Conservative bloggers opened their RightOnline conference in Las Vegas with a tribute to the late Andrew Brietbart.

"Andrew will be missed terribly, as he has been at all grassroots conservative gatherings since his untimely passing," Guy Benson, the political editor for Townhall.com, told POLITICO. "The sadness over his loss, though, is ultimately eclipsed by a collective sense of resolve to carry out his legacy. So I doubt the mood will stay somber for too long. Andrew was a lot of things - somber wasn't one of them."

Surely, the guerrilla journalist's legacy will be on attendees' minds all weekend.

"His absence is noted. These are his friends. We're all his friends," reflected American Conservative Union board member Suhail Khan. "He was larger than life. He was a very remarkable example of a citizen-patriot, who took the conservative cause seriously.... He really embodied Reagan's example of a happy warrior."

Breitbart died of heart failure on Mar. 1 while walking in his neighborhood in Brentwood, Calif. He was 43.

"His shadow is over this conference," said Sean Hackbarth, a blogger for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "One Breitbart is gone, but hundreds are ready here to replace him."

While Breitbart is gone, he has left a living legacy in his websites and acolytes who carry on in his spirit. His unflagging energy is not replaceable. But the battles he fought are still being waged by those who are inspired to carry on by his memory.

That's a legacy that anyone would be proud.