The Nation‘s Ari Melber talks with Aimee Allison of KPFA Radio and Laura Flanders on GritTV about the resignation of Van Jones and what it means for the larger political atmosphere. Melber notes that Jones was largely the victim of a manufactured media firestorm by Fox News host Glenn Beck and others, and Allison points out that the targets thus far have been mostly African-American. Melber says that the administation and the Democratic party did little to stand up for Jones, and Allison and Flanders both note that the larger, predominantly white liberal establishment needs to be willing to acknowledge and deal with racism, or else the attacks from the right will keep driving out more of Obama’s appointees–Beck’s sights are apparently already set on FCC diversity chair Mark Lloyd.

—Sarah Jaffe

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