My goal is to try to weaponize the American people, try to weaponize the conservative movement, try to weaponize the underground conservative Hollywood movement, to weaponize as many people in the center-right country to try to rectify a generation-plus long problem that has been absolute media bias, absolute media used by the Democratic Party as a tool to defeat conservatives. –Andrew Breitbart
It’s hard to believe that Andrew Breitbart’s giant heart gave out thireen years ago, March 1, 2012. Despite the passage of time since he passed away, the fire and passion he injected into everyone who ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with him is still burning in my heart.
I started writing for the “Big” sites because I developed a reputation for substantial articles about Israel and the Middle East. Andrew Breitbart and his friend Larry Solov conceived the idea of starting Breitbart News Network, with “the aim of starting a site that would be unapologetically pro-freedom and pro-Israel.” The person responsible for setting up my Breitbart account 26 years ago, Alex Marlow, is now the Editor-in-Chief (timing estimate).
During the last year and a half of his life, I penned two to three weekly articles for the Breitbart “big” sites: Big Government, Big Peace, Big Journalism, and Big Hollywood. At first, most of my posts were about Israel or other Jewish-related issues (one of the biggest of which was breaking the story about the anti-Semitic video that cost Helen Thomas her job). But soon, I expanded into politics, culture, media criticism, and international relations.
Though never part of Andrew’s inner circle of friends, and we may have spoken to each other only 30 times (either in person or on the phone) during his too-short life, I called Andrew Breitbart my friend and mentor(and still do). This was not some delusion of grandeur on my part; it was part of the magic of Breitbart. Andrew made everyone he met feel like they were the most important people in the world and a key component of his team.
For example, while on the publicity tour for his book, the aptly named “Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World!” Andrew appeared on the Hugh Hewitt radio show. Hewitt jokingly told Breitbart he was disappointed that his name wasn’t in the acknowledgments. Never one to pass up piling on to a good joke, I tweeted Andrew to let him know that Hewitt had no right to be in the acknowledgments, but as one of his most prolific contributors, I should have been named and received some of his royalties on top of it. The next day, I received a phone call apologizing for not including me. He said he knew it was a joke but wanted to ensure I wasn’t distraught. That was the Andrew Breitbart I knew; he always found time to make others feel important.
Andrew urged us to be unafraid as long as we had the truth on our side. He gave us the confidence to stand up to bullies no matter who they were and whether they were a “regular Joe” or the president of the United States. He also taught us to look beyond the public personas on the front lines. The more significant threats, he warned, were the people behind the scenes who pulled strings to gain personal power, money, and influence. For example, my first post about George Soros was for Big Government.
As is the practice of the best leaders, when any bullies went after the folks on his team, Andrew would step in front of us to take the bullet and lead the troops to punch back. After writing a Friday article about anti-Israel columnist M.J. Rosenberg on Big Journalism, one Saturday evening, I turned on my computer. I was surprised to find hundreds of Twitter mentions on my account.
The late Eric Boehlert, who at the time was a senior person at the George Soros-funded Media Matters for America, decided to call me a Jew-Basher based on that Friday article. Realizing that I would not be online during the Jewish Sabbath, Andrew and the entire team of Breitbart editors spent the day “beating up” Boehlert and the rest of the Media Matters people in my defense.
Andrew Breitbart was the guy you wanted in the “fox hole” with you. And I was honored that he welcomed me into his ‘fox hole”. The truth is— it wasn’t just me; everyone who was willing to get off their ass and fight for the truth was welcome into the foxhole with Andrew. But a warning: If you were to find yourself in a foxhole with Andrew, you would have to walk delicately around the massive pile of cell phones with him. The guy was always working it, texting, talking, etc. Once, while on the phone with him while driving on some California highway, I heard a noise followed by his statement that he had to go because his other phone was ringing. HIS OTHER PHONE?!?!? IN A CAR!?!? Andrew balanced more cell phone conversations simultaneously than any non-superhuman person.
Andrew was a multitasker. Not the usual kind who can work, watch TV, and talk on the phone simultaneously; that’s for amateurs. Andrew could simultaneously discuss five different, incredibly diverse topics with five entirely different people. He would not only be able to keep them straight, but he’d also come up with brilliant ideas about tackling each topic.
Andrew was a bit crazy—like a fox. Sometimes, he would intimidate progressive bullies simply because they wouldn’t know what he would do or say next. But like Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it was all just an act.
At CPAC, Andrew would usually speak on Saturday mornings, and it was a brilliant scheduling strategy because it didn’t matter how late attendees were up partying the night before; we would happily wake up early to attend his speeches. That’s because Andrew’s speeches were nothing short of incredible. At some point during each appearance, it would seem that he was merely spewing some “stream of conciseness.” But, in the end, his speeches always made sense, proved some critical point, rallied the “troops,” and usually were funny as all hell.
Arguably, one of Andrew’s best public moments involved the first Anthony Weiner sexting scandals. n the spring of 2011, Weiner tweeted a link to photo of his erect penis concealed by boxer briefs to a 21-year-old female college student from Seattle, Washington, who had “conversed” with the congressman before via Twitter. Although Weiner quickly removed the link from his Twitter feed, screenshots of Weiner’s original message and photo were captured by a Twitter user and sent to Andrew Breitbart, who published them on Big Government the following day.
Because Andrew’s “Big” sites were such a threat, the media attacked Breitbart, accusing him of faking the picture and/or hacking into Weiner’s Twitter account. Eventually, Weiner scheduled a press conference to admit his guilt. I planned on watching the TV coverage when the presser started. Before the press conference started, I received a tweet from a Breitbart colleague telling me to turn on the set immediately because Andrew had taken over the Weiner presser.
That was a bit of an exaggeration. Breitbart was in New York for a television appearance, and when he heard about the presser, he decided to walk over and watch it live from the back of the room. But, members of the press saw him enter, and soon all of the assembled media were aware of Andrew’s presence. Suddenly, the TV cameras focused on the podium, waiting for Weiner to turn around to cover Andrew Breitbart. Marcia Kramer of the local CBS affiliate suggested that Andrew take the stage and answer questions.
A video of Andrew’s takeover of the press conference is below.
Andrew saw himself as a protector of bloggers, tea partiers, and all who were attacked by bullies from either side of the aisle. He was a “lead, follow, or get out of the way” type of person; most chose to follow because no other human could stay ahead of his incredible energy.
I last saw Andrew at the bar on the last day of CPAC 2012. Sarah Palin had just finished her keynote address, and the exhausted crew of bloggers was getting ready to celebrate the three days of intense work just completed—well, all except for Breitbart. Andrew wasn’t tired. Breitbart held court in the hotel bar lounge, discussing the day’s news with a group of college students who had attended CPAC, framing how it should be covered and answering their questions. He wasn’t going anywhere until each questioner was satisfied. He wasn’t there because of some need to be adored by a big crowd, but because he cared about this country’s future, wanted to create new citizen-journalists, and wanted these students to understand what was happening around them.
That’s the point the anti-Breitbart smear machine could never understand: Breitbart wasn’t working hard to promote his politics or his ego – he was motivated by his love for this country, a quest for the truth, and for the future of our children.
In a way, it is ironic that when Andrew died, it was just before the Jewish holiday of Purim. Like many Jewish holidays, Purim’s theme is “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.” But what makes Purim different is that there is no overt splitting of the sea-type miracle. The story teaches us that victory came from God even though he was “hidden” during Purim. To celebrate Purim, Jews wear masks and costumes to hide our faces the same way God did.
Six Months After Andrew Passed My Final Post At Breitbart, September 4, 2012
Andrew Breitbart’s work was all about masks and hiding. He taught us how to remove the masks of politicians and mass media to expose the spin and rhetoric covering so much of what citizens are still being told today. H fought hard to ensure that we would not be confused by the “happy-talk, everything is wonderful” costumes covering up the dangers ahead for America. At the same time, he created an army of truth-seekers, most of whom are still fighting sixteen years later.
When Andrew passed away, the country lost a heroic warrior, and I lost a mentor and a friend. Andrew Breitbart made America a better, more transparent country. He made those of us who had the joy of working for him better truth-seekers and people. With Andrew, it was never about him. Anyone who really wants to honor Andrew Breitbart’s memory, there is only one way to do it. Get off the sidelines! It is our fight now. As Andrew said in his last CPAC speech, “Pick up a sword and join in.” I try to honor him by following his advice every day.
Watch the video below. Remember it was a Weiner press conference. Andrew showed up to cover the story. Before Weiner began the presser, Breitbart was asked to take the stage and answer questions.
