You’ll have read this piece on the Koch brothers in the LA Times of course, so you’ll know that their encroachment into the heart of the Republican Party spells bad news for climate and clean energy advocates Stateside.
Over the last weeks, progressives have started to ‘uncloak’ what’s going on here. Van Jones has been one of the voices shining a light on a murky story.
As previously mentioned, this blog has a policy that whenever he gives a speech, I post it – no further questions. It’s a pretty good policy.
- Listen how we he brings the room together – what shared experiences do they have, what shared values does he name?
- Listen how he re-frames this issue into one about the great American traditions of liberty, justice and democracy. How he brings in, with authenticity, the futures of children and of veterans returning home from war.
- Listen how he makes the people in the room – and those working on this issue – feel as if this is the most important thing they can be doing.
- Listen how he uses the story of the Tea Party as allies of his own agenda. This both widens the church of those who may support him, and also challenges the progressives in the room to reach out to non-traditional groups. He shows how this issue isn’t about Democrats vs Republicans, but the people vs a powerful elite. ‘The only way to challenge big money power, is to organise big people power.’
- Listen how he brings in the language of race – ‘liberty as a black man’, ‘work on a plantation for the Koch brothers’, ‘Jim Crowe and apartheid in America’ – to set the tone for 1) big changes can happen, 2) the innate goodness of the American people.
- Listen how he handles the hecklers – firm, but friendly and full of humour.
- Listen how he creates hope – ‘This country is better than that. Both parties are better than this.’