UPDATE: Slate editor David Plotz responds to the Free Beacon’s request for comment, which specifically inquired as to whether the site condoned Yglesias’s comments.
Matt is a very passionate journalist and Slate values that passion. We do not control the Twitter accounts of our employees. And finally, I would note that Slate has done lots of coverage of Breitbart over the years—this profile by Chris Beam was one of the best pieces Slate published in 2010, and was highly sympathetic to him–and that our obit about him today by Dave Weigel is also very admiring.
Economics and philosophy expert Matthew Yglesias reacted with glee Thursday morning at the news that conservative journalist Andrew Breitbart had died.
"Conventions around dead people are ridiculous," the Slate correspondent wrote on Twitter this morning. "The world outlook is slightly improved with @AndrewBrietbart [sic] dead."
"If you think @AndrewBrietbart’s [sic] opponents shouldn’t be glad he’s dead, you’re not taking his life’s work seriously," Yglesias added.
Yglesias is a former employee of ThinkProgress, a blog operated by the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
Breitbart passed away early Thursday of natural causes, according to BigGovernment.com, a website he founded. He was 43.
Yglesias is not the only liberal commentator to publicly celebrate Breitbart’s passing.
The Washington Examiner has compiled an array of colorful tweets mocking the deceased icon.