«Liberal» in USA has several meanings, mainly, either (1) «classical liberal» (which in USA is typically branded as «
libertarianism» - although it's still called plain «liberalism» in Europe where the term originated); and, wholly independently, (2) «political liberal» - which is a self - made late 20th
century [1] rebrand of what used to be called «progressive» (and can be loosely branded «left wing» at times, but personally I absolutely abhore single - axis left / right positioning) position.