Let's Not Split Hairs Over Liberals

In response to my most recent column titled "Have Liberals Lost Faith in the Anointed One" a reader critiques my use of the word liberal:

I think that one of the errors we make as conservatives is that we tend to lump democrats, liberals and progressives together. While they can be found in each other's company; they are unique in their degree of ideological allegiance. We often use these three words almost interchangeably on this site to describe our opponents; and I'm not certain if we may be making a mistake.

The reader is certainly correct to make the case that not all people of left-wing persuasion think alike. But I don't think it's a huge stretch of the imagination to describe either Paul Krugman or Chris Matthews as liberals. Krugman, after all, wrote a book titled, The Conscience of a Liberal. Meanwhile, Matthews publicly describes himself as a liberal. So in this instance I believe the reader is splitting hairs when it comes to my application of the word liberal.