Andrew Breitbart: RIP | James Delingpole

Andrew Breitbart, who has died aged 43 (Photo: AFP/Getty)

I keep going back to @andrewbreitbart‘s Twitter feed, still unable to believe that one of my conservative heroes has dropped down dead at the age of just 43. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised: Breitbart did enjoy a voraciously Type A lifestyle – smoking, drinking and burger-scoffing like there was no tomorrow. Which, sadly, for this big-hearted, generous, witty, rumbustious, intelligent, fearless father-of-four there now isn’t.

Like PJ O’Rourke, Breitbart was one of those rare types who manages to make conservatism look both fun and cool. A journalist, blogger, polemicist and founder of the Big Hollywood/Big Journalism/Big Government right-wing US blog stable (under the umbrella Breitbart.com), Breitbart’s greatest speciality was lefty-baiting. One of his favourite techniques was simply to turn up at lefty rallies with a camera crew, film all the snarling abuse he got and then put it up on his website by way of demonstration of just how snarlingly vile, sanctimonious and devoid of intelligent argument the liberal-left tends to be most of the time.

He also knew how to use Twitter as a devastating weapon against the enemy. It’s a simple technique which I’ve since copied.

Breitbart, you were the Achilles of the Right. (And boy did you know how to find the Left’s Achilles’ heel.) We shall miss you greatly!

UPDATE

I’d just like add how delighted Breitbart would have been if only could have seen the despicably vile examples of trolling insensitivity and crude ranting a celebratory blog written just hours after his death has managed to attract. It would have confirmed everything he always said about the sick psychopathology of the liberal-left. Thanks trolls! Breitbart is laughing at you from heaven.