Andrew Breitbart's Sorry Legacy

     I didn't say anything about the report of Mr. Breitbart's untimely passing a few weeks ago. I did find it unfortunate and on a human level human mortality is always a tragedy. As a husband and father one can't but sympathize with his family who he's left.

    However, this does not mean that because of his passing I now have to pretend to like the things that he stood for and represented. No way.

     To me there's two levels to this. In human terms, I certainly would not celebrate his passing or "dance on his grave." Why should we be glad he's dead? Matt Yglesias' claim that society is better without him was interesting.

     For me though there's a difference between Breitbart the man-who has died-and Breitbart's ideas which are still very much with us. I intend to fight this. If I who was always his adversary owe him anything, it's to fight everything that he stood for.

     Like I said, considered writing something like that when he first passed. What stopped me was the Limbaugh scandal of verbally busing Sandra Fluke for three days.

      But another news story developing the last week makes the point clear as to why this post is necessary. A post by Brad Delong yesterday says it all, "From beyond the grave, Andrew Breitbart slimes Derrick Bell."

     In a way it shows why the Republican party today is so pitiful. It's trying to convince us Obama doesn't need a second term by a video of him 20 years ago. If we see him hug Derrick Bell, obviously we didn't know the man as we thought.

     Of course in 2008 the attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill of Obama's relationship with Pastor Jeremiah Wright was tiresome enough. At least that was when we didn't know Obama yet, when he was running for a first term. But for the GOP to still be playing this game now that he's an incumbent with a record to go on of "if only you knew the REAL Barrack Hussein Obama" shows how threadbare things are for them right now.

     But Breitbart is still sliming people from beyond the grave. This is his last public act. In the coming months and years you have those who continue his work who will try to increase his legacy. Until that legacy is fought and destroyed there's no reason to celebrate. The fight is against ideas not men.