RIP, Andrew Breitbart

I wasn't going to write anything, but for most of the day I've been sitting in my living room in pure shock, so maybe this will help. 

I woke up this morning and did my usual thing: let the dogs out, grabbed a diet coke, moved my laptop from the bedroom to the living room, and sat down to get busy on some work I needed to do. It was storming last night, so I'd unplugged everything before I went to bed, and while I was waiting for my wireless network to kick back up, I turned on the TV. Tucker Carlson was on Fox News, talking to Bill Hemmer and Martha MacCallum. I was still a little groggy, and my mind was heavily consumed with my own life, so I didn't understand right away.

Carlson was talking about Andrew Breitbart, and he was laughing, but there was an odd tone to his voice. I kind of laughed to myself and thought, good grief, he's talking about him like he's dead. I knew that wasn't possible. Hell, I'd just seen Breitbart on Twitter doing his thing mere hours before; it was one of the last things I saw before I went to bed. No one could die that quickly, that unexpectedly. The more I heard, the more it sounded like they were talking about him in the past tense. It took a while for me to comprehend. It took a minute of staring at the words "dead at 43" on the lower third for it to sink in that he was indeed talking about him in the past tense.

My first thought, once I realized it was true, was, "But his work wasn't done."

It took a long time for my computer to start up, but I was finally able to hop on Twitter and Facebook to see if others were aware of what was going on in our world today and honestly, to get the details. As someone who is (was?) so into politics on an almost daily basis, and as someone who leans to the right, I often find myself relying on social media for a sense of community on any given day but particularly on days like today.

So many thoughts ran through my mind. Was he ill? Murdered? Suicide? Did one of those crazy, violent rhetoric people who go after him decide to step out from behind their computers and walk the walk? I half had myself convinced he was just entering some kind of witness protection program or it was some kind of elaborate prank. Sure, it sounds crazy, but there is just no reasoning behind him being gone from this earth and our lives so soon. At least not one that I can understand...

My Twitter timeline is full of people who are not only mourning, but vowing to carry on his legacy. I won't get into the extent of what that legacy is; so many other have and will do it so much more eloquently than I can. As I said, he was a champion for freedom. He wasn't afraid to stand up against people who do wrong. He was a warrior for the things that millions of people in this country hold dear. In some ways, he managed to bridge some gaps between conservatism and other aspects of our culture, and he made it so that other people weren't afraid to follow his lead.

And now I see many others who say they will do the same in his name. I hope that's true. We need more people like that, more who aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe in. 

I can't say I knew Andrew Breitbart personally. We chatted via Twitter a few times and occasionally, he'd retweet me when I was heavily into politics. I watched at least once a week as he re-posted some of the most hateful, vile words that people threw at him. He was a constant in my timeline. I remember sitting in a hotel room in Charleston with my little cousin last year, watching Breitbart's part in the Anthony Weiner situation and trying to explain who he was to someone who is much younger and just getting a feel for politics. There are just so many memories from afar, yet it felt like I knew him. He was such a friend to those of us who fit into a collective group of conservatives and libertarians that it felt like he was a friend to all of us as individuals too. 

A few weeks ago, I made of fun of all of the people who were just so upset over the death of Whitney Houston. Yesterday, I even laughed at my own mom who kept calling me to carry on about the death of Davy Jones. But here I am, eight hours after I heard the news, sitting in my living room again, mourning someone I'd never met face to face.

Love him or hate him, agree or disagree, you had to respect the man for standing up for himself and others when many other people were too afraid. 

This is one of the best tributes to Andrew Breitbart I've seen today and believe me, there have been many. 

Also, I've seen one of my favorite people, Greg Gutfeld, speak eloquently about Breitbart on a few occasions today. I haven't watched Gutfeld's show, Red Eye, in a long time, but they say the entire hour will be dedicated to his memory tonight.  Might be worth staying up late.