(from here.) Cross out ‘standards’ and write in ‘movements’ and you could be talking about progressives. (We are all officially cooperating in terms of goals – but we are competing for attention.) What’s needed is an umbrella grassroots movement. Something that will show the average voter that the values of progressivism are good for America and for all the people in it. Something that can speak to both empathy and enlightened self-interest. A movement with a leader and a spokesperson that can articulate our problems and give us solutions. It may be too early to say. But I think we have that person. We have Van Jones. Here’s why he’s who we need: 
1. Van Jones already has a movement. Look at the cartoon up above, where effort is expended and the problem deepens. This is what happens when someone decides that we need ‘a new progressive movement.’ The intentions are noble, but the results are unpalatable – so we should disabuse people of the notion that we need a new progressive movement, unless it is absolutely necessary. 90% of politics is just showing up. Van Jones has shown up – and he has hitched his wagon to MoveOn, and launched his own movement, Rebuild the Dream. The movement’s infrastructure is in place, and the name is perfectly chosen. Some of us on the left roll our eyes and quote Bill Hicks when the word ‘patriotism’ is invoked, but patriotism is real and the left should do more to reclaim it – to make the case that progressive values are American values, because someone ought to.
2. Van Jones knows the system. You don’t wind up working at the White House if you don’t. I know that the moment the words “knows the system” go up everyone will draw the line from that to the word “sellout,” which is our biggest possible mistake. Regardless of how you feel about the system, knowledge of it is needed. If you treat the system as an ally, you want someone who knows it inside and out. If you treat the system as an enemy… you still want someone who knows it inside and out, because conflicts are resolved in part by anticipating the enemy’s maneuvers and outmaneuvering them. Van Jones has been in the White House and knows the thinking there as best as anyone could. People who think well of the Obama Administration, and there are a great many who do, will hear “Van Jones, ex-Obama Administration member” and have a preconception of him as being on Team Good Guy. 
3. Van Jones got screwed by the system. There are few more salient examples of how the right wing noise machine operates than how they went to work smearing Van Jones. Just thinking about it makes me want to go on the attack, metaphorical dagger in teeth. Never underestimate the power of a martyr, especially one that is still around to remind people he got martyred. Since he is no longer a member of the Obama Administration, people who do not think fondly of the Obama Administration on the left (not as numerous as those who approve, but they’re there) are also likely to come away with a good impression of Van Jones. He walks the activist walk. He didn’t quit and join a bank or become a lobbyist, like too many people in Washington. What this means is that Van Jones brings left-wingers together. That’s precisely what we need. He keeps our ire focused on what matters: the problems we have and the solutions we must bring to bear. I’ve never heard a bad word spoken of Van Jones by anyone whose opinion matters. He has all the best friends and all the right enemies. If you hate Van Jones, you probably fuck turtles. *
4. Van Jones is likeable as hell. Can anyone argue after viewing this that he isn’t?
5. Van Jones knows who the enemy is and goes after them with the focus of a laser. Here’s another video of Cenk Ugyer trying to force a rift between Jones ad the Obama Administration, and Jones is having none of it. Jones’ argument is that regardless of the problem, the solution is the same.
Jones doesn’t do infighting. He’s not about shuffling his feet and going “meh, it’s all bullshit” like too many progressives – hell, too many people, period. There is not a nihilistic blood cell in Van Jones’ body. He went through the worst and came out of it with as much fight as ever. Anyone that can survive that can survive all the forces that will be arrayed against a movement like his, and Van Jones has proven himself strong enough to face them all. So this is my case for informally electing Van Jones as the vanguard of the progressive movement. He’s not shy about the work involved. He knows the obstacles. He is elevated by the quality of his friends and enemies. He has the connections needed to get on mass media outlets, and the charm needed to spread his message. And most importantly, his message is one of solutions and positivism, two things that I think are fundamental to the progressive mindset. While a man is not a movement, we like to focus on the people at the top. It’s just human nature. You can probably name the CEO of Apple far readily than the twelve people that serve below Steve Jobs. For that position, that of progressive spokesman and leader, bringing the message of our ideals and our ideas to people, I want Van Jones to have the job. The best part is that he’s already gone and taken it. He’ll go on doing his deeds with or without this post. No “Draft Van Jones” movement is brewing. No one drafts an eager volunteer. *
We define “probably” to mean “we’re joking, don’t sue us.”
Magic Love Hose is not a professional politician. You can trust him because of in spite of that. He has a website and a Twitter and is 60% sure how to use them.
