John, my point is that - at least until the recent attempt to redefine the word by people who needed a label to place on the things they disagreed with - "liberal" has always meant a person who decides for himself on each individual issue, and gives everyone else the same privilege. Webster defines LIBERAL as "...tolerant of views differing from one's own; broadminded; favoring reform or progress, as in religion, education, etc.; specifically favoring political reforms tending toward democracy and personal freedom for the individual..." Liberals, by definition, cover a very wide range of perspectives on different topics and one should expect them to be close to conservatives on some things and close to progressives on others.