Cargo Cult Watch: Van Jones’ ‘American Dream Movement.’

Imitation is, as always, the sincerest form of flattery… but I must ask: is it really too much to require that the flatterer at least try to understand what he or she is attempting to imitate?  Even if it’s just a little?

Case in point.  9/11 Troofer and general Leftist Van Jones would like to start his own version of the Tea Party – and there’s three things wrong with that plan from the start:

  1. Van Jones would like to start his own version of the Tea Party. The Left still doesn’t get that you can’t get a general populist movement started by a generalissimo.  Take it over?  Sure.  Start it?  Nope.
  2. Van Jones would like to start his own version of the Tea Party.  The Left still also doesn’t get that there’s absolutely nothing stopping them from going to existing Tea Party groups and making their case that those groups should adopt the causes that the Left likes.  There’s quite a bit stopping the Left from succeeding, mind you – but that’s a different issue; the point is that as long as the Left keeps telling themselves that the other guys are somehow not authentic, the Left is going to keep messing up their imitations*.
  3. Van Jones would like to start his own version of the Tea Party.  With a media roll-out and focus groups drawing from economists (who are representatives of one quarter of the people who got us into this mess in the first place) and activists (the second quarter) to try to turn the whole thing into a set of requirements for Democratic politicians (the third) to ignore**.  Trust a Leftist to put the cart before the horse: you don’t start with media attention, you make them give it to you.  “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win?” – Geez, did I really have to write out that quote?

Continue reading Cargo Cult Watch: Van Jones’ ‘American Dream Movement.’