Amy Goodman: Van Jones and the Boycott of Glenn Beck

[marmar]

from Truthdig:



Van Jones and the Boycott of Glenn Beck

Posted on Sep 8, 2009
By Amy Goodman


Glenn Beck was mad. He’s the right-wing talk radio host who has a television program on the Fox News Channel. Advertisers were fleeing his Fox program en masse after the civil rights group Color of Change mounted a campaign urging advertisers to boycott Beck, who labeled President Barack Obama a “racist.” As the campaign progressed, Beck began his attacks against Van Jones. Jones was appointed by Obama in March to be special adviser for green jobs. He co-founded Color of Change four years ago. After weeks of attacks from Beck, Jones resigned his position at the White House last Sunday.

Beck said on “Fox & Friends,” the network’s morning show, July 28: “This president I think has exposed himself as a guy over and over and over again who has a deep-seated hatred for white people. ... This guy is, I believe, a racist.” This inspired colorofchange.org to launch its campaign urging advertisers to drop their sponsorship of Beck’s Fox program. The campaign had a powerful impact, with companies like Progressive Insurance, Geico and Procter & Gamble immediately pulling their advertising. Since then, more than 50 companies have joined, including Best Buy, Capital One, CVS, Discover, GMAC Financial Services, HSBC, Mercedes-Benz, Travelocity and Wal-Mart.

Van Jones was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world for 2009. His book, “The Green Collar Economy,” was a national best-seller. A Yale Law School graduate, Jones didn’t go after the lucrative jobs that were available to him, but moved to San Francisco, where he founded Bay Area PoliceWatch, a hot line for victims of alleged police brutality. He then founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, based in Oakland, Calif., “a strategy and action center working for justice, opportunity and peace in urban America.” The center thrived, growing to a staff of more than 20 and building a solid record of fighting police violence and youth incarceration, along with spearheading green-job initiatives. The fusion of racial justice and economic and environmental sustainability is at the core of Jones’ work.

Jones told me last October: “The clean energy revolution ... would put literally millions of people to work, putting up solar panels all across the United States, weatherizing buildings so they don’t leak so much energy ... you could put Detroit back to work not making SUVs to destroy the world, but making wind turbines. We think that you can fight pollution and poverty at the same time.” ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090908_van_jones_and_the_boycott_of_beck/

[marmar]

1. Kick for Amy!!!!

:kick:

[jtrockville]

3. Yes... if only she had the popularity of that icky Glenn Beck.

[Nikki Stone1]

2. This was spite on Beck's part, and cowardice on Obama's

Sorry, but you stand by your people.

[marshall]

4. All those who are tuning in to watch Beck need to stop

His ratings are soaring--no doubt because many on the other side of the spectrum are tuning in to either gape at his wild eyed ravings or take note of his advertising. It needs to stop--just say no. Don't give him anymore airtime.

[gblady]

6. I totally agree....

this place seems to relish in ranting against what it doesn't like
spending enormous time and energy paying attention to what it opposes.

[samsingh]

5. beck is dangerous

[Danascot]

7. Giving in to the Glenn Becks just empowers them

With the Van Jones victory under their belts don't Obama's people understand that the right wingnuts already have a list of more "soft" targets in the administration that they can go after? You can't give in to crap like that.