Every dog has its day, and over the weekend, the other side picked up a small victory..... or did they.  Due to some poorly chosen words and actions of his past coming back to haunt him, Van Jones was led to resigning from his position with the White House Council on Environmental Quality.  Jones, Obama's charismatic "Green Jobs Czar", submitted his letter of resignation following months of personal attacks where he was called a Nazi, a communist, a racist, a Marxist, and more. 
As the video of him calling Republicans "a**holes", among other things, started picking up steam, and it was apparent there was going to be no support from the White House, Jones resigned and left environmentalists all over the country lamenting the loss as a major blow to green jobs, alternative energy, and other environmental policies. But as David Roberts echoed recently on Grist, Jone's resignation is fairly insignificant, and it's not like we're losing his energy, his integrity, his vision, and his commitment.  "On substantive grounds, the resignation is not that significant," Roberts wrote.  "By all accounts he was frustrated by the difficulty of getting even the smallest things done from the bottom of a massive bureaucracy. Even if he’d had the hidden intentions Beck and his pant-wetting audience attribute to every black liberal, he couldn’t have done anything about it."  Arianna Huffington took it one step further thanking Glenn Beck and others for forcing his resignation, "no longer tied to his desk with a sock in his mouth, Van is now freed to do what he does best: inspire and energize groups around the country."

So as we anticipate the next chapter in Van Jone's career, let's take this Tuesday to look back on his amazing keynote address from the 2009 Power Shift conference. And after the jump, you can view an email sent today from Green For All with advice on how to take this disappointment and turn it into something positive.  

Late last night, Van Jones resigned from his position with the White House Council on Environmental Quality.  Many of us are left with pain and anger after seeing a leader of integrity, vision, and commitment targeted by hateful personal attacks.  Van stepped down in service to our movement. He felt that fighting the attacks would draw attention to him and detract from our mission

Now, our challenge is to turn our disappointment and anger into action and renewed resolve for our common goals.

Like the great social justice movements of the 20th century, our movement for an inclusive green economy is based in the most fundamental American values: equality, justice, and opportunity for all.

That's why our opponents reduced the debate to fear, hatred, and division. They cannot win a debate about values. They cannot win a debate about solutions.

Our allies and friends may be redirected by these attacks, and focus on the rants of those who fear our vision. For Green For All, our struggle must be defined by the issues our opponents refuse to debate: ending global warming; lifting people out of poverty; restoring the economy; and bringing health to our communities. These are the challenges that matter the most.

This moment reaffirms our commitment and makes us more steadfast in pushing for our goals, including a climate bill that delivers on the promise of a clean-energy economy.  We will not be led astray. We will not let our anger cloud our vision.

Instead, it is the time to come together around the values our movement stands for: clean air; healthy communities; good jobs; and opportunity for all. 

Please sign our Petition in support of the Green Jobs Movement.

Then pass it on to 10 friends. Let's use this opportunity to grow in numbers and strength.

In the face of tactics intended to frighten and divide, we must stand strong around our core values and renew our commitment to our shared vision.

Thank you for taking a stand with us.

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins

Chief Executive Officer
Green For All

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