Obama adviser Van Jones resigns - 09-06-09

Obama adviser Van Jones resigns amid controversy - Sept. 06, 2009 -

WASHINGTON 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."

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• Jones
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• 09
• 06
• 2009

[ataurus62]

What's with this "Czar" shit anyway?

[Oktoberfesting]

Van Jones is a self avowed Communist. watch?v=RXd3nZhlJNU . watch?v=LzQb42A1Nqs The next few decades will determine whether the Human Species is a locust species that will scour this planet to the bones…” . “Need change on a revolutionary scale to survive as a species.” . watch?v=bgKr480RYc4. Obama's Former Green Jobs Czar and Communist, Van Jones Admits Left is 'PRETENDING' Need for Regulations in Green Movement

[GovernmentSham912]

This guy was not vetted properly

We let gay prostitues, former communists, and party crashers into the white house

Obama could have been harmed.

[realisoph]

@EnoughTalkin

Dunno what you know or think... but Greece is being sold out by it's president-with-special-interes­ts. If only they were the first to spit in the face of that hallucination called "national debt".

[EnoughTalkin]

@realisoph

Idiot America was built off of capitalism NOT socialism.

Move to Greece and bask in the glory of socialism.

[realisoph]

@adamkir1

Capitalism is stupid because ever since it has been established it is based on two fundamentally fucked up things:

- private money creation

- (compound) interest

There just is no way to have democracy if at the same time you allow private/corporate money creation via debt/credit cycles.

If you don't want people to systematically lose out on others, no matter what their goods and services, you just can't allow for an exponential function to rule the market place!

[adamkir1]

Why because you don't want to earn your own? Forced redistribution of money, my tax money, Americans tax money is good? Get a job you filthy socialist windbag. Americans work for what they get. They don't want handouts only the lowlife scums do.

[CheBrigade]

van once criticized me for being too radical. he did all he could to appease market administrators and look what he got. doesnt matter if ur a radical or not huh van? they (and obama)will throw ur black azz under the imperialist bus!

take that stupid suit off bruh!

revolution is the only solution!!

[realisoph]

I don't care what you think about communism, but I know for sure that capitalism is plain stupid.

[ScottBrown666]

She only fucks anarchists.