Thank you, Brian. I was fortunate to occasionally play disc/frisbee golf with Kevin. My teeniest claim to Drum fame is a number of years ago we were discussing the PBS NewsHour Shields & Brooks discussion a couple days earlier (I pray there’s a Drum & Shields weekly show in Heaven now maybe😁), I asked him his opinion of David Brooks, and the next week in his Mother Jones column it started with “I was talking with a friend about David Brooks…” OMG! Anyway sadly there’s a Drum-sized hole in our lives now. I find myself still crying when I think about the loss. I’m so sorry for Marian his wife.
I picked up on Drum during his days as Political Animal for Washington Monthly, mid-aughts or so. I liked him because half the time I didn't like what he was saying. He wasn't a typical leftie blogger. Too often he wasn't very leftie at all. Not surprising since his point of view back then was Clintonesque New Democrat DLC. By the time he settled in at Mother Jones, he'd become a reliable centrist poster, evidence-based, and hard to find holes in his arguments. He was a reliable curator of the daily news. If he didn't write about something I thought deserved more attention, I wondered why he missed it. But when he brought up topics I hadn't discovered, I felt like I had gained access to information about what was really going on, what was important. He didn't speculate. He laid out facts and described their portent. He was, defacto I think, the dean of leftie bloggers for the past 20 years or so (despite being pretty squarely a centrist). Every day, several times a day, like it or not, right there. The best blogger of the early 21st century.
A minor correction: Steve Jobs was not any kind of icon for developers. I knew people who met him and found him technically shallow (His superpower was always his design choices). Steve Wozniak is the Apple guy that tech people remember fondly.
Thanks for this, Brian. I started reading Kevin more years ago than I can remember. I always enjoyed his cat posts even through the tough times when one of them passed. I had been reading him in chunks every few months over the past few years. I was concerned late last year at some of the developments he posted. Still, it was quite a shock to hear of his death this past week. I will miss him.
I read him for years in Mother Jones and always looked forward to his Friday columns. He lived with cancer for so long; it was remarkable and he kept his readers informed. His insights and humor and cat pics will be missed.
As an age contemporary of Kevin's who is starting to lose associates at an ever increasing rate, I have been fearing this news. I have stayed clear of almost all Social Media for some time now and dearly missed Kevin's posts, particularly the Friday catblogging. I lost a work associate a few years back who's pets were a large part of her life after she lost her husband. I forwarded her Kevin's Friday posts which she enjoyed immensely, as did my wife and I. I also loved the quilting posts!. Kevin touched my soul in ways I will never forget. It is hard to lose a bright light of life at any moment in time. I will be forever grateful to have shared a part of his life's story.
Kevin and Josh Marshall were my intros to political blogging back in the day. His Friday cat blogging was such a piece of normalcy in an increasingly bat-shit crazy world. I was devastated when he was diagnosed, and followed his journey for a while til I somehow lost track... and then heard the news. So sad.....
I'm sorry I didn't know Kevin. I am an avid fan of the PBS News Hour and would have enjoyed hearing his take on it. My Calico cat, Callie, was my best friend for 21 years. When she died, I felt my heart break.
Checking in with what Kevin Drum had to say was my daily habit for about 20 years, across several platforms.
While not always agreeing, he was always an invaluable source who provoked some changes in my opinions even if I initially disagreed.
I felt his passing as a personal loss, even though I knew his health decline had reached a new crisis point. In an odd coincidence, he passed on my birthday, although thankfully it wasn't announced until a few days later. RIP, Mr. Kevin Drum. One of a kind, and I and many will miss him dearly.
I found Kevin just a few years ago when Twitter started its slow, ugly decline. I regret that I didn’t have more time with him and his timely, informative posts that helped the latest stats and happenings make sense. What a legacy he leaves. I hardly knew him and then only through his blog, but I am filled with great sadness at the hole he has left behind down here. However, the rainbow bridge was surely ecstatic at his arrival.
Thank you, Brian. I was fortunate to occasionally play disc/frisbee golf with Kevin. My teeniest claim to Drum fame is a number of years ago we were discussing the PBS NewsHour Shields & Brooks discussion a couple days earlier (I pray there’s a Drum & Shields weekly show in Heaven now maybe😁), I asked him his opinion of David Brooks, and the next week in his Mother Jones column it started with “I was talking with a friend about David Brooks…” OMG! Anyway sadly there’s a Drum-sized hole in our lives now. I find myself still crying when I think about the loss. I’m so sorry for Marian his wife.
I picked up on Drum during his days as Political Animal for Washington Monthly, mid-aughts or so. I liked him because half the time I didn't like what he was saying. He wasn't a typical leftie blogger. Too often he wasn't very leftie at all. Not surprising since his point of view back then was Clintonesque New Democrat DLC. By the time he settled in at Mother Jones, he'd become a reliable centrist poster, evidence-based, and hard to find holes in his arguments. He was a reliable curator of the daily news. If he didn't write about something I thought deserved more attention, I wondered why he missed it. But when he brought up topics I hadn't discovered, I felt like I had gained access to information about what was really going on, what was important. He didn't speculate. He laid out facts and described their portent. He was, defacto I think, the dean of leftie bloggers for the past 20 years or so (despite being pretty squarely a centrist). Every day, several times a day, like it or not, right there. The best blogger of the early 21st century.
Kevin Drum was to data charts, what Ted Williams was to hitting.
Kept many political debates anchored in empirical reality.
We could use more of that today.
Old heads know that Marcel's full name is Marcel DuChomp.
Very nice tribute to Kevin.
A minor correction: Steve Jobs was not any kind of icon for developers. I knew people who met him and found him technically shallow (His superpower was always his design choices). Steve Wozniak is the Apple guy that tech people remember fondly.
Thanks for this, Brian. I started reading Kevin more years ago than I can remember. I always enjoyed his cat posts even through the tough times when one of them passed. I had been reading him in chunks every few months over the past few years. I was concerned late last year at some of the developments he posted. Still, it was quite a shock to hear of his death this past week. I will miss him.
The phrase end of an era is vastly overused... But forgive me for saying in this case, it may be appropriate.
I read him for years in Mother Jones and always looked forward to his Friday columns. He lived with cancer for so long; it was remarkable and he kept his readers informed. His insights and humor and cat pics will be missed.
As an age contemporary of Kevin's who is starting to lose associates at an ever increasing rate, I have been fearing this news. I have stayed clear of almost all Social Media for some time now and dearly missed Kevin's posts, particularly the Friday catblogging. I lost a work associate a few years back who's pets were a large part of her life after she lost her husband. I forwarded her Kevin's Friday posts which she enjoyed immensely, as did my wife and I. I also loved the quilting posts!. Kevin touched my soul in ways I will never forget. It is hard to lose a bright light of life at any moment in time. I will be forever grateful to have shared a part of his life's story.
Kevin and his cats got me through the Bush years.
Tears! Like Brian, I knew Kevin only through his blog, but he had the remarkable quality of making everyone who read him feel like a friend.
And he felt like that friend who you go to when you absolutely need to know “What f does it mean? What should I believe?”
You could be sure he would answer “Here you go.”
Kevin and Josh Marshall were my intros to political blogging back in the day. His Friday cat blogging was such a piece of normalcy in an increasingly bat-shit crazy world. I was devastated when he was diagnosed, and followed his journey for a while til I somehow lost track... and then heard the news. So sad.....
Kevin Drum was always one of my go-to’s when I wanted a take on something. I keep going back to something he wrote in 2018. If only ….
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/08/nos-victi-reipublicae/
I'm sorry I didn't know Kevin. I am an avid fan of the PBS News Hour and would have enjoyed hearing his take on it. My Calico cat, Callie, was my best friend for 21 years. When she died, I felt my heart break.
Checking in with what Kevin Drum had to say was my daily habit for about 20 years, across several platforms.
While not always agreeing, he was always an invaluable source who provoked some changes in my opinions even if I initially disagreed.
I felt his passing as a personal loss, even though I knew his health decline had reached a new crisis point. In an odd coincidence, he passed on my birthday, although thankfully it wasn't announced until a few days later. RIP, Mr. Kevin Drum. One of a kind, and I and many will miss him dearly.
I found Kevin just a few years ago when Twitter started its slow, ugly decline. I regret that I didn’t have more time with him and his timely, informative posts that helped the latest stats and happenings make sense. What a legacy he leaves. I hardly knew him and then only through his blog, but I am filled with great sadness at the hole he has left behind down here. However, the rainbow bridge was surely ecstatic at his arrival.