Breitbart died early Thursday morning in Los Angeles. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Breitbart's death stuns media, pols

Crusading conservative journalist and activist Andrew Breitbart died suddenly early Thursday morning in Los Angeles at the age of 43.

“We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior,” Larry Solov wrote on Big Journalism, one of Breitbart’s websites.


Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood shortly after midnight when he collapsed, his father-in-law, Orson Bean, said, according to the Associated Press. Fox host Sean Hannity said Thursday morning that Breitbart had heart problems about a year ago.

At the top of the Drudge Report, Matt Drudge, who worked with Breitbart, posted a personal message:

“In the first decade of the DRUDGEREPORT Andrew Breitbart was a constant source of energy, passion and commitment. We shared a love of headlines, a love of the news, an excitement about what’s happening. I don’t think there was a single day during that time when we did not flash each other or laugh with each other, or challenge each other. I still see him in my mind’s eye in Venice Beach, the sunny day I met him. He was in his mid 20’s. It was all there. He had a wonderful, loving family and we all feel great sadness for them today.”

Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin called Breitbart a “warrior who stood on the side of what is right.”

“We are all stunned and saddened by the news of Andrew Breitbart’s passing. Andrew was a warrior who stood on the side of what was right. He defended what was right. He defended the defenseless,” wrote Palin on her Facebook page. “God bless you, Andrew. Rest in peace, friend. We will continue the fight.”

From the campaign trail, the Republican presidential candidates offered their condolences.

“That’s shocking, obviously prayers go out to him and his family,” said Rick Santorum, who called Breitbart a “powerful force.”

“What a huge loss, in my opinion for our country, and certainly for the conservative movement,” added Santorum, who was stumping in Dalton, Ga. “I’m crestfallen.”

“Ann and I are deeply saddened by the passing of @AndrewBreitbart: brilliant entrepreneur, fearless conservative, loving husband and father,” tweeted fellow presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

“Andrew Breitbart was the most creative conservative in the country, in his use of technology, in his understanding of how to wage cultural war using the new media, in his courage in standing up and fighting, and I think in his zest and excitement for the life of politics and the life of ideas. It was an enormous tragedy to lose him. A tragedy for his family, but it’s a tragedy for the conservative movement and I think it’s a tragedy for America,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told POLITICO Thursday.

Breitbart got his start in journalism working for Drudge on the widely read site. Drudge later introduced him to Arianna Huffington and Breitbart then played a role in launching The Huffington Post.

Huffington said in a statement, “I was asked many times this morning for my thoughts on what Andrew meant to the political world, but all I can think of at the moment is what Andrew meant to me as a friend, starting from when we worked together — his passion, his exuberance, his fearlessness. And above all, what I’m thinking of at the moment is his amazing wife Susie and their four beautiful young children. My love and thoughts are with them right now.”

Breitbart was a pugnacious stalwart who aggressively promoted conservative causes, and recently led the charge to force then-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) resign over naked pictures the congressman sent over Twitter to a half dozen women.

In one especially memorable moment, Breitbart hijacked a press conference organized by Weiner last summer to apologize for his indiscretions. “I’m here to watch myself be vindicated,” Breitbart told the press from the podium before Weiner spoke. Weiner stepped down from office not long after.

But Breitbart’s credibility took a hit in July 2010 when he posted excerpts from a speech by Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod at an NAACP event. The parts of the video Breitbart posted showed Sherrod, who is black, telling the audience how, 23 years prior, she had discriminated against a white farmer and did not use her “full force” to help him avoid foreclosure.

However, the full video later came to light and it revealed that Sherrod ultimately steered the farmer to a lawyer who helped him save his land. Sherrod resigned during the media furor that Breitbart ignited, but Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and President Obama later called to apologize to her.

Breitbart was also involved in the release of some ACORN ‘pimp’ sting videos that conservative activists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles created. The two engaged in a sting operation that appeared to show ACORN workers providing advice about how to engage in illegal activities.

Breitbart was famous for his mischievous personality and his interest in aiding young activists, rather than connecting with more established conservative figures.

“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 [media] Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and— famously — I enjoy making enemies,” he wrote in a new conclusion to his book, “Righteous Indignation.”

The writer and commentator most recently established and ran several websites, including Breitbart.com, Breitbart.tv and what became known as the ‘Bigs’: Big Government, Big Journalism, Big Peace and Big Hollywood.

His latest project was an anti-Occupy Wall Street film due out in the spring with Citizens United and Stephen Bannon, who made a movie about Palin, “The Undefeated.” Breitbart presented his Occupy film at CPAC last month with a typical sense of theater, appearing late to his own press conference with his colleagues wearing the Occupy movement’s signature Guy Fawkes masks.

Breitbart’s argument was that Occupy contained anarchist and violent elements that the mainstream media was glossing over in favor of boosting its message of wealth inequality.

“The media tried to put a happy face” on the Occupy movement, he said at a press conference at CPAC, “but it is fascism… This is going to be a war movie. I want this to be rated X. I want it to be as vulgar as they are. I want it to be as dirty as they are. I want it to be as violent as they are.”

Later in the conference, Breitbart clashed with Occupy protesters outside the hotel where CPAC was being held, screaming “stop raping people” in a video that went viral and was played repeatedly on MSNBC – exactly the strange mix of provocation and self-promotion that Breitbart specialized in.

Indeed, after a March 2010 tea party protest on Capitol Hill, during which civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and others claimed racial slurs were uttered, Breitbart offered $10,000 for anyone who could provide video proof of the incident.

But even some of those on the left – who Breitbart often and joyfully sparred with – offered condolences Thursday.

“Media Matters has a long history with Andrew Breitbart. We’ve disagreed more than we’ve found common ground, but there was never any question of Andrew’s passion for and commitment to what he believed,” read a post on the progressive website. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today.”

“I’m sad that @andrewbreitbart isn’t around to retweet any stray gleeful comments about the death of @andrewbreitbart. RIP,” read a tweet by FireDogLake’s David Dayen.

Not everyone held their tongue, however.

“Conventions around dead people are ridiculous. The world outlook is slightly improved with @AndrewBrietbart dead,” wrote Slate columnist Matt Yglesias.

But perhaps Breitbart would have understood the sentiment, certainly he wouldn’t have been surprised.

After the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Breitbart wasted no time in attacking the man and his legacy - tweeting out insults that very same day, calling the senator “a [email protected]#$er,” a “villain,” “a prick,” “duplicitous,” and “a special pile of human excrement.”

For his part, Daily Caller editor-in-chief Tucker Carlson called Breitbart “a compelling person with a great capacity for friendship. I hope that doesn’t get lost…He was a great guy.” Appearing on Fox, Carlson described him as the perfect person to be sitting next to at a dinner party.

“Shocked & saddened by the news of @AndrewBreitbart’s passing. Our prayers go out to his wife Susie & his children during this painful time,” tweeted RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. “My heart sinks on learning of the passing of my buddy @AndrewBreitbart. He was a force. Period. Rest now, we will continue your work,” added Priebus’ predecessor, Michael Steele.

Conservative pundit Jonah Goldberg said Thursday on Fox that Breitbart was “the most fearless guy I ever knew. He truly loved the fight.”

Big Government editor-in-chief Joel Pollak said that Breitbart had been taken by ambulance to the UCLA medical center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight.

“He continues to inspire us, and we’ll be moving forward [on his projects]… as he would have wanted,” said Pollak. “We’re devastated by his loss.”

An autopsy is pending. Breitbart last tweeted at 11:25 pm Pacific Time, which is evidently shortly before he was taken to the hospital.

Adopted at an early age, Breitbart grew up in Los Angeles and attended college at Tulane University.

Keach Hagey, Alexander Trowbridge and Juana Summers contributed to this report.

This article tagged under: Andrew Breitbart

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