I guard the title of “hero” very closely. Andrew Breitbart passed away today at the age of 43. He leaves behind a wife and four kids. I had the chance to meet him for the first time at Smart Girl Summit in St Louis last summer. For all of his boisterous personality and public battles with the left, Andrew was a genuinely nice guy.
I happened to be walking back from wherever I was to the area where the conference was being held. As one does, I fell in behind a guy who was going the same way. Didn’t recognize him, didn’t think much of it until he turned around slightly when he opened a door. Andrew Breitbart was walking in front of me. What struck me immediately was that he was carrying coffee. But not just one coffee, he was carrying one of those trays from Starbucks that holds four cups of coffee. As I followed him in to the venue, he stopped at a table where Jon David Kahn and Holly Bacon were sitting to drop off one of his cups of coffee for Jon.
Andrew Breitbart, giant of a man, celebrity, figure head of the Breitbart empire of new media, hugely popular, capable of untold influence, force of nature, happy warrior, and bane of the left went to go get coffee for other people.
Andrew is my hero not just for his fierce and eloquent defense of conservative principles, not just for how he believed in, advocated, and used the power of new and social media as a force for the good of the republic, not just for his hatred of bullies or his love for our troops, but for the humble servant who made a coffee run that day in St Louis.
Senator Marco Rubio gives me great hope for the future of our republic. I can’t do better than Ben’s title, which hardly covers it “Greatest pro-life speech in a generation”
A couple of years ago, I wrote about Obama coming to Columbus and basically wrecking a full-scale, city-wide disaster exercise that major airports are required to perform every three years. For his ten minutes on the ground, workers at the site of his jobs speech were sent home without pay.
President Obama is above it all, our first post-American president. He certainly didn’t learn anything from his trip to Ohio, because on the heels of killing the Keystone pipeline project and associated jobs, he has struck again in Orlando. On short notice, he decided to show up in Disney World interrupting and disrupting the vacations of thousands of families to give a speech, ironically on tourism.
Normal folks save up years and years to afford a trip to the Magic Kingdom. Mom and Dad have to coordinate their time off from work between their own bosses and each other, the kids’ school, etc. They save and plan well in advance. Most people can’t just stay over an extra day to make up the time and aren’t likely to get a refund on their park admission.
This is our president. A man above the country, above the people who, never having held one, knows nothing about a real job and working long hours to be able to afford the extravagance of a trip to Orlando. Ever the community organizer, Obama’s hubris and disrespect for the individual he claims to champion knows no bounds. So far out of touch and out of step with flyover country, it would be laughable if it weren’t so infuriating.
While our soldiers come home too often unseen, you are the ones waiting at the airport for your husband, the kids for dad, that no one notices. You’ve gone to bed so many lonely nights you wish you could lose count, praying and crying alone to God the phone doesn’t ring, that there will be no knock at the door tonight.
For a months, often a year or more, life at home has kept moving. There are still carpools for school, soccer games, ballet lessons, birthdays, bedtimes, bike rides, bandaids, broken bones, and more.
You manage to keep the house running as a single parent. You hear the little ones say, “I miss dad, when’s he coming home?” and your heart breaks just a little each time. You miss him too but have to be strong and brave for him, for them.
Like your solider man, you volunteered for this assignment. You knew what you were getting into, but no one ever remembers you. No one ever says “thank you.” You’d be grateful if they just remembered him every now and again. For your family, the yellow ribbon isn’t just a magnet – it is your husband, the father of your children, your best friend.
You have the hardest job in the world. You are a military wife and mom.
I happened to be walking back from wherever I was to the area where the conference was being held. As one does, I fell in behind a guy who was going the same way. Didn’t recognize him, didn’t think much of it until he turned around slightly when he opened a door. Andrew Breitbart was walking in front of me. What struck me immediately was that he was carrying coffee. But not just one coffee, he was carrying one of those trays from Starbucks that holds four cups of coffee. As I followed him in to the venue, he stopped at a table where Jon David Kahn and Holly Bacon were sitting to drop off one of his cups of coffee for Jon.