Alan Colmes, R.I.P.

A well-known and respected (on both sides of the political
divide) political commentator on television and radio
for many years, Alan Colmes, passed away after a brief
illness on February 23, aged 66.

A stand-up comedian as a young man, Colmes gravitated to
the media and the news for his career path. A staunch and
unapologetic liberal, Colmes could advocate for his political
beliefs and his favored candidates without being boorish
or bullying. He made as many friends among conservatives
as he had among his fellow liberals; one conservative friend
was television and radio talk show host Sean Hannity, with
whom Colmes made up the Fox TV news commentary duo
Hannity & Colmes. Although the two had spirited debates
on the political issues of the day, they always had the utmost
respect and admiration for each other, and were very close
friends. They maintained offices next door to each other at
the Fox TV studio right up until Colmes' untimely demise.
Hannity stated that Colmes was "one of life's most decent,
kind and wonderful people you'd ever want to meet."
Colmes once even went so far as to publically urge the
Democrats to spend less time attacking the Right, in the
2012 campaign season, to instead be positive and to share
specifics about their own plan for the country. Colmes
also said that they had to get better at messaging, because he
saw the Republicans doing a bettr job at it (which, your surprised
Peasant admits, is not what I saw and remember from that
election!). He could be as unsparing in his criticism of his
fellow Democrats and liberals as he was of the Republicans
and conservatives, for he wanted to see campaigns be conducted
to inform people more fully and to frustarte them much less.
In this way, Colmes advocated for the public to benefit from
their electoral experience in our elections, for the country would
so benefit.

Colmes' wife, Jocelyn Crowley issued a statement in tribute:
"He was a great guy, brilliant, hysterical, and moral. He was
fiercely loyal, and the only thing he loved more than his work
was his (family) life. He will be missed."

Other friends and colleagues paid tribute and respects:

Brit Hume: "So sad to hear of the death of Fox News colleague
Alan Colmes. He and I agreed on little, but I liked him immensely."

Megyn Kelly: "Heartbroken my friend Alan Colmes has died.
He lit up the Fox News Channel halls with his kindness and
humor ... prayers for his family."

Gov. Mike Huckabee: "Just heard of the death of Alan Colmes;
the kind of liberal I loved --- smart, witty and fair, never backed
up, but always backed up his views. RIP."

Ann Coulter: "WHAT? Alan Colmes passed away? Noooooooooooo!
Very sad. He was a good guy. Always surprised people that way."

And your faithful Peasant says: Alan Colmes was the sort of liberal
I would love to meet for a good, honest, clean political discussion,
a rarity these days. I feel sorrowful over never having had the
opportunity to meet Colmes, and I shall pray for him, his family,
and his friends and colleagues. God rest you, Alan Colmes. You
left our political scene a far better place, and you will be difficult
to replace. Rest in peace.



MEM