I'll be posting more as details unfold. Breitbart was the courageous "in your face conservative" who stirred the pot in a powerful way. He broke the Acorn corruption story.
It's shocking news. He died of natural causes shortly after midnight. Announcement here. More from The Cutline: (HT: Drudge)
"He was one of the most fearless people I ever knew," a shaken Jonah Goldberg, founding editor of the National Review Online, said on Fox News. "One of his favorite pasttimes was to retweet all of the hate that people threw at him, because he considered it a badge of honor. It was his Wheaties."
Goldberg added: "He was the modern conservative's iteration of a 1960s radical. He loved the fight."
"The conservative movement has lost a powerful voice in the fight to protect our freedom," Ned Ryun, president of the American Majority and one of Breitbart's friends, said. "Andrew was a pioneer in using social media and digital technology to bring a courageous conservative message to America's grassroots. He did something many in the conservative movement are afraid to do--go right at the left and not back down. He served as an example to the rest of the conservative movement of how to fight for our values without apology or compromise."
Breitbart worked for the Huffington Post and Drudge Report--serving as Matt Drudge's deputy--before launching his own cache of right-wing websites, including Breitbart.com, Breitbart.TV, Big Government, Big Hollywood, Big Journalism and Big Peace.
And in the hothouse world of online political media, they broke some big news. Breitbart--who once told Slate his "entire business model is to go on offense"--was credited with breaking a series of undercover videos showing alleged malfeasance at the offices of community-organizing group ACORN.
Last June, Breitbart's BigGovernment.com broke the original story of New York Rep. Anthony Weiner's lewd Twitter photo, which Weiner initially denied was his, then a cache of photos on Monday that forced Weiner's hand. At Weiner's infamous second press conference to confess to his improprieties, Breitbart pre-empted Weiner, grabbing the microphone.
"I'm here for some vindication," Breitbart barked. "The media says, 'Breitbart lies, Breitbart lies, Breitbart lies.' Give me one provable lie." [more...]
In Addition: Tributes and memorials are pouring forth. I appreciated some words Kathryn Jean Lopez wrote:
He dedicated his most recent book to his kids, writing: “Too many people fought to create this country” for us “to squander it in a generation. . . . I cannot stand on the sidelines as you and your generation are being handed the tab.”
Update: 3/2/12 - See also the following discussion and watch for Andy Levy and Gutfeld reminiscing about the experience of a phone call from Breitbart. (HT: Allahpundit)