United Liberty

It has been just over a day since I got the Fox News alert that Andrew Breitbart had unexpectedly passed away overnight, and I am still shocked by the news.  Despite having never met the man, and not one to ever really be affected by news of celebrity deaths, I feel like I have lost a friend.

As a bit of a news junkie, I can’t tell you exactly how long Andrew Breitbart has been on my radar, for a number of years at least, but it wasn’t until the past year or two that I really began to realize the boldness and creativity that I admired so much in him, and am so sad to see taken from our movement.  There are quite a few of us who believe we are doing our part to advance freedom and protect individual liberties, but Andrew Breitbart made things happen.

His book, Righteous Indignation, spoke to me so profoundly that having initially purchased it on my Kindle, I went out and bought a few hard copies so that I could loan them out to friends because I thought it was that important that they read his message.  If you haven’t read it yet, you must, I like to think it helped me see the big picture in terms of who controls the information we, as Americans, are bombarded with from so many different angles.  And I will never forget that summer day last year when I sat in my living room, glued to the television set, as I watched Andrew Breitbart at the podium of what was meant to be a press conference held by Anthony Weiner to address the Breitbart exposed Weiner-gate scandal.  It was so spectacular and unbelievable, despite the fact that I was sitting there watching it with my own two eyes, I could not believe what I was seeing.  He was my hero that day.

Having had a day to reflect on the news of his passing, I keep wondering who will be able to fill the incredible void his loss creates.  I am so sad for his family and his real friends for the incredible sorrow they must be experiencing now.  And I am sad for those of us who considered themselves fans of Andrew Breitbart.  To me he was an innovator and media pioneer and I wish I could see what more time with him could have brought us.  And every time another corrupt political organization or individual is exposed I am going to wonder how much sweeter it could have been if Andrew Breitbart were the one telling us the story.