Where have you gone, Andrew Breitbart? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you. The most important person in the 2020 election tragically left this world 8 years ago. But his legacy lives on with Breitbart News Network, writers/commentators like Dana Loesch, Larry O’Connor, Kurt Schlichter, and thousands of other citizen journalists with blogs and websites. 

Breitbart referred to the biased legacy news groups and Hollywood industry that openly support Democrats as the Democrat-Media Complex. It is the large, closed-loop propaganda machine that influences public opinion by killing stories that show Democrats in a negative light and by promoting stories that savage Republicans whether true or not. Of course, President Trump has labeled some of this as “fake news”. 

In his book Righteous Indignation, Breitbart discussed his early life in Los Angeles and his time at Tulane University, as well as his early career in Hollywood as a movie runner. These experiences shaped his perspective and understanding of how the Democrat-Media Complex operates. Seeing the internet as the great equalizer to this, he found his way to being a fan of the Drudge Report and eventually Matt Drudge introduced him to Arianna Huffington. Breitbart helped her to create the Huffington Post. In doing so, he created a platform for liberals to speak and show the world their true colors. One of their first impactful stories was to take down Bill Clinton donor Larry Lawrence, who had lied about his Merchant Marine service in order to get interred in Arlington National Cemetery, a scandal of the Clinton Administration. Ultimately, Lawrence was dis-interred from the cemetery. 

Breitbart also outlined the rise of progressivism and discussed Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson as well as the media’s terrible treatment of George W. Bush. He gave a history of socialism, Marxism and the Frankfurt School’s ideology in the U.S. Perhaps most importantly, well in advance of the 2016 election, he outlined the Alinsky tactics of the left in forcing their socialist agenda on our nation. If you look up Alinsky’s tactics for community organizers, you will recognize the media gaslighting that has occurred over the past 4 years. Joe Biden corruption in Ukraine? Blame Trump for the thing of which you are yourself guilty. Textbook Alinsky. 

He advocated going into enemy territory to argue, outlining his experiences as a hated conservative guest on Bill Maher’s show and passing the Coulter threshold (the point where you stand up for what you believe in, unafraid of missing dinner invitations or having spineless fellow conservatives scold you for not acquiescing to liberals). Of course, he gave detailed accounts of two of his biggest stories to break, the ACORN scandal and the Anthony Weiner scandal. 

Andrew Breitbart taught a generation of conservatives to walk towards the fire. Among his recommendations: 1. Don’t be afraid to go into enemy territory, 2. Expose the left for who they are—in their own words, 3) Be open about your secrets, 4) Don’t let the Complex use its PC lexicon to characterize you and shape the narrative, 5) Control your own story—Don’t let the complex do it, 6) Ubiquity is key, 7) Engage in the social arena, 8) Don’t pretend to know more than you do, 9) Don’t let them pretend to know more than they do, 10) Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon, 11) Don’t let them get away with ignoring their own rules, 12) Truth isn’t mean. It’s truth, 13) Believe in the audacity of hope. 

Andrew Breitbart showed conservatives that taking the high road when facing an ideological enemy with a scorched earth strategy is a foolish, losing game plan. He showed conservatives how to stand up and fight for our beliefs. He showed conservatives how to be citizen journalists and to use the internet as the great equalizer. He showed conservatives that a damning cell phone video is compelling evidence. 

Since 2016, the Democrat-Media Complex has told us there was nothing to see with Hillary Clinton’s private server e-mails, DNC Russian collusion, FBI surveillance of Trump’s 2016 campaign, Joe Biden firing a Ukrainian prosecutor, and Hunter and Joe Biden accepting money from other countries. The Democrat-Media Complex shapes this narrative. But in the internet age, unyielding citizens shape the true narrative and the Democrat-Media Complex can’t control that (and it drives them crazy). 

The government works for us, the citizens. The media works for us, the citizens who are their audience. As citizens, we have the power to elect officials and hold them to a high standard. We have the right to have our voices heard. Conservatives must join together, unafraid, and stand up for what we believe is right. When you vote, don’t vote for who you are told to vote for. Vote for the person whose positions on issues align with yours. Have the courage to walk towards the fire and do not be afraid. Our nation depends on citizens to hold each other accountable by honest inquiry and critical accountability.

Andrew Breitbart's legacy lives when citizens join together to say enough is enough and we are not going to accept defeat. Do not accept defeat.