-By Warner Todd Huston
Is it possible these days to be a new, active conservative running for Congress for the first time and not know who Andrew Breitbart is? Me, I’d reckon that an in the know, new candidate that claims to be conservative and a spokesman for Tea Partiers could not possibly be so isolated that he is unaware of conservative media-crusader Andrew Breitbart. But there is a candidate in Ohio who displayed right on his own campaign website just such a display of ignorance on Breitbartania, Breitbartism, or Breitbartness… whatever you want to call it, it just appears that this guy is stone-cold out of touch with the current conservative movement not to know thing one about Andrew Breitbart.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am sure there are plenty of 90-year-old, Brahmin conservatives who get flummoxed at “the Facebookings.” I am sure there still exist out-of-touch, elder statesmen of the movement that just haven’t caught up with those newfangled Internet tubes that our friend Al Gore created. I am sure that there are more than a handful of aged establishment types shaking their fist at the Fox News and those darn websheets positive that they’ll never catch on, just as they were sure rock-n-roll was a passing fad. But can you be an up and comer in the conservative movement and be wholly unaware of one of the newest icons of conservatives everywhere?
I am here at CPAC this week and just ran into Joe “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher who was telling me about his run for Congress in the 9th Congressional District. Joe made me aware of a hilarious little example of the abject cluelessness of his opponent. So let me introduce to you one Mr. Steve Kruas. Professional auctioneer actually licensed with the Ohio State Ag Department with well over 300 “successful” auctions under his belt. I guess you don’t need the Internets, talk radio and TV news shows to sell used farm equipment.
Anyhoo, the “strong fiscal conservative” is running in the 9th Congressional District GOP Primary against Wurzelbacher both of whom are vying to face Marcy Kaptur (D, OH) in the general election this year. Steve is a bit miffed that Joe isn’t giving him much notice at this point in the campaign.
Certainly, Kraus is happy to link himself with the Tea Party and even helped put on an event in Sandusky, Ohio where he set himself up as a spokesman for those venerable homegrown activists.
But it’s Kraus’ website where all the action is. There Kraus attacks Joe as a scurrilous sort of scoundrel. Why? Well, because Joe claims to be a limited government guy but he and all his friends work for BIG Government, darn it!
Joe the Plumber is a contributor for Biggovernment.com.
His campaign manager Phil Christofanelli was going to school in Missouri and is a contributor at Biggovernment.com.
Dustin Stockton of the Western Representation PAC (based in Nevada I think) solicits money for Joe the Plumber and again is a contributor for Biggovernment.com
Kinda funny all these connections to Biggovernment.com and supposedly they are fighting for limited government.
Maybe I ticked off Andrew Breitbart in a previous life (owner of Biggovernment.com)?
Horrible, right? How could this Wurzelbacher fellow, whoever that is, be claiming to be for small government when he works so darn hard for this BIG GOVERNMENT thingie?
But isn’t it obvious that Kraus doesn’t have any idea what he is talking about?
Yes, BigGovernment.com is a site owned by Andrew Breitbart (whoever that is, eh Stevie?). But BigGovernment.com is not a site that is working to promote big government ideas. It is a site that attacks big government ideas. The site’s subject is big government exposées.
So, one has to wonder how someone can claim to be a tea party conservative — a new movement, mind you, one informed daily by the Internet, talk radio, and TV cable news — and not know who Andrew Breitbart is and what his websites are and do? How can he not understand that Andrew Breitbart and all his minions are not advocates of bigger government? How can he be a new, young conservative and never have become aware of one of conservatism’s most active rock star-like personages?
Go ahead and claim that I am just coming to the defense of my boss and my coworkers here at BigGovernment.com, but come on. Think about it. Can you be a well-informed conservative these days and not be aware of the leaders in your own movement?
You tell me? But what do I know? Not only do I write for this Breitbart fellow’s BigGovernment.com but I also write for his BigJournalism.com site, too. So I must be enamored of fat journalists.
This Joe guy talking to some other guy in 2008, it’s jsut so hard to keep things straight these days.
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, RightPundits.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, AmericanDaily.com, among many, many others. Mr. Huston is also endlessly amused that one of his articles formed the basis of an article in Germany’s Der Spiegel Magazine in 2008.
For a full bio, please CLICK HERE.