Van Jones: The Right's Tribute

[alp227]

"We have to understand. We have other patriots who love our country who have other ideas about how to solve our problems... We're patriots; they're patriots too."

That was my friend Van Jones, speaking about the Tea Party at the Summit on Jobs and America's Future in Washington last week. His analysis of the Tea Party was insightful, generous, and focused on the debate on values and ideas that has to be waged across America. He disagreed with the Tea Party, but he did not disparage them.

Contrast that to the right-wing smear merchants that have gone into high gear to slime Van Jones. Jones has been a favorite target of Glenn Beck, Andrew Breitbart and many castigators on the right for over a year now. The most recent ad hominem slur from Breitbart was characteristically beyond the pale.

Van Jones is an extraordinary leader, so it isn't surprising that the right has targeted him. They didn't propagate the lies about Obama's birth because he lost; they propagated them because he won big and had to be brought down. They didn't target ACORN because it was ineffective; they targeted it because it was the most effective organization registering and getting out the vote of minorities that increasingly feel locked out of the Republican Party. They don't target Planned Parenthood because it is extreme; they target it because it provides essential and popular family planning services that they bitterly oppose.

Full story: http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011031225/van-jones-rights-tribute

[Doctor_J]

1. Very bad tactics to offer tolerance and priase to those who want to destroy you

A big reason why we're under the fascists' thumb right now.

[KoKo]

2. agree....like we "Fucking Retards" were tossed out. Van Jones is

too apologetic to those who trashed him. Just my humble opinion, though.

[MasonJar]

3. I am afraid I think certain types of patriotism can bring a country down.

I think back on the Russian Revolution, where the leaders, including revolutionary member Joseph Stalin, killed 40 million of their own people, especially targeting the intelligensia. Those were allegedly people looking for a better world, at least initially. They just didn't want anyone who disagreed with them to share it. And what better patriot than Adolph Hitler? He loved the Aryan people and the Ayran nation.

[yurbud]

4. who was it that said you are free to say whatever you want so long as no one hears you OR no one...

takes you seriously.

Once you reach the level of being heard, the GOP gets to work on making sure that no one takes you seriously.

I hadn't watched the Dean Scream in context until just recently, and while it was slightly goofy, it wasn't worth more than a passing chuckle from a newscaster--not 24/7 replay until the guy was drummed out of the presidential race.

At least it's an improvement over literally assassinating people instead of just their character.