An overrated hack who glommed on to Orwell's reputation and did the classic Augustinian swing-- a rabid leftist in his youth when it was trendy, then a neo-conservative in mid life when that was trendy.
This isn't true of his politics, which were much richer and diverse. Hitchens was not a neo-con. He gave up on Marxism (but who hasn't?) and was a lifelong supporter of women's rights, including abortion, and a lifelong opponent of theism and totalitarianism. The Tea Party no doubt hated him, if they read enough to know about him.
You're also ignoring his virtuosity as a writer.
Well, everyone's free to be wrong, as Hitch often said, but more colorfully.
The Fiona, who wishes she could've met and argued with him
Meh, if by rich and diverse you mean writing pale Marxism by day and partying with bankers at night, I'll give you that.
The Tea Party don't like Neo-cons. Neo-cons have a much too activist foreign policy for their liking, so I wouldn't doubt they would reject Hitchens.
His political judgment was dreadful. He did precisely what Orwell argued we shouldn't-- become fanatical in the face of adversity. Muslim clerics putting a fatwa on his pal Rushdie means we need to go bonkers over Muslim fundamentalists. And that means putting the beatdown on Iraq because, you know, it's led by that Muslim fundamentalist, friend of Iranian Shiite ayatollahs and drinking pal of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein.
He was just an atheist version of David Horowitz with good literary connections.
