Geez, I just heard that Joe Bageant–probably my favorite politico-cultural critic, though he’d have hated the hi-falutin’ label–is dead.

This obit does a pretty nice job–others are on Alternet and elsewhere.

I never met him, but had a few e-mail conversations with him. He was always gracious.

What I loved most about him was that, radical progressive that he was, he never forgot his roots. Never looked down on the type of folks too many Democrats take for granted–the kinda people who look with some real interest on the Tea Party, and if you want to understand why, you could do a lot worse than reading his recent book, “Deer Hunting With Jesus.” His real scorn was for the limousine liberals, the holier-than-though progressives, the alleged friends of the working class who wouldn’t be caught dead in a real working class bar–much less hunting, playing poker, enjoying a chaw, watching NASCAR. Essays like “A Feral Dog Howls in Harvard Yard” often helped give me a real sense of balance and perspective.

Damn, and his writing! If we could learn to write like this, we’d actually have an audience.

I’m REALLY gonna miss him.  

You’ll find lots of Joe’s stuff here