So I left one morning show interview and headed to the Sirius XM studio at Forty-Eighth Street and Sixth Avenue, walking with my luggage, and slipped into the building with barely any time to get to JFK to fly back to Los Angeles. I found myself waiting outside Opie and Anthony’s studio near actress Glenn Close, who was there to promote her TV show. When I entered the studio, I met Gregg “Opie” Hughes for the first time. I did not get the same positive vibe from him that I got from Anthony. Also in the studio was the surly leftist actor Vincent D’Onofrio. The first half of the hourlong interview was rollicking and profane, a more raw take on l’affaire Weiner than I had ever given. It was fun, and cathartic. During a break, I was asked to show the photograph. As I searched for it on my BlackBerry, I reemphasized why I did not want the image to be made public, and I asked them to respect that wish. On tape—tape that I did not realize was rolling—they agreed not to reproduce or publish the photo. But shock jocks, apparently, do what shock jocks do, and en route to JFK, no more than a half hour after leaving the studio, I received a phone call from a reporter—from New York magazine, I believe—who asked about a photo that purported to be the prized Weiner “dick pic” that had emanated from Opie and Anthony.
Oh, shit. “I have to get back to you.”
And I proceeded to call my business partner and best friend Larry Solov. “I think we have a problem…”
Salon.com, which led the Democrat-Media Complex’s attack-the-messenger barrage against me, wrote that the worst part about the chain of events leading to Weiner’s admission was that Breitbart was proved correct. And I knew, at this moment, that this minor mistake in judgment, to trust shock jocks, was going to be exploited and manipulated—and it was. My new best friends on network television and the cable networks had now seized upon the seeming contradiction between my statement to Lauer that I wanted to protect Weiner’s family by not releasing the photo, and the inadvertent release by way of notorious radio pranksters. I feared that my whirlwind redemption tour was coming to an abrupt end.
Luckily, the Virgin America flight back to Los Angeles had WiFi—and in the middle seat, in coach, I furiously typed away an explanation and apology. In midflight, when I feared the left and media would turn this molehill into a mountain, I watched on CNN—on the seat in front of me—the breaking news that Huma Abedin, Weiner’s wife, was pregnant. Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m a character in a soap opera, I thought.
When I landed, a CNN producer was waiting for me at baggage claim, holding a sign like the ones limousine drivers display. He grabbed me and took me outside to the departure level, where a massive CNN satellite truck was waiting for the now-defunct Elliot Spitzer show. Was he going to ream me for my Opie and Anthony faux pas? Was he going to be the one to try to pivot the story yet again, to somehow make me the bad guy? He began the interview by asking me about the incident, wherein I answered that I still chose not to publish the photograph, but now other websites, including Gawker, had chosen to publish it without any media scrutiny. The photo is news, I had stated; I had shown it to other journalists previously, and I regretted what the shock jocks did. He accepted the answer, and for the most part the issue went away. Only a few enraged and bitter left-wing stalwarts desperately cling to this minor part of the narrative, because they need anything to minimize the victory I had achieved.
The next big moment in the story came when, a week later, three weeks into a saga that sucked the air out of Washington and took the Democratic Party off its “Mediscare” message, Rep. Weiner—with no allies and excruciating pressure from his own party—was forced, finally, to step down. It was borderline anticlimactic. I landed at the Minneapolis airport for the Right Online conference, which was being held across the street from the left-wing Netroots convention. After doing a flurry of high-profile radio and cable TV interviews, I was received with a hero’s welcome at the conservative conference. I even walked over to the left-wing conference, perhaps looking for a confrontation with those who heeded the Daily Kos call to destroy me when I dared report the truth about Anthony Weiner. I was met with the mob that Ann Coulter so eloquently writes about. Video of the confrontation went viral, and yet again I went on Hannity to discuss my public battles with the Democrat-Media Complex.
The quickness of the transition from being the most popular person on media row, with phones ringing at an alarming rate, to virtual radio silence in the days that followed was as abrupt as it was humorous and informative.
In January 2010, Republican Scott Brown improbably won the late Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat in Massachusetts. It’s hard not to look at that historic moment in time in context with our exposure of ACORN a few months prior to the November 2009 gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia. A year later, our tireless defense of the Tea Party mind-set against sustained and wicked mischaracterization by the mainstream media and Hollywood helped pave the way for the historic 2010 midterm election tsunami. Since the media that we check and balance refuses to give us our credit, we will gladly take credit ourselves. But the victory that has its most obvious roots in our reporting is the shocking election of Republican Bob Turner to Congressman Weiner’s vacated seat. Let it be noted that not one major media outlet, news wire, newspaper, or news portal contacted me for comment on the day a Republican took the New York Ninth, this historic Democratic seat in Brooklyn and Queens. For three election cycles in a row, the power of New Media—feisty and defiant reporting, wherein “the counternarrative” defeats “the narrative”—has sent shock waves through New York’s media row and the nation’s capital. They are shaken. They are weary. They will double down. Yet “we, the people” will prevail.
I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and—famously—I enjoy making enemies.
Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to thank my wife, Susie. Long before I even met her, I was told by a friend, who has since passed away, that he met my future wife, a young, beautiful, and hysterically funny woman who at the time lived two thousand miles away. I am eternally grateful that Mike Gaybrant’s fantastical prophecy came true.
To our amazing(ly large) family, Samson, Mia, Charlie, and Will: Too many people fought to create this country to squander it in a generation of greed and irresponsibility. I cannot stand on the sidelines as you and your generation are being handed the tab. You are beautiful, smart, and unconditionally loved, and I hope that I inspire you to become strong individualists—even if that means sometimes disagreeing with your headstrong father.
To Larry Solov: At first a friend, and second, my most trusted adviser. You have made so many quiet sacrifices to join this business turned cultural, political, and media war. I admire you for your intense loyalty, for looking after the things I don’t always want to see, and for balancing your two worlds to make things work for us. I hope one day you can look back and realize how much of this fight is inspired by you and your moral compass and decency. Thanks for not having ADHD, too. That would really, really suck. Our friendship is cherished more than words can describe.
To my mother, Arlene, and my sister, Tracey, and her beautiful family (husband Brian, and children Ben, Jake, and Lola): Thanks for your constant support and love. Thanks, Mom, for instilling that distinct guilt complex that makes making the right and moral decision a necessity.
To Orson and Ally: Two of the more important role models in my life. Orson, you’ve taught me how to mix the magic formula of truth, conviction, humor, and point of view. Let’s see how it works out
! Ally, your compassion and decency are an inspiration. You have done more to make our extended family gel than anyone else. Your and Orson’s prayers do not go unnoticed. Thanks for putting in a good word with the Big Guy.
To Carolyn, Mimi, Marc (the most talented man I know), Max, Zeke, Rosemary, Calvin, Zelly, Georgia, et al.: The degree to which you agree or disagree with me politically doesn’t change a thing about how grateful I am to have you as my family. That goes for Georgia, especially! Vote Chris Christie ’12!
To the Big Editors: There’s rarely a week that goes by that I don’t think out of the blue about how “lucky” we got with our first editor pick, John Nolte. Yes, he is the conscience of “the Bigs”—but when the wars begin, he is the first to grab a weapon and fight the good fight. Michael Flynn, a longtime friend and trench warrior, was the right man at the right time to run Big Government and to make sense of the wild new Obama/Pelosi/Reid big-government terrain. After fighting the activist left for so many years, his collaboration in the group takedown of mighty, mighty corrupt ACORN is his place in history. First the erudite combatant Michael Walsh, and now the elegant warrior Dana Loesch, Big Journalism is a central part of the Bigs mission: it’s not just the corrupt politicians who need to be held in check, but, as Sarah Palin called them, “the corrupt bastards” of the media who use the false veil of objectivity to fight so consistently and mercilessly against those who reject their rigid “Progressive” goals. Over at Big Peace we have our resident scholar, Peter Schweizer. Sometimes the guilt gets to be too much thinking that we rushed this impeccable gentleman into Animal House. We’re so glad his sobriety is there to tame our overenthusiasm from time to time. And we’re even more grateful he stands with us when the going gets tough. Our latest editor, Larry O’Connor, entered the fray as a contributor and became a must-hire from day one and is family. And, last and most certainly not least, Alex Marlow. Alex was our first hire, and is arguably the most important person in the entire enterprise. With that admission, you are now a marked man. You have earned every ounce of my respect for you. In fifteen years when you need me to vouch for your character, you know I’ll be there singing your many talents and virtues. Wink, wink.
To the Big Contributors: You are my business model. When we set out to design the twenty-first-century virtual newspaper, we knew it had to be powered by you, the citizen journalist: the doctor, the lawyer, and the schoolteacher ready and willing to break the stories the mainstream media conspicuously ignore, and join us in the fight to change politics and the media for the better. You’re in the fight for the best of reasons: to preserve the future of this great nation. For the hours you’ve put in with nary a paycheck and rarely a thank-you to show for it, you’ve been ruffling all the right feathers and changing not only the discussion, but how it’s discussed. You’ve redefined what a newsroom means in this day and age, and countless times, you’ve beaten the Old Media at their own game—and believe me, they don’t like it. When we have a real newsroom with a real infrastructure, I cannot wait to spend my time calling each and every one of you to thank you for your heroic wares.
Drudge, thanks for everything.
Steve Bannon, thanks for becoming a front-and-center confidant and friend in no time flat. Your values, intelligence, generosity and guidance have been invaluable. Happy to be a grundoon in your service.
John Fund, thanks for your Obi-Wan Kenobi–like guidance through the political and news cycles. And of course I cherish our friendship deeply.
Ben Shapiro, a better sounding board I could not find. We’re an odd pair. We are nearly mathematical opposites, but fighting the same fight for virtually the same reasons. Is that the commutative property? (Math was never my best subject.) You have no idea how glad I am I reached out to you when I saw you fighting the good fight as a seventeen-year-old sophomore at the UCLA Bruin. Then I couldn’t believe someone courageous like you existed. Nine years later, I feel the exact same.
Darren Rush, Adrian Otto, and Gerald Chao, you know too well my technical shortcomings as that Internet guy and make me look good nonetheless.
Dennis Miller, I am eternally grateful for you supporting me and my work from the very, very beginning. Apostasy wouldn’t be half as fun without knowing THE Dennis Miller’s seeing the same things, too. Also, for whatever reason, one of your lines has stuck in my head for over twenty years: “ ‘Jimmy cracked corn, and I don’t care.’ What in the hell sort of attitude is that?” Kills me.
Rush Limbaugh, your astounding success is a beacon for every aspiring voice on the radio and every “blogger” on the Internet. Like Reagan, you led this revolution with good cheer and humor—kryptonite to the left. On a selfish note, becoming friends with one of my heroes has been a highlight of my life.
Sean Hannity, aside from your guidance, support, and friendship, you are also a role model for the way you balance your public and family life all the while maintaining your exemplary character.
Ann Coulter, though our body types are noticeably dissimilar, it is you who I’ve always aspired to be—the most courageous warrior in the movement. With precision and Vegas-headliner humor, you dismantle the left daily and stop their transparent antics in their tracks. You’re a great mentor and a better friend.
Mark Masters, thanks for dropping out of school and selling puka shells. You are an immense inspiration, a general, and a good friend.
Laura Ingraham, when I was getting clobbered, you stood out, defending me when it was not the politically expedient thing to do. And boy, did I notice.
Mark Levin, your book Liberty and Tyranny is the most important book of recent memory. Its timely release as the Tea Party grew and thrived was divine. History is going to look fondly on you, and I will be happy to say that a ferocious and defiant patriot was a friend.
Hugh Hewitt, you’re the first place I know I can go to unravel the most complex issues of our time, sometimes even when they involve me. Thanks for sticking up for me even when others didn’t.
Patrick Courrielche, thanks for showing exemplary courage—and for understanding that art and culture are more influential than politics.
James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles, you earned your place in media history. Sorry Jann Wenner never saw fit to put you on the cover of Rolling Stone. His loss. Your futures are bright.
Greg Gutfeld, you’ve done more to alter the image of conservatives for America’s Utes than any other 3 a.m. late-night cable news talk show host. In all seriousness, it’s amazing that two guys so similarly unserious in our comparable upbringings have realized there’s more to life than finding cool music before others. Thanks for all.
Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, and Megyn Kelly, thanks for seeing the subtle, grotesque details that turned the ACORN exposé into a pivotal 3-D Avatar-like news-watching experience.
Rusty Humphries, Lars Larson, Greg Garrison, thanks for making me a regular part of your radio diet.
Michael Savage, my next book will be a controversial exposé that you are cuddly, warm, affectionate, hysterically funny, and easy to get along with.
Mike and Diane Silver, our luck in happening upon the two of you as neighbors is going down as one of life’s greatest unexpected gifts. Thanks for looking after my wife and family when I am in outer space.
Adam Baldwin, a happy warrior and at times, literally, my bodyguard.
Gary Hewson, real estate development, my ass! You’re an investigative journalist legend!
Paul Mauro, many thanks for your insights and assistance—and for what you do during the day.
In no particular order, and whose friendship and support, regardless of politics, I cherish: Maura Flynn, Christian Josi, Andrew Marcus, Evan Maloney, Jude, Ken LeCorte, Tim Hale, John Ondrasik, Glenn Reynolds, Chip Gerdes, Christian Bladt, Jon Kahn, Liberty Chick, Dan Riehl, Flint Dille, David Greenfield, Patrick Frye, Frank Miller, Kimberly Cox, Scott Kaufer, Mike Sullivan, Scott Johnson, John Hinderaker, Patrick Dollard, Mickey Kaus, Scott Johnson, Kevin Reilly, Tucker Carlson, Judit Maull, Rob Long,
Lee Stranahan, Evan Sayet, Steve Hayes, Allen Covert, Dr. Jeff Gandin, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Rep. Steve King, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, Dan Basmagian, John Reimers, Matt Labash, John Irwin, Kathryn Lopez, D. B. Sweeney, Paul Raff, Gary Sinise, Brian Kennedy, The Claremont Institute, Charles Kesler, Tammy Haddad, Ben Robin, Joe Escalante, Robert Davi, Seth Swirsky, Bill Whittle, Jon Fleischman, Andrew Klavan, Jeremy Boreing, the Harrahs (Richard, Verna, and Julie), John L’Herault, Michael Nadlman, Katie O’Malley, Kurt Loder, Tammy Bruce, Jonah Goldberg, Bill Sammon, Charles Winecoff, Mike Roman, Christian Adams, Niger Innis, Brandon Darby, Ned Rice, Joel Pollack, Billy Zoom, John Podhoretz, Lucianne Goldberg, Victoria Jackson, Jon Voight, Brian Iglesias, Melanie Morgan, Debbi Lee, Frank Gaffney, David Reaboi, Matthew Marsden, Jason Jones, Tarina Tarantino, Alfonso Campos, Steve McEveety, Jim Caviezel, Amy Holmes, Chad Fleming, and Jamie Hailer.
To those I forgot to mention by name: I sincerely apologize. And refuse to invoke ADHD yet again. Besides, it just means you’ll for sure be mentioned in the next book.
To Gene Brissie and Rick Wolff, without whom this book would not exist: Thanks for believing in me and my story, and pretending to overlook my ADHD.
To the Tea Party patriots I have met over the last year: Thank you for getting off your butts, leading the revolution, and withstanding the unfounded, predictable media attacks. We made history.
Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World! Page 24