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R.I.P. Andrew Breitbart

If you didn’t already know that Andrew Breitbart, conservative writer, new media godfather and all around activist died just last night. You have been under a rock. His death has already made an impact on the general media, Facebook and Twitter. Daniel Foster’s account of his experiences with Andrew Breitbart from underground conservative meetings in Hollywood to the Anthony Weiner debacle will give you a good taste of Mr. Breitbart’s personality. He was strong, he had a good sense of humor and he was dedicated to exposing injustice that he felt the mainstream media establishment would not attack. His behavior brought about many chuckles and he was someone that many people counted on to forge forward when other people would stop. Factually, many people may not realize how much Andrew Breitbart changed the world. He worked for Matt Drudge to launch The Drudge Report and he also worked with Arianna Huffington in the early days of The Huffington Post.

There can be no doubt that either of those digital publications influence and inform the developed world today.

As one person said, it appears almost everyone in the conservative-libertarian-republican world wanted a picture with Andrew Breitbart and he gave it to them. Now those pictures are all over Facebook.

Andrew Breitbart and I (November 2011)

Twitter is full of dedications to the man aside from those in the media. This blogger met Andrew Breitbart on a few occasions and always found him to be the sort of person who made one smile. Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-1) gave a great tribute to him on the floor of the U.S. House today.

Unfortunately, a large number of liberals crowed with delight at his death today which was rather distasteful. Anyone with a sense of class would not be happy about the death of a man who was basically good. Even Arianna Huffington whom, he parted ways with over changes in political direction said this about his passing on Twitter: “My thoughts and prayers go out to Andrew Breitbart’s family and friends, especially his wife Susie and their 4 beautiful children.”

Of course, some liberals have a sense of class and proper sympathy. Donna Brazile expressed her condolences for his family and said he was a great man that she debated with many times -which is true.

A lot of people probably don’t realize how much Andrew Breitbart fought for the little guy, he was a huge supporter of GOProud. In 2011, he hosted a party where Sophie B. Hawkins performed for GOProud and their supporters at the 11th Street Lounge here in Washington, DC during CPAC last year.

He was not a stuffy, uptight conservative. He was someone who believed in the basic rights of people to live free. And he aimed to expose corruption that no one else dared touch in our society.

Andrew Breitbart as Guy Fawkes at a CPAC panel

There isn’t enough time in the world to make a blog post long enough to include all the tributes and posts to him out there today. But everyone is taking a moment to look over the conclusion to his new book Indignation.

I love my job. 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.

Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.

According to Dave Weigal of Slate his series of websites will continue to be produced.