Jay Severin today referred to White House advisor Van Jones as a self-professed radical communist (among other things) and said that the validity of his (Severin’s) characterizations were easily available on the Internet. Yes, it’s true, that there are a lot of web sites that refer to Jones as a self-avowed communist, but they generally lack sources. I finally found the primary source: a 2005 article from the East Bay (Ca.) Express. Indeed, in that article Jones is quoted as saying “I was a communist.” But (a) it’s not at all clear from the article that he was speaking seriously, and (b) the article’s focus is about how between 1992 and 2005 Jones moved away from his radical strategies in favor of pragmatism. Jay is simply repeating the many distortions and lies about who Jones is and what he does.
Now Jay may be right that Jones’s job is in jeopardy because of some questionable involvements with some 9/11 conspiracy theorists. But to call someone a self-avowed communist because of one comment made to a reporter four years ago about his actions and beliefs seventeen years ago is … well, it’s typical Jay Severin.
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