Not Conservative = Liberal

Reading useless crap like Forbes Top 25 Most Influential Liberals lists just reaffirms my opinion that most people, especially in the media, have no fraking clue what a liberal is. As a result, the media seems to go with the definition of a liberal being somebody who isn't a conservative. Chris Matthews is a liberal? His show is certainly popular within the beltway which makes him influential, but Matthews isn't a liberal. And while Oprah may be liberal, I have no clue and could care less, but I wouldn't include here on a top 25 list simply because as Forbes said 'her status as an American cultural and racial icon gives her a uniquely influential position to mold political debate in the Obama era.' To me that reads, Oprah is black and popular so she is one of the top 25 most influential liberals. I don't read much Forbes and senseless lists like this doesn't encourage more reading. The most glaring omission on the list has to be Howard Dean. Much of Obama's campaign was modeled after Deans failed run. Dean, was largely responsible for shifting the Democratic party away from the practices of the DLC and his 50 state strategy helped bring the party back into the majority.

The biggest problem is Forbes definition of what a liberal is.

Broadly, a "liberal' subscribes to some or all of the following: progressive income taxation; universal health care of some kind; opposition to the war in Iraq, and a certain queasiness about the war on terror; an instinctive preference for international diplomacy; the right to gay marriage; a woman's right to an abortion; environmentalism in some Kyoto Protocol-friendly form; and a rejection of the McCain-Palin ticket.

Using the above definition I can't think of a single person who isn't a liberal, except the mouth breathers on Fox.