Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart, 1969-2012

Brian Beutler | March 1, 2012, 11:31AM

Andrew Breitbart, an online media innovator and one of its most controversial practitioners, died unexpectedly early Thursday morning, at UCLA Medical Center, in Los Angeles. He was 43.

Surpassed only by his friend and fellow conservative Matt Drudge, whose eponymous news aggregation website still commands outsize influence over the broader media, Breitbart recognized years ahead of his current-day peers the Internet's potential to direct the flow of information from its point of inception and thus command narrative and help shape public opinion.

His alliance with Drudge began in the mid-1990s, before the Lewinsky scandal turned Drudge Report into water cooler conversation. Until quite recently Breitbart referred to himself as "Matt Drudge's bitch." But he left his own imprimatur on the Web as well -- one that, in different ways, rivals his mentor's.

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Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart: I Saved Anthony Weiner From Blackmail (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 20, 2011, 1:05PM

Conservative Blogger Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart says he saved Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) from an inevitable extortion scandal when he helped publicize the graphic tweet that led to Weiner's downfall.

Breitbart gleefully took partial credit for Weiner's resignation in his speech at the RightOnline conference in Minneapolis this weekend. In an impromptu interview, Breitbart says that he holds all sex scandal-plagued politicians in the same negative light, regardless of party.

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Anthony Weiner

Breitbart: 'I Loved Every Second Of It, Congressman Weiner'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 17, 2011, 10:42PM

Andrew Breitbart

MINNEAPOLIS -- Andrew Breitbart didn't talk much about Rep. Anthony Weiner at his RightOnline keynote here Friday night, but the disgraced New York Democrat was never far from his mind.

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Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart (Briefly) Crashes Netroots Nation, Commotion Ensues

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 17, 2011, 2:59PM

Andrew Breitbart

MINNEAPOLIS -- There will be no Weiner-style gatecrashing from Andrew Breitbart at the Netroots Nation conference here.

That is, unless Breitbart wants to pony up $355 for a ticket.

With the annual conservative Right Online conference just down the street from Netroots Nation, it was inevitable that some sort of shenanigan would occur in Minneapolis this week. And so it did, early Friday afternoon when Breitbart, camera crew in tow, showed up at Netroots unannounced and uncredentialed.

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Anthony Weiner

Andrew Breitbart Crashes Anthony Weiner's Press Conference

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 6, 2011, 4:21PM

Conservative media showman Andrew Brietbart took the microphone this afternoon at a press conference scheduled for Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). TPM's Eric Lach is on scene for the presser and sent these dispatches:

"He was on the side when a few reporters noticed him. Then suddenly swarmed. So then he strolls up to the podium," Lach reports. "I don't know if he got permission or what. Now just ended after someone in back yells "thank you" and he says thank you and gets off stage. "

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Anthony Weiner

Weiner To Hold Press Conference As New Photos Surface

Benjy Sarlin | June 6, 2011, 3:14PM

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

Watch live video of the press conference here.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) has scheduled a 4 p.m. ET press conference in New York City following the publication by conservative media guru Andrew Breitbart of a set of photos allegedly depicting a shirtless Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) that were allegedly emailed by Weiner to an female admirer. The Weiner press conference also comes after reports in the Star tabloid and Radaronline.com that another woman had provided them with a series of sexually oriented texts between herself and the married Weiner from earlier this year.

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Andrew Breitbart

[CORRECTED] Rep. Schakowsky to Andrew Breitbart: Leave Weiner Alone!

Igor Bobic | June 1, 2011, 1:39PM

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

Correction: The comments of Rep. Schakowsky were incorrectly attributed to Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) in the original version of this post. We regret the error.
---

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) fiercely defended Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) Wednesday as he continues to be bombarded by the press over a lewd picture of an unidentified man's crotch that appeared on his Twitter account, accusing conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart of unfairly targeting Weiner and distorting his image.

"I am well aware of Andrew Breitbart, his chasing around with microphones in my face, his distortions [of] ACORN and Shirley Sherrod ... he has in my view no credibility whatsoever," Schakowsky said. "I have no belief that there's anything going on with Anthony Weiner, who also happens to be a happy, pretty lucky newlywed."

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Shirley Sherrod

Shirley Sherrod Returns To USDA To Work On Civil Rights

Benjy Sarlin | May 14, 2011, 9:34AM

Former USDA official Shirley Sherrod

Shirley Sherrod is back at the United States Department of Agriculture, almost a year after she was forced out by a misleading video spread by conservatives falsely accusing her of discriminating against white farmers.

Sherrod will not take her old position, reports Politico, instead rejoining the agency to work on civil rights. In her new job, she'll lead a program designed to improve relations with minority farmers.

In a video circulated by Andrew Breitbart last year, Sherrod was shown discussing how she was reluctant to offer help to white farmers. She was subsequently fired. But her dismissal turned into a fiasco for the agency when it was revealed that the video misportrayed her speech, which actually told of how she learned not to discriminate and, in fact, had since befriended the farmers in question. She is currently suing Breitbart over the incident.

Sarah Palin

The New Spin: The White House Would Be A Step Down For Sarah Palin

Benjy Sarlin | March 23, 2011, 8:39AM

Pop quiz: you're a right-wing commentator looking at a string of polls showing Sarah Palin's poll numbers sinking to new lows even as the weak field of GOP presidential contenders continues to thin out. But a large chunk of your audience would sooner eat glass than hear Palin's chances maligned by one of their own. What do you do?

Here's one answer: claim that Palin is even more powerful outside the White House and that the presidency would be a step down for her.

It's a line gaining some traction among pundits on the right. Take conservative media guru Andrew Breitbart, who suggested in GQ this month that Palin would be truly unstoppable if she only didn't get bogged down by, say, being President.

"I think the presidency is beneath her," Breitbart told GQ. "There's more power in being Oprah Winfrey than in being Barack Obama. It would be my goal for Palin to become Oprah and be the ultimate kingmaker for twenty-odd years. Oprah anointed Barack Obama."

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Andrew Breitbart

Breitbart: Code Pink Protestors Used To Be 'Kind Of Slutty,' Now They're 'Long In The Tooth'

Jillian Rayfield | February 12, 2011, 11:15AM

In his rambling CPAC speech today, Andrew Breitbart described how he has enjoyed going to progressive rallies and peppering the protesters with questions. But, he said, the women of the anti-war group Code Pink are "tedious at this point" because they used to be "kinda slutty lefties," but "they're getting long in the tooth."

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Andrew Breitbart

ABC Cuts Breitbart From Election Night Coverage

Rachel Slajda | November 2, 2010, 5:00PM

Andrew Breitbart

After several biting back-and-forths, ABC News announced today that it is cutting conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart from ABC's election night coverage.

The network was the target of much blowback after it announced that Breitbart -- who had a role in Shirley Sherrod's firing and has supported James O'Keefe's video activism -- would take part in a town hall-style event in Phoenix.

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2010 elections

Breitbart: ABC Told Me I'd Be Part Of Broadcast Coverage

Rachel Slajda | November 1, 2010, 1:12PM

Andrew Breitbart

In the continuing back-and-forth over what exactly right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart will be contributing to ABC News's election night coverage, Breitbart now says he was told he'd be part of the news organization's broadcast coverage.

In emails Breitbart posted to his web site last night, an unnamed producer from ABC News explains that ABC is looking for "political figures and newsmakers to appear in our Town Hall style panel" in Phoenix, Ariz. The email notes that the town hall, which will take place at Arizona State University, "will broadcast on the ABC Television Network, abcnews.com, ABC News Now, and ABC News Radio."

ABC has shot back.

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Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin Accuses Media Of Conspiring Against Joe Miller, Suggests CBS Stands For 'Corrupt Bastards Club'

Brian Beutler | October 31, 2010, 2:22PM

Former GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin is out for blood (again) this time against an Alaska CBS affiliate. She's accusing the station's reporters of conspiring against Joe Miller, calling them "bastards" and suggesting that the initials CBS stand for "Corrupt Bastards Club." The station is strongly defending itself, though, calling her claims entirely unfounded.

Palin, Miller, and their supporters are basing their accusations on a snippet of audio they leaked to Andrew Breitbart's website Big Government. The audio is weak, and it's hard to suss out the context, but what you can hear sounds like KTVA reporters facetiously explaining how to turn a story into a sensation: specifically, jesting about finding a child molester who's voting Republican and tarring Miller by association. The conversation took place after one of the reporters left a message for a Miller spokesperson, but accidentally failed to hang up.

Palin took to Twitter and Fox News Sunday to gin up outrage.

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Andrew Breitbart

ABC News Backs Away From Breitbart

Brian Beutler | October 30, 2010, 3:05PM

After facing a barrage of criticism for inviting conservative Andrew Breitbart to participate in election night activities, ABC News is now trying to put some space between themselves and the controversial activist.

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Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart To Provide "Analysis" For ABC News On Election Night

Brian Beutler | October 29, 2010, 7:00PM

Andrew Breitbart

ABC News has confirmed that conservative agitprop artist Andrew Breitbart will join the ABC News team to provide "live analysis" of election returns on Tuesday night.

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DE-SEN

Conservative On O'Donnell's Claremont Creds: 'It's Helped Me Tremendously' (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | October 8, 2010, 4:39PM

Chuck DeVore and Christine O'Donnell

Conservative Republican Chuck DeVore told TPM today that he agrees with Christine O'Donnell that a week-long think tank program qualifies her for the United States Senate. He completed the Claremont Institute's competitive Lincoln Fellowship program two years after O'Donnell was a fellow, and he said in an interview its rigorous discussion of the Constitution is unrivaled in modern politics.

"It's helped me tremendously in my political life. What it gave me was the practical understanding of what makes the United States unique," DeVore, a member of the California State Assembly, told TPM.

DeVore said that being a Lincoln Fellow gave him "a deeper understanding" of whether laws he is voting for on the floor of the assembly are "really appropriate" or constitutional.

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Political movies

In Anti-Spending Flick Cartoon Bill Clinton Chases Sarah Palin, Obama Smokes In Oval Office

Christina Bellantoni | October 7, 2010, 12:19PM

A scene from "I Want Your Money"

A new conservative anti-spending film starring Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee aimed at influencing the midterm elections paints President Clinton as chasing Sarah Palin's skirt and includes a scene where a cartoon Ronald Reagan K.O.'s President Obama in a boxing ring.

Filmmaker Ray Griggs has told TPM in an interview he used animation in "I Want Your Money" because he wanted to educate young people about the deficit. Problem is, the facts he uses are skewed to make Obama and Nancy Pelosi look like spending bandits -- and, while he canonizes Reagan, he fails to mention that the Gipper also raised taxes.

TPM obtained a copy of the film, which includes interviews with Gingrich, Huckabee, Andrew Breitbart and Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, Griggs' narration about the good 'ol days under Reagan, interviews with tea partiers, man-on-the-street clips from New York's Times Square about the definition of socialism and several cringe-worthy animated scenes of Obama interacting with former presidents dead and living.

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Beverly Hills Tea Party

Take Back Our Rodeo Drive: Pat Boone Helps Launch 'Beverly Hills Tea Party' (VIDEOS)

Jillian Rayfield | September 28, 2010, 9:19AM

Ralliers at the Beverly Hills Tea Party

Just call it "Beverly Hills, 9021-Obama Is A Socialist."

Last weekend, famous crooner and national spokesman for the 60 Plus Association Pat Boone launched a "Beverly Hills Tea Party." Aimed at those lonely conservatives in Los Angeles, the rally featured the creme de la creme of right-wing celebrities, who, as always, warned against our socialist President and the tyranny he and his pesky liberal brethren are trying to impose.

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9/12

Tea Partiers Descend On DC For 9/12 Rally Today

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 12, 2010, 8:23AM

Tea Party really in Washington, D.C., April 15th, 2010.

For the umpteenth time this year, swarms of tea partiers will descend on the nation's capital to rail against the Democrats who they say have set this nation on a path that ends with a hammer and/or sickle. Yes, it's 9/12, one of the biggest holidays of the year for the tea party movement -- maybe even the most sacred day on the tea party calendar, second, arguably, only to Tax Day, April 15.

Follow my live coverage of the event throughout the day here.

Today, thousands of angry conservatives will march from the Washington Monument to the front lawn of the Capitol where they'll be fired up by plenty of rhetorical lighter fluid from a conservative speaker corps including Andrew Breitbart, Dick Armey and Erick Erickson. Much like they did the last several times they headed to DC, the speakers are expected to declare the rally the end of the line for Democrats.

Thousands of the conservative faithful in DC? Big speeches from the most irascible public figures on the right? I know what you're thinking -- didn't we just see this movie two weeks ago? The answer is yes...and no. Glenn Beck's August 28 "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial was the Fox News star's sequel to last year's 9/12 rally (you know, that one that basically every American alive attended, according to Beck) and featured some of the same audience who attended last year's 9/12 event.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Anti-Mosque Movement Draws Support From Controversial European Politician

Brian Beutler | August 20, 2010, 6:00PM

A mosque in Detroit (protesters decrying a planned Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero in New York inset).

Pamela Geller, the woman who arguably touched off the weeks-long fight over the Cordoba House, is organizing a September 11 protest to stop the project, and she's invited some of America's most high-profile conservatives to attend. But she's also enlisting the help of one of the most controversial anti-Muslim politicians in Europe.

Joining Geller and Andrew Breitbart, among others, will be Dutch politician Geert Wilders, the controversial anti-Muslim leader of the right wing Freedom Party in the Netherlands.

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Uni-Tea

Scenes From Tea Party Diversity Day And The Multi-Racial Crowd That Never Was (VIDEOS)

Jillian Rayfield | August 2, 2010, 5:57PM

On Saturday, TPM attended the Uni-Tea rally in Philadelphia, with the hopes of witnessing the most diverse Tea Party rally ever.

Unfortunately, the mostly white gathering left us with crushed hopes and broken dreams, though we did manage to capture some good video of Tea Partiers trying their darndest to rally the multi-racial crowd that never was...

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Uni-Tease: Scenes From The Tea Party's Failed Diversity Day]

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Andrew Breitbart

RNC Still Inviting Breitbart For Rescheduled Event

Eric Kleefeld | August 2, 2010, 12:19PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele and Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart.

Although the Republican National Committee has postponed its upcoming fundraising event in Beverly Hills, California, they are nevertheless making it clear that Andrew Breitbart -- who was supposed to co-headline the mid-August event with RNC Chairman Michael Steele -- is still invited to the rescheduled event.

"I don't know Andrew Breitbart's schedule for after Labor Day, but he certainly will be invited," RNC spokesman Doug Heye told the Washington Times.

As we reported last week, Breitbart and RNC Chairman Michael Steele were supposed to co-headline a fundraiser in mid-August.

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Andrew Breitbart

RNC Nixes Event With Breitbart

Eric Kleefeld | August 2, 2010, 10:45AM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele and conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart

The Republican National Committee has postponed (or perhaps canceled) its scheduled event in mid-August that was to feature none other than Andrew Breitbart.

As we reported last week, Breitbart and RNC Chairman Michael Steele were supposed to co-headline a fundraiser in Beverly Hills.

But now the event has been called off.

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Andrew Breitbart

Breitbart Ducks Questions About Sherrod At Uni-Tea

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Jillian Rayfield | July 31, 2010, 4:07PM

The Tea Party's Uni-Tea rally in Philadelphia today marked Andrew Breitbart's first public speech since Shirley Sherrod's firing from the USDA, but Breitbart ducked TPM's questions about the incident, and didn't bring it up at all in his 20-minute long speech.

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Tea Party

Preview: Today Is Tea Party Diversity Day -- Featuring Andrew Breitbart

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 31, 2010, 9:23AM

Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart, the man who helped get Shirley Sherrod fired from the Department of Agriculture, will be among the voices tea party leaders rely on to reach out to minorities at a special rally in Philadelphia today. "Uni-Tea" kicks off this afternoon with speeches from several prominent African American conservatives as well as the trouble-making founder of Breitbart.com and BigGovernment.

Event co-organizer Jeffrey Weingarten, a tea partier from Morristown, NJ, told TPM yesterday he expects the event to draw crowds of multi-ethnic faces not generally seen at normal tea party events. The goal of the rally is to show off the movement's diversity on stage while drawing demographics not usually associated with the tea party into the movement.

"I hope people will be surprised," Weingarten said. "From our point of view, if there was just one other than white face [in the crowd] it would be surprising. From the point of view of the outside, a decent percentage of other than white faces would be a surprise also."

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David Vitter

Vitter, Breitbart Revive Death Panel Smear In Attack On FDA Breast Cancer Drug Decision

Brian Beutler | July 28, 2010, 1:29PM

Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

In one fell swoop today, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) revived the specter of health care death panels, and called into question the FDA's ability to judge the effectiveness of breast cancer medication.

According to the Associated Press, Vitter slammed the FDA, which voted 12-1 to drop its endorsement of the breast cancer drug Avastin after research showed that its additional positive effects were minimal, but it was associated with increased liver toxicity. Vitter called the decision "sickening" -- but not because the FDA's accelerated approval of the drug in 2007 went against the medical advise of its advisory committee or because women with metastatic breast cancer using the drug were more likely to die. Instead, he compared the FDA's reversal to withholding care for patients whose lives are "not deemed valuable enough."

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IL-09

GOP Candidate Invokes Steve Biko In Defense Of Breitbart

Eric Kleefeld | July 26, 2010, 5:42PM

IL-09 House candidate Joel Pollak (R)

Joel Pollak, a Republican House candidate running in the ultra-safe Democratic seat currently held by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, is coming to the defense of Andrew Breitbart against Democratic attacks. In fact, Pollak is even invoking the late Steve Biko, the black South African activist who was killed by police 33 years ago and became a symbol of the Apartheid regime's tyrannical rule.

Pollak, whose white family left South Africa during the Apartheid era in 1977, wrote in a post on Breitbart's Big Government site:

My family immigrated to America in the same year that South African police murdered Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko. The racist regime that destroyed him viewed him as a threat because of his simple credo: "I write what I like." Biko understood that freedom of thought and expression were the greatest weapons against tyranny.

Last week, my opponent, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), called on me to denounce Andrew Breitbart and to end any further association with his website, BigGovernment.com.

Her attack was typical of a corrupt Washington elite that believes it is entitled to tell people what to say and where to say it. It was that kind of behavior that convinced me to run against Schakowsky to begin with, after she collaborated with paid organizers in shutting down questions from constituents at her town hall meeting last August.

(Via Media Matters)

Andrew Breitbart

TPM Exclusive: Steele To Hold RNC Event -- Co-Starring Andrew Breitbart

Eric Kleefeld | July 26, 2010, 10:10AM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele and conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has a party fundraising event coming up in August that is scheduled to feature a very special guest: Conservative media activist Andrew Breitbart, according to a copy of the invitation exclusively obtained by TPM.

The fundraising event, billed as an "Election Countdown," will take place from August 12-14 in Beverly Hills, California, and will also feature other politicians such as California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, and Nevada Republican gubernatorial nominee Brian Sandoval. Steele and Breitbart are scheduled to co-headline a welcome reception on the first evening, August 12.

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Bob Etheridge

Meet Bob Etheridge, The Member Of Congress Who Manhandled Breitbart Ambushers

Brian Beutler | June 14, 2010, 3:29PM

Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC)

Meet Bob Etheridge, the North Carolina House Democrat who got caught on camera last week roughing up an activist affiliated with Andrew Breitbart's Big Government project.

Etheridge has since apologized for his behavior, though that's done little to stop the fallout from the altercation. Republicans are hammering him, and Democrats are hitting back at Republicans for setting up Etheridge and trying to provoke other members as well.

But who is Etheridge?

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