Molly Ivins, 1944-2007

Molly Ivins, proud liberal, best-selling author and columnist died Wednesday after years of battling breast cancer. She was 62.

She was a writer's writer, someone all Progressive bloggers looked up to and admired and a voice that has given us so much comfort and more then a few laughs during the Bush Years.

My favorite part of her writing was when she skewered the hypocrisy of the Republican party. Here's a good example from November 1, 2006, right before the midterm elections, when she ran down the sleazy tactics used by the GOP and ended with a short paragraph that truly captured the hypocrisy she loathed.

"I realize it is difficult to keep up with the degree of Republican sleaze around these days, but I did like President Bush’s celebration of National Character Counts Week," wrote Molly. "He went to Pennsylvania to support Rep. Don Sherwood, who is being sued for repeatedly beating his mistress."

Bingo.

Here's a nice section of her obituary at her home base, the Texas Observer:

Molly was a hero. She was a mentor. She was a liberal. She was a patriot. She was a friend. And she always will be. With Molly's death we have lost someone we hold dear. What she has left behind we will hold dearer still.

It's a sad night for liberals everywhere.

I didn’t know Molly Ivins. But, boy, will I miss her.