it exactly like it is about them.
Another Blogger who’s about as mean and possibly about as damn ugly as I am; Dennis the Peasant weighs in:
Jane sees this in terms of a good, old-fashioned sell-out. I don’t, although I admire her honesty in calling it as she sees it. The bottom line, I think, is this: A couple of months ago Van Jones was cool. Now he’s not.
Let’s face it, every liberal worth his or her salt wants a radical negro friend. You know, the hint of danger and all that… The suggestion that one is risking something and taking a stand. It’s the sort of thing that scores points at cocktail parties.
What Jane’s forgotten is this: It’s important to remember that suburban Marxists are just that… suburbanMarxists. They are never to be relied upon because they are fundamentally unserious. These are people who spend their lives pretending to have a cause. Wanting Van Jones around was never about Van Jones, it was about them.
Van Jones was the political equivalent of a Toyota Prius: You don’t buy a Prius because you’re serious about saving the planet, you buy a Prius because of what you think it will say about you. A Prius gives you permission to feel you’re superior to others without actually having done anything.
So it was with Van Jones. He was in. He was cool. And people wanted to be around him. Not because he’d done good things in prison reform or environmentalism. And certainly not because of their affinity for his politics. No they wanted to be around him because, like that Prius, Van Jones was a liberal fashion statement…
Look at Me! I know a radical negro! Aren’t I cool?
Now Van Jones isn’t cool. He carries baggage that could be embarrassing – or even vaguely threatening – to your average suburban Marxist. So he’s gone… Soon to be replaced with someone – or something – else. Fashion is, after all, fashion. It was never meant to be permanent.
Is it any wonder Van Jones went down without a sound?
See what I mean about the mean and ugly thing? 😮 However, He does have point. Van Jones was a means to an end. Now that he is damaged goods, nobody wants to touch him. But then again, that is how the Democrats have done things like this for years. They use people; Poor people, Black People, Gay people and so on. It’s called pandering for votes. Something liberal Democrats have done for years.
So, Jane, if you happen to read this —- Kudo’s to you. 😀 From a FORMER Blue Dog/Reagan Democrat turned Conservative. 🙂