The White House has lost Van Jones, the Green Jobs Czar, sacrificed at the alter of the 24 hour news beast. I'm not going to wade into the controversy about Jones. You can find out more about that at other sources. I am extremely disapointed that we are losing a person who knows more about green job creation and community development than 99% of the rest of the country. On this subject, there are few, if any stronger than Van Jones. The question is - what will the Obama Adminstration do now?
Obviously, health care seems to be the top priority right now. But climate change is not going away, and there is a huge green energy/green jobs/climate bill still working its way through the Senate. The White House needs a point person on this issue. There must be somebody to focus the power of the White House bully pulpit on passing the bill. There needs to be somebody with Van Jone's weight in the progressive community to rally the grassroots. I don't know who the right person is, but I know that we need somebody and we need them now. President Obama should work with all due haste to fill these enormous shoes. The damage of delay will be immense. It will not only be a huge blow for a greener economy, but will also hurt Obama politically. He needs to show strength by appointing another fire-breating, take-no-prisoners, unapologetic green jobs warrior to take the batton from Mr. Jones. The climate cannot wait.
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