How Michelle Obama killed 'green jobs'

Not since the Clinton administration dug up that donor they buried at Arlington has the midnight hour been such a busy time in Washington.

On Saturday night, just before midnight Eastern time, White House 'green jobs' czar Van Jones released a bitter resignation letter. "On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me," he wrote. "They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide."

You don't have to be an enemy of the people to wonder how a man with Van Jones' background and beliefs got himself on the public payroll.

As if it wasn't enough that he described himself as a Communist and signed on to the accusation that President George W. Bush intentionally allowed the 9/11 attacks to happen, Van Jones also is on record supporting Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther now sitting on death row for the murder of a police officer.

"A White House official conceded Sunday that Jones' past statements weren't as thoroughly scrubbed due to his relatively low rank," Politico reported late Sunday night. And then they said this: "Jones' selection also was propelled by powerful patrons, who included the first lady and the vice president."

Yet the Politico report goes on to say Vice President Biden met Van Jones for the first time in February, at an administration-sponsored roundtable. Here's Mr. Jones' account of their meeting:

"I just spoke from my heart and [Biden] looked me right in the eye...It wasn’t like he was taking notes or distracted...And he’s taken those ideas on board and that’s the kind of person he is, he is very down to earth...and I’ve since worked very closely with him and his staff to get a lot of those ideas implemented,” Jones said.

How many people do you suppose Joe Biden has looked "right in the eye," exactly that way, over the course of his phenomenally successful career in politics? It's like a scene right out of "Primary Colors."

Did an experienced politician like Joe Biden see last week's news stories about Van Jones and say, "He's my guy and I'm standing by him?"

America Wants To Know wouldn't bet a lot of money on that.

That leaves the other "powerful patron," first lady Michelle Obama.

Politico reports:

At a commencement address in the spring, first lady Michelle Obama held Jones up as an example to students of people who are doing interesting and innovative work.

"And then there's Van Jones, who recently joined the Obama administration, a special adviser to the president on green jobs. Van started out as a grassroots organizer and became an advocate and a creator of 'green collar' jobs – jobs that are not only good for the environment, but also provide good wages and career advancement for both skilled and unskilled workers," she said.

What exactly are these 'green jobs' that require no skill and pay good wages?

It's a mystery.

"There was little immediate talk of possible successors to Jones," Politico reported, "largely due to the sense he would be difficult to replace in an advisory post designed specifically for him, due to his past work in promoting 'green jobs.'"

Does anything about that strike you as odd?

If the task of creating 'green jobs' is so important, why is there only one person who can do it? And why is that person a former grassroots organizer? Wouldn't you expect the 'green jobs' czar to be a person with a background in science or engineering or energy, or management, or even government?

Back in May, America Wants To Know wrote to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman to complain about the cap-and-trade climate-change legislation, which is designed to raise energy prices in order to force consumers to use less energy. We heard back from Rep. Waxman a month later.

"The American Clean Energy and Security Act will create millions of clean energy jobs," the chairman wrote.

What are these jobs, and why was Van Jones put in charge of creating them?

This is where we need a Chicago-to-English dictionary.

As it happens, America Wants To Know is a former Chicagoan and never throws away a book.

Here it is, on page 472:

Green jobs = Patronage jobs

Of course. Now it all makes sense.

The Democrats had a plan to pass legislation that would make everyone in America pay higher prices for energy. Then the government would take a cut by charging for licenses and permits, funneling some of that cash to the most reliable Democratic constituencies in the form of phony-baloney jobs that "provide good wages and career advancement for both skilled and unskilled workers."

That's why the guy in charge of creating 'green jobs' was a grassroots organizer. He knows who's owed a payoff for registering voters, ringing doorbells, driving people to the polls on Election Day, and getting Democrats elected.

This is not a position that can be filled by a scientist.

This is a job for a corrupt Chicago pol.

They might have gotten away with it, but the Obama administration foolishly entrusted this sensitive post to a flamboyant Californian with a deep love for the camera, and that brought the 'green jobs' scam into the spotlight.

If Michelle Obama is responsible for bringing Van Jones into the administration, the first lady has secured her legacy.

"There's Michelle Obama," Democrats will say when they see her, "She's the one who ruined it for everybody."


Copyright 2009

Editor's note: You might be interested in the earlier post, "What Barack Obama didn't say."

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