Van Jones is out.

A White House environmental policy adviser who specialized in “green jobs” resigned on Sunday after an uproar over his previous affiliation with a September 11 conspiracy group.

Van Jones, special adviser on green jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, apologized on Thursday after videotape surfaced of him using a crude epithet to describe Republicans and amid revelations he had signed a petition suggesting U.S. government involvement in the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.

No mention of his other controversial positions and his desire for incremental restructuring of the entire American way of life. Still, gone is gone.

His face saving resignation used the old classic “distraction” rationale.

Jones said he was resigning to avoid being a distraction in the administration’s effort to pass healthcare reform and climate change legislation.

“On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me,” Jones said in a resignation letter that was released to the media.

“I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future,” he wrote.

Of course by “smear campaign” he must mean “pointing out the truth about my past and my beliefs”.

There’s only one possible response to this news.

NEXT!

I’ve written about Leftourettes Syndrome™ on several occasions. I even have a separate category for it. It can be generally described as that condition, so prevalent on the left, that causes them to open their mouths and say the stupidest things, revealing much more about themselves than they ever intended.

The 2008 primary season has put this malady in the spotlight. Chang and Eng Clintbama, and their supporters, are trying to outdo one another for saying the stupidest things. If I were a high-paid campaign consultant, instead of a lowly blogger fighting to reach 100,000 visits, I would have some advice for John McCain. I guess I’ll just give it away for free: Say Nothing. Let the two of them spend all their time and money saying things that are so outrageous that come November the last twin standing will do good to match Walter Mondale’s 13 electoral votes from ‘84.

It’s hard to believe, but instead of showing any improvement their Leftourettes™ seems to be worsening.

Ladies First

As the controversy over Hillary’s “snipper fire” claim was starting to fade, former President Clinton (I respect the office. The man, not so much.) decided to grab a can of jet fuel and relight the bonfire.

Bill Clinton said the news media treated her like she had “robbed a bank” and claimed she was experiencing end-of-day fatigue, even though she had made the claim in morning speeches.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) acknowledged two weeks ago that she “misspoke” and “made a mistake” in her overly vivid account of the 1996 landing in Tuzla, Bosnia, during a goodwill mission as first lady.

Video of a tranquil arrival ceremony refuted the claim, and her comments hurt her struggling campaign by reviving questions about her candor.

Whoopsie. Time for a yank on the leash.

Former US president Bill Clinton said Friday he has been ordered to hold his tongue by his wife Hillary for reviving an embarrassing story about her trip to Bosnia in 1996 while out campaigning.

“Hillary called me and said ‘You don’t remember this. You weren’t there, let me handle it.’ I said, ‘Yes ma’am,” the grinning ex-president said during a campaign stop in Indiana, according to television pictures.

A series of gaffes have made Bill Clinton somewhat of a liability in his wife’s campaign for the Democratic White House nomination. [my emphasis]

Gee, ya think? I am close to buying into the meme that he doesn’t want her in the Oval Office. [discuss this in the forum]

Equal Time

Barry O wasn’t content to allow the Clinton campaign to be the Leftourettes™ example of the week. He had to step it up a notch (Ben Smith quoting from the Hufpo).

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

This caught the attention of the blogosphere.

Ace puts an entire post full of analysis into his title: Obama To Rural Pennsylvanians: Vote For Me, You Corncob-Smokin’, Banjo-Strokin’ Chicken-Chokin’ Cousin-Pokin’ Inbred Hillbilly Racist Morons

Patrick Hynes wraps it up this way:

Yep, that’s us: Just a bunch of uniformed racists who hate everyone who isn’t just like us and cling to our God and our guns because we didn’t get to go to Princeton or Harvard Law School. They know us so well.

Ed Morrissey says that This is why rookies shouldn’t run for President

Rookies should not run for President. Rookies make mistakes that brand them, and once made on the national stage, those brands never entirely disappear. Ask Joe Biden, whose plagiarism 20 years ago still largely defines him outside of Delaware, and he was hardly a rookie at the time.

What makes this so breathtaking is the mindless, casual way in which Obama reveals his snobbishness and elitism. We saw hints of this from Michelle Obama, in her assertions about never being proud of her country until her husband ran for President. (Soren Dayton has more on this.) We had not seen it from Obama himself in such a blatant and unmistakable manner. The matter-of-fact style in which he spoke this shows the unthinking contempt he has for people he has never engaged — an acceptance of stereotypes without questioning them that shows his own bigotry, not to mention foolishness and poor judgment.

Leftourettes™ can be ugly in it’s honesty.

Others who taken up this theme:
Little Green Footballs
Confederate Yankee
MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
John Hinderaker asks, “Is Obama’s Campaign Over?”
Macs Mind, where he notes, “A friend in PA is telling me that the audio is already being pooled into campaign phone calls and ads to run soon.”
Blue Crab Boulevard and here
Blogs for John McCain’s Victory
Sister Toldjah
Stop The ACLU

And many more.

Like a top on steroids, the Obama campaign is trying to spin this — and failing miserably. His opponents have joined the cacophony of condemnation. From the NYT:

“It’s being reported that my opponent said that the people of Pennsylvania who faced hard times are bitter; well, that’s not my experience,” Mrs. Clinton told an audience at Drexel University. “Pennsylvanians don’t need a president who looks down on them; they need a president who stands up for them, who fights for them, who works hard for your futures, your jobs, your families.”

After her remarks, aides to Mrs. Clinton issued several statements criticizing Mr. Obama, including ones that contained criticism from Republicans.

And from the McCain camp:

“It shows an elitism and condescension toward hard-working Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking,” said Steve Schmidt, a senior adviser to Mr. McCain. “It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans.”

When Obama tried to explain/justify/spin his remarks, his two opponents offered very similar rebuttals:

“Instead of apologizing for offending small town America, Senator Obama chose to repeat and embrace the comments he made earlier this week,” said Phil Singer, a spokesman for Mrs. Clinton. He added, “Americans are tired of a President who looks down on them, they want a President who will stand up for them for a change.”

[...]

“Instead of apologizing to small town Americans for dismissing their values, Barack Obama arrogantly tried to spin his way out of his outrageous San Francisco remarks,” Mr. [McCain spokesman Tucker] Bounds said, adding: “You can’t be more out of touch than that.”

But I’ll leave it to Scott Ott to wrap this up with his typical dead-on sarcastic humor:

Senator Barack Obama today announced a plan to employ millions of bitter, small town Americans who, in their anger over jobs lost in the 1980s, have turned to guns, God, and xenophobia.

You can discuss Obamagaffe in forum as well.

So, which campaign displays their Leftourettes more fully? A new poll is in the sidebar.

I’m taking a look back at 2007 this week. It’s interesting to see just what I posted about, and what was going on through the year.

January — First Cup 01.20.07

This was one of my first posts detailing the devastating condition Leftourettes™

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Leftourettes™ it is a malady that affects many on the left. It manifests itself in bursts of patently ridiculous statements. Indications are they just can’t help themselves. While it may appear that it occurs most often in the leadership, that is most likely just a function of their outbursts being more often recorded and reported. Here are a few recent examples:

Gee. I didn’t think much of Reid, Pelosi and other leftard’s rhetoric back in January. Imagine that. Some things haven’t changed much at all this year.

February — Great Line of the Day

A great quote from an AP story that still rings true today.

The developments on both sides of the Capitol reflected disarray in Democratic ranks on Iraq. Swept into power by voters clamoring for an end to the war, Democrats have seen their efforts stymied under realities more complicated than they found on the campaign trail.

That’s been true all year for the left. May 2008 bring more of the same.

Tomorrow — March/April

Sunday is Veteran’s Day, and as Don Surber points out, “Republican Congresswoman Thelma Drake of Virginia reminded the majority of its inability to fulfill even the basic constitutional requirements of Congress: Pass a budget.”

The Democrat controlled Congress is trying it’s hardest to insure failure. Granted, a few are unhappy with the latest strategy.

Rank-and-file Democrats expressed heartburn on Friday over their party’s latest anti-war strategy, with some members reluctant to coincide a vote to bring troops home with Veterans Day.

The House was on track to consider next week legislation that would give President Bush $50 billion for operations Iraq and Afghanistan but insist that he begin withdrawing troops.

The measure identifies a goal of ending combat by December 2008, leaving only enough soldiers and Marines behind to fight terrorists, train Iraqi security forces and protect U.S. assets.

The very thought of victory, or any measure of success, acts like garlic to these BDS ravaged vampires.

The troops, the ones who they go to any length to claim they support, are the ones who will suffer.

But they don’t care about them. They are too busy Goldilocksing™ the bill.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed off plans for a Friday vote after caucus members told her late Thursday they weren’t sure they would support it. Liberal Democrats said the proposal was too soft, while conservative members told Pelosi they thought it went too far.

None of them found it “just right.”

Senator McConnell gets it right:

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Democrats face “unfortunate timing” because of the military progress being made in Iraq.

“While our troops are quelling violence and defeating terrorists in Baghdad and throughout Iraq, Democrats in Washington are trying to choke off funds for our troops in the field,” he said.

I’m sure we will all be impressed with the Veterans Day lip service they will utter this weekend. Actually doing the right thing would be too much to ask.

Linked with the Open Post of the Day at Liberty Pundit.

Dennis Kucinich must have gotten bored waiting for the mother ship to come back for him. First, he declared that, “I seriously believe we have to start asking questions about his [President Bush] mental health.” Now, well, I’ll just let you read it for yourself from his congressional web site:

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) announced today that he will be offering a privileged resolution on the House floor next week that will bring articles of impeachment against the Vice President, Richard B. Cheney.

“The momentum is building for impeachment,” Kucinich said. “Millions of citizens across the nation are demanding Congress rein in the Vice President’s abuse of power.

“Despite this groundswell of opposition to the unconstitutional conduct of office, Vice President Cheney continues to violate the U.S. Constitution by insisting the power of the executive branch is supreme.

“Congress must hold the Vice President accountable. The American people need to let Members of Congress know how they feel about this. The Vice President continues to use his office to advocate for a continued occupation of Iraq and prod our nation into a belligerent stance against Iran. If the Vice President is successful, his actions will ensure decades of disastrous consequences.”

Do you see that one word there? Advocate. That is just about all that Vice President Cheney, or any Vice President, can do. He can not make any declarations, he can’t sign or veto any bills. His greatest legislative power only comes into play if he has to cast a vote in case of a tie.

Then there is this, “If the Vice President is successful”. So, he wants to start the impeachment process over something VP Cheney might do, sort of a preemptive impeachment.

Others proving that old saying are his 21 co-sponsors:

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Robert Brady (D-PA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Rep. Henry Johnson (D-GA), Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Rep. James Moran (D-VA), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA), Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD).

Oh, that old saying their trying so hard to prove?

“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

I, for one, have no doubts.

Others with no doubts:
Don Surber — “I guess this makes him the Big Cashew on Nutball Island.”
Blue Crab Boulevard
Michelle Malkin — “Strike up the nutroots band!”
Jules Crittenden

I’m sure I’ll be forgiven, but I always fail to remember that Dennis Kucinich is one of the Democrats running for president. I’m not alone, very few people in America realize that either. Anyhow, once he bows out of his quixotic run he can become the poster boy for BDS and Leftourettes. Here’s why:

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich questioned President Bush’s mental health in light of comments he made about a nuclear Iran precipitating World War III.

“I seriously believe we have to start asking questions about his mental health,” Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, said in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer’s editorial board on Tuesday. “There’s something wrong. He does not seem to understand his words have real impact.”

[...]

Kucinich said he doesn’t believe his comments about the president’s mental health are irresponsible, according to a story posted on the newspaper’s Web site.

“You cannot be a president of the United States who’s wanton in his expression of violence,” Kucinich said. “There’s a lot of people who need care. He might be one of them. If there isn’t something wrong with him, then there’s something wrong with us. This, to me, is a very serious question.”

On the other hand, he may be on to something with that last part.

He opens his mouth.

He obviously has a case of Leftourettes. He recently repeated his call to [dis]honor the troops Memorial Day weekend. Unsatisfied with that weeks old bit he decided to go further.

“There’s another thing we need to do as patriots, to serve the men and women who are serving this country in Iraq, and that is to speak out this weekend,” Edwards said.

He said ending the war is key to repairing the damaged U.S. reputation abroad.

“America desperately needs to reclaim our moral position in the world, which has been so devastated,” he said. “America has to be a force for good. … The world thinks we’re a bully and we’re selfish.”

But his Leftourettes didn’t stop there.

“One of the things we ought to be thinking about is some level of mandatory service to our country, so that everybody in America — not just the poor kids who get sent to war — are serving this country,” Edwards said.

Uh, what?

He tried to back peddle, of course.

After the event, Edwards said he had not meant to imply that only the poor go to war, only that everyone should serve in some way.

Then that’s what you should have said. But those who suffer from Leftourettes just can’t help themselves.

Former President Jimmy Carter has proven himself clueless once again.

Former President Carter says President Bush’s administration is “the worst in history” in international relations, taking aim at the White House’s policy of pre-emptive war and its Middle East diplomacy.

The criticism from Carter, which a biographer says is unprecedented for the 39th president, also took aim at Bush’s environmental policies and the administration’s “quite disturbing” faith-based initiative funding.

“I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history,” Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper’s Saturday editions. “The overt reversal of America’s basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me.”

Carter’s astounding pronouncements were made as he promotes his new audiobook series, Sunday Mornings in Plains.

“Apparently, Sunday mornings in Plains for former President Carter includes hurling reckless accusations at your fellow man,” said Amber Wilkerson, Republican National Committee spokeswoman. She said it was hard to take Carter seriously because he also “challenged Ronald Reagan’s strategy for the Cold War.”

Of course President Carter has the right to say whatever he wants, but could show a lot more class if he kept a mouth full of peanut butter.

Others:
Rhymes With Right
Flopping Aces
Little Green Footballs
Sister Toldjah

Not that there is any chance of this, but under no circumstances should someone with this mindset be allowed to be commander in chief.

John Edwards is blending a new television commercial with his online Web message, giving his activist supporters a voice in demanding that Congress stand up to President Bush’s veto of a withdrawal timetable for Iraq.

The ad, which will air in Washington on broadcast and cable programs, calls on Congress to ignore the veto and to send Bush the “same bill again and again.”

Is Edward’s mental strength tied Samson-like to his hair? Cause it sounds as if he’s had a $400 lobotomy.

A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems. ~ Alfred Renyi

Happy 3rd Blogiversary to
Fausta’s blog

Blogs for Bush (Mark Noonan) Prime Minister Neville Pelosi

Fresh from their destructive trip to Syria, Pelosi and Lantos are all set to head to Iran and screw that up, too:

GOP Bloggers (Jon Roth) Pelosi Set to Compound Error in Syria Visit With Iran Visit

Pelosi’s antics nearly ensure that any threats we might make will not be seen as credible and that only following through on those threats can restore our credibility. In that sense, the Democratic sycophantic tour of mideast dictators will lead to exactly the opposite of what they hope to achieve.

Wizbang (Kim Priestap) Where Do Nancy Pelosi’s Loyalties Lie?

After insisting that she needs to keep an open dialog with leaders of rogue terrorist nations, she refuses to sit down and talk to President Bush about funding for the Global War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan:

Also, be sure to read Marines Ejected From Target For “Recruiting” at Iowa Voice.

Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

By now you are probably aware of the blog post written by William Arkin of the Washington Post, The Troops Also Need to Support the American People. The blogospheric reaction has been scathingly accurate. Here’s a quick roundup:

Wizbang (Kim Priestap) Arkin: The Troops need to Shut Up and Take the Insults

A man named William Arkin writing at a Washington Post blog says that the troops need to support anti-war Americans and their views. He writes this in reference to the NBC Nightly News video of US troops asking that Americans support them all the way. Arkin’s essay is nothing more than a string of insult after insult.

Flopping Aces (Curt) Screw The Troops!

Who in the flying hell do you think you are, calling our volunteer soldiers mercenaries! These troops lay their lives on the line every single day serving this great country so that you can live and breath in safety.

Little Green Footballs Anti-Military Screed at the Washington Post

Today’s ugly leftist anti-military rant is published by the Washington Post. And “anti-military” is no exaggeration in this case; as William Arkin spells out quite clearly, he believes that the raping, murdering, torturing US troops are lucky they aren’t being spat upon:

BLACKFIVE (Uncle Jimbo) A hearty F*** You to William Arkin

I was stunned by the incredible amount of disgusting, deranged, disrespectful drivel the wanker was able to cobble together in one hearty F U to the troops. Well Mr. Arkin in true blogospheric fashion F U right back atcha’.

Hot Air (Allahpundit) WaPo blogger to U.S. troops: Be thankful we don’t spit on you, mercenaries

He supports — or rather, “indulges” — the troops, despite their raping and murdering and delusions about victory and youthful naivete. But they need to support him too by not expressing their opinions about what it means to “support the troops” because that makes him feel guilty about his defeatism.

Blue Crab Boulevard (Gaius) The Difference

I will not go off on Arkin, others have already done so. But I will point you instead to the post my son sent me a few days ago and let you read the difference between Arkin’s desire to stifle the troops valid opinions and my son’s protest against a hateful website, done in a calm and logical manner. And then his dismissal of those who do not support the troops, with a promise that he and his fellow soldiers would, nonetheless, continue to defend the rights of those people to express their opinions.

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Our Mercenaries?

It seems that William Arkin has had enough of supporting the troops, now that a few of them told NBC that they believe that Americans should support the mission as well. In his Washington Post blog, Arkin suddenly feels that the troops should just shut up and retreat:

Leaning Straight Up (Karl) Troops say Support us, in response William Arkin says Quit Whining

Well William Arkin of the WaPo responded and in essence told them you are lucky to have the people’s respect at all, and you should be thankful for the paycheck we give you, so shut up and quit whining. No that’s not a quote, but it is damn hard not to read this any other way.

Others:

• Michelle Malkin
• Power Line
• Sister Toldjah
• The Jawa Report
• Simply Kimberly

And many, many, many more.

UPDATE: As if his post yesterday was not enough, Mr. Arkin is back again today.

Blue Crab Boulevard (Gaius) On Arrogance And Intolerance

He appears to be arguing that his opinion is correct because many people share it. Many people once thought the Earth to be flat, too.

Right Wing News (John Hawkins) The WAPO’s William Arkin Attacks The Troops Again

First of all, you’ve got to love his artful variation on the Tim Robbins defense which normally works like so, “As a liberal, I’m allowed to say anything I like, but if people criticize what I say, they’re stifling my freedom of speech.” In Arkin’s case, he ripped on the troops yesterday, but today, when they blast him back in the comments section of his blog or in emails, they’re showing, “contempt for the American people.”

Linking to this post:

Simply Kimberly | Blog linked with bRight & Early: First Cup 02.01.07 | …
“Mercenary” Author Backtracks at Conservative Times–Republican GOP news source. linked with [...] about our troops. You’ve probably seen and heard the massive backlash that followed (Jim has an excellent round-up here). True to liberal form, he pulled out the “poor me” or “I’m being [...]
Iowa Voice linked with “Mercenary” Author Backtracks…
Blue Crab Boulevard » On Arrogance And Intolerance linked with [...] The City,  Java Zen, Candy Slice of Life, Rick Moran, LGF, A Jacksonian, Villainous Company, bRight and Early, CDR Salamander, QandO, Zen Pundit, Brandodojo, Confederate Yankee, Jules Crittenden, Pink Flamingo [...]