Netroots Go Out with a Green Bang
July 21st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Van Jones, founder of Green For All, brought a much needed breath of fresh air into the stale atmosphere of Austin’s convention center, which contained the hung-over, sparse remains of the Netroots Nation blogger crowd Sunday morning.
“Wake up. And stay up!” Jones commanded the subdued audience upon taking the stage.
More than his jokes or energy, it was his forward-looking message — a challenge to the progressive bloggers to move beyond their like-minded critiques toward positions of action and leadership — that stirred things up.
“You all got a problem, because y’all are about to win,” Jones said. “Now, you have to prove your ideas are good for governing, not just protesting.”
Jones also issued a warning. Using the Carter presidency as an example, he said the Left must be careful about its excitement over the Obama presidency.
“You can probably get him elected, but not reelected,” said Jones. “Not unless we get really smart about his reelection right now.”
A Democratic president and Congress will leave conservatives with nothing to do but run their mouths, at a time when the new leadership will be inheriting a country that’s heading for stagflation, just as when Carter took office, Jones said.
And Jones fears the result will be a right-wing backlash and years of conservative rule, just like after Carter left office.
To beat stagflation, energy prices must come down, Jones said. The conservatives’ solution is drill and burn, and “we are getting our butts whupped by this drill, drill, drill mantra.” This, he says, is because the green movement is and will continue to be a target of conservatives who label it an elitist movement that leaves the working classes behind.
“It is up to us to say ‘this is not a movement we are going to do to poor people, it is a movement we are doing for poor people,’ he said.
The movement is not dependent upon new technology or new policy, but politics, Jones said. To win, green advocates must change the nature of the debate by promoting the positive aspects of energy reform, like job growth, rather than accentuating the negative, like global warming.
Winning also requires action, not just talk about the problem, said Jones—Action like advocating for the Green Jobs Act and Green Block Grant, and participating in the nationwide green jobs mobilization campaign he’s launching September 27.
As the national landscape changes, the role of the blogosphere is changing. And, as the final keynote speaker, Jones told bloggers their future task requires increasing inclusivity. “You can’t save the polar bear without saving the poor children too. It is one movement,” he said.
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:51 pm
This is a very nice article, relaying important news about the comments of Van Jones. Thanks for citing my blog! Best wishes, Jim Bashkin