Van Jones Challenges Glenn Beck to a Debate

Jun 20, 2011

Environmental activist Van Jones challenged Glenn Beck to a debate on values when speaking at the Netroots Nation conference over the weekend.

"I issue a personal challenge to my beloved brother Glenn Beck. I will debate you anytime, anywhere, at any point. I’ll give you an hour, you give me five minutes. And I will stand up for our values. But you would have to stop talking about us and start talking to us. You got one week left before your show goes off. My phone is ringing. Call me! Call me, Glenn Beck!" he said.

Jones, a champion of the green jobs movement, resigned from his post as a White House environmental adviser in 2009, following a vicious campaign by Beck on his Fox News show. Beck and other conservatives painted Jones as a "green jobs czar", and drew attention to Jones’ past leftist activism, upping the ante when a group Jones founded successfully led an advertising boycott against Beck’s show, after Beck called President Obama a racist with "a deep-seated hatred for white people." Beck most recently claimed that Jones and Obama support ‘killing the parents.’

Beck’s show is due to end on June 30, after which he’ll start airing on a subscription web-based TV network starting in September.