Remembering Andrew Breitbart 2 years after his death
Wondering what might have been.
Two years ago today, Andrew Breitbart died.
The entire conservative blogosphere was in shock, and even some opponents of Andrew, such as Eric Boehlert of Media Matters, paid their respects.
There’s not much I can add, two years later, to my post, A personal note on the death of Andrew Breitbart:
I only spoke once with Andrew Breitbart. He reached out to me, and we spoke by phone. The topic is not important, but I was shocked that he even knew who I was; but as I’ve come to learn, Andrew seemed to know who everyone was in the conservative blogosphere. He was just that way.
Since my wife called this morning to let me know of Andrew’s death, it has been hard to focus on anything else. In her words, we don’t have that many bright media lights, and to lose him hurts.
Andrew lived in a world without restraints. He could be who he wanted to be, a luxury few bloggers have, particularly those who blog under their own name and work for others.
I live in a world of restraints, and I envied Andrew’s freedom more than you can know.
Andrew is irreplaceable, but we would serve his memory well to aspire to more freedom of thought and more freedom of action.
I’ve often wondered where to go with this blog. I now know.
This interview of Breitbart by Prof. Glenn Reynolds and Dr. Helen Smith still is one of my favorites:
Here is the image reader Patricia created that day:
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And every year it becomes clearer just how sui generis he was.
maybe its just me, but it seems his staff went all soft on stuff since then (no pun/entendre meant) and the site seems to have more complaints like that.
RIP.
He is sorely missed.
He was a phenomenon, a beautiful freak, a whirling dynamo of righteous and devilish outrage. His loss was devastating. How long had it been since we’d had a warrior like him? Had we ever? He crashed their barriers with fearless cheer and militance. He said what no one else seemed to be able to say — to their faces. Why couldn’t others do this? But they couldn’t. And when he died, and everybody said, “I am Breitbart,” it was nice but empty sentimentality. No one can be Breitbart. What rankled me the most, however, were the encomia from our leaders, who promised to remember his example. None of them did.
That Big Loss pic still makes my eyes moist. I revere him because he represented me and others like me. He gave voice to a not insignificant minority of us who lack one in the national dialogue. Since we don’t own TV networks and newspapers, or employ K-Street lobbyists, our voice often is not heard. Breitbart helped change that. Now we have a “movement” and have the power to get some people elected. I seriously doubt that John Boehner would be wielding the Speaker’s gavel and that Senators Cruz, Lee, Paul, Rubio, Toomey, Fischer and former Senator Brown would have been elected without the energy and financial support from the foot soldiers in Breitbart’s Army of Davids.
Thanks for helping us remember a good man.
Rest in Peace Andrew. He had made warriors of a lot of us, and we miss his very presence as he was unafraid to speak the truth. Unfortunately, I don’t see another Andrew on the horizon….Yet.
Thanks for the video, it is a little misty here right now.
One person with passion, intelligence, attitude and, probably most important, a great sense of humor really can make a difference.
It seems the only humor on the left is nasty snark. Andrew knew how to laugh with joy and that placed him way above the hate-humor crowd.
Great video, and it encapsulates how myself and many others view the fight.
“I’ve often wondered where to go with this blog. I now know.”
That sentence sentence has come to mind often in the last two years.
“I’ve often wondered where to go with this blog. I now know.”
That sentence has come to mind often in the last two years.
The Sherrod vampires are still going after his wife and children; are the latter getting enough legal help to see them through that nightmare?
You are missed, Andrew.
Thanks for posting. Truth needs to be told. And you are so right, in so many ways. Especially in this:
Andrew was right on Blumenthal; so are you, Professor. Keep standing.
Andrew was a force of nature and one to be reckoned with. With the utmost in pleasure and brilliance he fearlessly took on the Left and it MSM facilitators. Ironically, he resembled a typical Obama apparatchik in aggressively playing offense all day and all night. His was a simple message: We don’t accept your “progressive” vision for America and we’ll call you out for every lie, smear, and act that betrays the citizenry and its constitutionally-granted rights. The IRS scandal would most likely have catalyzed his greatest work ever. What a tragic loss for his family and for us all. He is sorely missed.
Thank you for this post.