Andrew Breitbart, Modern Day Gonzo Journalist Ideal, Dies

[XLFD]

Early this morning, Andrew Breitbart, 43, collapsed while walking near his home in Los Angeles and was pronounced dead at the UCLA Medical Center shortly afterward.  I considered Mr. Breitbart a shining example of what journalists should be doing, whatever their color on the political spectrum, in this day and age.  If you don't know of his body of work, he was probably most well known for his breaking the original story behind Weinergate.  At Weiner's infamous second press conference to confess to his improprieties, Breitbart preempted Weiner, grabbing the microphone.

"I'm here for some vindication," Breitbart barked. "The media says, 'Breitbart lies, Breitbart lies, Breitbart lies.' Give me one provable lie."

 

How he got to that point was based on many other investigation and provocations throughout his career of in-your-face journalism and tactics that would have made Hunter S. Thompson envious.  Unlike the original ultra-liberal gonzo journalist, however, Breitbart actually sought out and exposed hypocrisy and corruption by liberals (and sometimes wayward Republicans).  This would indicate he was conservative, but that may have been a misnomer as his concerns were more in the realm of what Tea Partiers would find offensive because of the wastes of public money or appearance of wrongdoing.  Whatever the case, his heart was in the right place, and I'm sure his family, including his wife and four children will sorely miss his boisterous presence.  Some of his achievements:

 

- He launched the on-line Huffington Post, prior to its leftward lean, and was instrumental in the operation of the Drudge Report, becoming an icon of E-journalism in the process.

- He was primarily responsible for getting USDA's Shirley Sherrod fired for making 'racist' comments.

- He was instrumental in getting ACORN seriously reviewed, breaking the story after the 2008 elections of alleged peculiar activities happening at ACORN sites.

 

His peers have said:

"He was one of the most fearless people I ever knew.  One of his favorite pastimes was to retweet all of the hate that people threw at him, because he considered it a badge of honor. It was his Wheaties.  He was the modern conservative's iteration of a 1960s radical. He loved the fight"  --Jonah Goldberg, founding editor of the National Review Online

 

"What a huge loss, in my opinion for our country and certainly for the conservative movement.  My prayers go out to his family."  -- Rick Santorum

 

"I was asked many times this morning for my thoughts on what Andrew meant to the political world, but all I can think of at the moment is what Andrew meant to me as a friend, starting from when we worked together.  His passion, his exuberance, his fearlessness. And above all, what I'm thinking of at the moment is his amazing wife Susie and their four beautiful young children. My love and thoughts are with them right now."  --Arianna Huffington

 

And lastly in his own words:  "I love my job," Breitbart wrote in an update to "Righteous Indignation," his 2011 book. "I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and--famously--I enjoy making enemies."

 

Let's not let his journalistic vigor die with him, encourage real journalism, not patsy mainstream journalism practiced too often nowadays, by supporting his ideals and his memory. 

 

[Willy]

I hadn't heard of him until now. Dying so young with so many enemies would make me suspicious of foul play. Watch your back X.

[easymoney]

It was just last month that he stated he had video"s concerning O'bama and his radical friends from chicago who were setting the stage for O's run for the presidential office.

Yes, he had enemies, lots of them, and in pretty high places.

Not a consperousy theorist, but, 43 is not exactly old age?

[Marty Redman]

They are doing an autopsy I hear.  I look forward to some big breakthrough to be broken first on the Drudge Report about his death.  I'm not into conspiracies either but maybe he should have hired a food taster.

[Dave]

Regardless of what people might of thought of Brietbart, it would be nice if people were decent enough to not speak ill of the dead.... even if in their eyes Brietbart said things about Teddy Kennedy the day he died that could definitely be taken as rude toward Teddy. Just because Brietbart may have done that, does doing it yourself make it right? What's the old saying... 2 wrongs don't make a right? I commend the people that while they didn't agree with Brietbart or how he does things, they were respectful enough to offer their condolences and leave it at that. Needless to say, not everyone could hold their tongue.

Probably the most ironic thing in regards to all this is that many liberals/progressives will tell us how great Michael Moore is yet he's probably even guiltier of doing what many of the liberals/progressives accused Brietbart of doing. Needless to say, those people are hypocrites.