Van Jones

Back when it looked like Hillary Clinton was a shoe-in for the Democratic nomination, I urged the formation of Monica Lewinsky Democratic Clubs in every corner of the nation, in the hope that she – and other Clintonites – would be shamed into oblivion. Needless to say, that plan fell on deaf ears. Now, in an equally vain effort to impede the rightward drift of the Obama administration, I urge the formation of Van Jones Democratic Clubs. Jones was, after all, one of the very few Obama appointees who told it like it was (“Republicans are assholes”) and who comes out of a genuinely left-wing background. To his honor, he was “outed” by Fox News – with the imbecilic Glen Beck leading the charge. It should come as no surprise that Barack Obama acquiesced. This has always been how he deals with those who speak inconvenient truths -- Jeremiah Wright, for example.

In a posting this morning, AlterNet’s executive director, Don Hazen, claims that Jones’s resignation (firing) is actually a good thing for “progressives”; that he can do more good outside the administration than buried within it. But how seriously can one take the judgment of someone who, in contrasting Jones with other potential leaders of a movement to put the Obama administration back on the road to “change,” groups together Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, Bill Moyers and Robert Reich; someone, moreover, who, just a month ago, urged AlterNet readers to thank Bill Clinton for all the “good” he has done by sending him warm greetings on his birthday?

No, AlterNet – Jones’ firing is yet another victory for the vilest and most obstreperous sector of the corporate media; and, as such, another sad consequence of Democratic pusillanimity and “bipartisanship.” I’ve long maintained that a Clintonized Democratic Party is beyond redemption but, just in case I’m wrong about that, Van Jones Democratic Clubs might be just the answer!