LONDON (YBH.ME) – The U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper has begun the process of releasing its semi-annual list of the Top 100 Conservatives and Liberals in America. The Telegraph has been releasing the list in batches of twenty per day this week. Today, the paper focused on numbers 21 through 41. The Top 20 will be released tomorrow.
Number 21 on the respective lists was released today. They are conservative web impresario Andrew Breitbart, and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Vice President Biden was #30 on the “Top Liberals” list in 2007. One would think the move from Senator to Vice President would have kicked him into the top 20. Not so, say the Brits. Mr. Breitbart wasn’t included on the 2007 list.
Mr. Breitbart burst onto the media scene last year after his websites broke the ACORN and NEA scandals. While inflaming and inspiring conservatives, neither scandal rose to the level of public outrage seen during the 1970′s over the Watergate break-in. Mr. Breitbart’s efforts did shine a light on media practices, as he basically forced the New York Times and others to carry the stories even though they were reluctant to initially do so.
Another interesting corollary on the lists are conservative talk show host Sean Hannity and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, both in at #23. We didn’t know Mr. Bernanke was officially a liberal (it would explain a lot though!). Look for Mr. Hannity to have fun with this on his show this week.
In what is sure to get the chattering classes talking, look for both Barack Obama and Rush Limbaugh as the “#1′s” tomorrow. (NOTE: Limbaugh came in at #2, we suspect a last minute change took place as the Telegraph probably didn’t want Obama on par with Limbaugh.)
The problem for Republicans is that while Breitbart, Limbaugh and Hannity reach a wide audience in the U.S., Obama, Biden, and Bernanke hold the real power. Unlike the 1990′s when Newt Gingrich was Bill Clinton’s constant foil, today’s GOP power rests in the hands of a select group of radio and T.V. personalities. While influential, they have no real say in what happens in Washington D.C.
NOTE: YBH! Editor John Romano is a former writer for Mr. Breitbart’s Big Hollywood blog.
Related posts:
- Street “Artists” Against Andrew Breitbart
- Dissecting Shirley Sherrod’s Complaint Against Andrew Breitbart
- Some racists are more equal than others: Breitbart unveils photos of Obama marching with New Black Panther Party in 2007
- Rush Limbaugh: “Obama’s Speech a Personal Bitch Slap”
John Romano is the publisher and editor of Yes, But However!, a musician, a former political correspondent for BBC Radio London, and a serial web entrepreneur. Follow him on twitter: twitter.com/yesbuthowever or John Romano on Google+John Romano article archive.
