20 Apr 2012 Conservative Think-Tank Criticizes Soros-Funded Organization for Promoting Van Jones’ New Book “Rebuild the Dream”

Center for American Progress to Host Event for Disgraced Former Obama Administration Green Jobs Czar Van Jones

Washington, D.C. – Obama Administration castoff Van Jones will be feted by the George Soros-funded pressure group Center for American Progress on Friday, April 20 at 10 AM Eastern in an event that policy experts at the nonpartisan National Center for Public Policy Research are calling “an anti-free-market extravaganza.”

Jones, a community organizer and “9-11 truther” who served as President Barack Obama’s “Green Jobs” Czar until revelations about his radical past led to a dramatic Saturday night resignation in 2009, will be promoting his new book at the Center for American Progress headquarters Friday at 10:00 AM.

“It is not surprising to see a far-left group such as the Center for American Progress promote a far-left luminary such as Van Jones,” said National Center General Counsel Justin Danhof. “What is surprising is why such an event doesn’t draw more skepticism. The Center for American Progress and Color of Change, a group founded by Jones, are engaged in an effort to strip anti-fraud protection at our polling places or to stop ballot integrity measures before they can be enacted. This event should be overflowing with reporters and civil rights leaders demanding to know why Jones and the Center for American Progress seemingly want to make it as easy as possible for others to steal votes.”

The Color of Change recently pressured several corporations to discontinue their financial support of ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council), a think-tank that promoted voter ID laws at the state level. This led ALEC, which also works on issues including education and economic policy, to discontinue its work on behalf of ballot integrity.

On Wednesday, the National Center announced a new “Voter Identification Task Force” to continue ALEC’s noble work. The task force will provide an accurate, reasoned counter to the slanderous fear-mongering produced by far-left groups that falsely accuse conservatives of trying to suppress minority voting.

The National Center has also been monitoring both Color of Change and the Center for American Progress since long before the Voter ID issue heated up.

“At the National Center’s GroupSnoop.org website, there are extensive profiles of the Center for American Progress and Color of Change,” said Danhof. “Both groups have extensive ties to the Obama Administration, and they work to promote radical left-wing agendas. The Center for American Progress has received funding from George Soros and is staffed by many former Clinton Administration personnel. Our Color of Change profile notes that Van Jones has a checkered past and has recently made a career out of making salacious and unsubstantiated claims about conservatives.

“Jones first came to prominence in the wake of the Rodney King riots. Later, he was eased out of his position in the Obama Administration after he publicly called Republicans ‘assholes,’ and it was revealed that he had signed a ‘truther’ petition that claimed George W. Bush knew of the 9-11 terrorist attacks in advance, worked with the Marxist group Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement and done advocacy work for convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal,” said Danhof.

Jones left the White House in shame, and the Administration admitted he was never properly vetted. Despite his inflammatory past, Jones immediately was offered a job at the Center for American Progress, where he is still listed as senior fellow.

-30-