For as long as I can remember, Breitbart’s opponents on the right have insisted that Steve Bannon twisted the site in a way that Andrew Breitbart would have never condoned.
But as I note at Liberal America, that line is baloney. How so? Well, consider that two of Breitbart’s major shareholders, CEO Larry Solov and megadonor Rebekah Mercer, were part of the Breitbart team at the time Andrew died in 2012. Indeed, Solov has been with Breitbart since the very beginning; the two were childhood friends.
You would have thought that if there was one moment that they could have proven Breitbart was above the kind of gangsterism we’ve seen from Bannon, it would have been after Alex Marlow admitted that he believed Leigh Corfman was credible—and yet went all in for Roy Moore anyway. What did we get from Solov and Mercer? Crickets.
Contrast that with what happened after Bannon’s quotes from “Fire and Fury” leaked out. Mercer tripped all over herself to break her silence and break ties with Bannon. She also began angling behind the scenes to push Bannon out. By Monday, Bannon was on an island. By Tuesday, Bannon had been told—not asked—to resign.
It would be telling enough that speaking ill of Trump is a firing offense at Breitbart, but politically motivated victim shaming isn’t. But the fact that two people who theoretically knew what Andrew Breitbart really would have wanted didn’t see fit to make a peep after Marlow’s shameful disclosure is even more telling. It’s also more proof that Breitbart needs to be driven out of existence.
I’ve said a number of times—if Breitbart is allowed to stay in business, we owe an apology to Gawker. Yes, Peter Thiel’s funding of Hulk Hogan’s suit was a crippling blow to Gawker. But it’s very telling that no one wanted to buy Gawker out of bankruptcy even as its sister sites were bought by Univision. And considering this was a site that had no qualms about aiding and abetting extortion, as well as one that engaged in an outrageous libel campaign against James Franco, who can blame them?
If those claiming Bannon betrayed Andrew Breitbart take off their blinders, they will see that what Breitbart did to Moore’s accusers is far worse than what Gawker did—and the moral rot that made it possible predates Bannon.