Oakland Activist Turned Obama Czar Feels Glenn Beck's Love
Group calls for Van Hunt's removal
Updated 1:26 PM EST, Sat, Sep 5, 2009
A right wing attack on the White House's green jobs adviser may be a lesson in Karma.
Van Jones, a former Oakland eco-activist and the current special adviser for green jobs for President Barack Obama, is under attack for his views on 9/11 and Republicans.
Talk show host and conservative pundit Glenn Beck is leading the charge for Jones removal from his position in the president's administration for signing a 2004 petition questioning whether former President George W. Bush deliberatly allowed the 9/11 attacks to happen.
The petition from 911Truth.org questions whether Bush administration officials ignored warnings about the attacks in order to use them as a possible pretext for war. Several high profile activists, politicians and celebrities have signed the petition.
The surge against Jones picked up further steam when a video of him calling Republicans an expletive in a February speech surfaced on YouTube.
A group of activists called DefendGlenn.com posted the video. The group was formed after an Oakland-based non-profit organization, founded by Jones, led a boycott of Glenn's show for calling President Obama a racist.
Color of Change played a pivotal role in convincing companies such as AT&T and Campbell's Soup from advertising on Beck's show because of his comments.
Jones issued a statement on Thursday saying he regretted signing the petition and in an earlier statement he said his description of Republicans was "clearly inappropriate." When asked about Jones, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said he "continues to work in the administration."
The apology did not stop Jones from becoming food for further Republican fodder. On Friday California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve conservatived a quote from fellow consevative candidate Meg Whitman about Jones to launch a Love Boat parody.
First Published: Sep 4, 2009 3:08 PM EST
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