The revolution may or may not be televised, but it will be digitalized. The new expansion of Breitbart News to London and Texas is proof. Breitbart News, one of the most disruptive forces in journalism, is crossing the pond and crossing the country.
Less than six years ago, the late Andrew Breitbart, having cut his media teeth with Matt Drudge, started a blog in a Los Angeles basement. Actually, he started much more than a blog; he started a revolution in the media and politics. Indeed, his status as an activist and provocateur was as much a threat to the staid world of conservative journalism as it was to the world of smug liberalism.
Over the next three years, Andrew’s site broke such big stories as Anthony Weiner’s “sexting” and the explosive ACORN videos. Yet it wasn’t just the scoops that propelled Andrew forward; it was his remarkable to-the-barricades style.
Having broken the Weiner story in late May 2011, Andrew had to withstand the furious denials and desperate counterattacks of Weiner and the Weiner-loving MSM. So what did Andrew do? He not only defended himself and his journalism – which was, of course, impeccably accurate – but he also went on the attack himself. In New York City on June 6, 2011, Andrew arrived at a scheduled Weiner press conference, and when he saw that Weiner had not yet arrived, he boldly strode to the podium and started talking; he answered questions for almost 15 minutes. It was guerrilla theater at its best; even the MSM had to cover it. Weiner resigned from Congress five days later.
As Andrew once said, “The second I realized I liked being hated more than I liked being liked, that’s when the game began.” Those words captured the essence of the man. He was fearless, but he also had fun. Politics and media were a game to Andrew – but a serious game. And a game he intended to win.
Today, two years after Andrew’s tragic death, his spirit lives on in Breitbart News, which has just announced a major expansion, adding another 16 names to its formidable roster of writers and diggers. As Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon declares, “We look at London and Texas as two fronts in our current cultural and political war.” Okay, it’s more than a formidable roster – it’s a formidable army.
From London, Breitbart News will cover breaking stories from all over the globe. Americans have learned, for example, that many of the bad ideas that come to the US – from green zealotry, to boycotts of Israel, to a “czarist” dismissal of democracy – have had their start in the European Union. In addition, Breitbart News will retain its special focus on the Middle East.
From Texas, Breitbart will cover equally compelling stories, including the epic Democratic effort to turn Texas from red to blue. The Lone Star is the second largest state in the union, boasting 38 electoral votes; the left knows that if it can turn Texas, the Democrats will hold the presidency forever. So top Obama operatives, funded by big Democratic donors, have been assigned to the effort, dubbed “Battleground Texas.”
Breitbart News is pleased to note that so far, at least, the red-to-blue flip project isn’t going very well. Indeed, Breitbart News is proud to have played a major role in torpedoing the first Democrat to step forward, Wendy Davis. Breitbart News has minutely chronicled her lies about her background, her disingenuousness on the Second Amendment issue, and her flip-flopping on abortion. And that’s just warming up; Breitbart Texas is just getting started.
Breitbart News misses Andrew. He was unique; there will never be another like him. But his spirit lives, and his vision inspires.
So yes, the revolution is coming: Stay tuned, or, should we say, stay clicking!