"Liberal is a moving target -- inexorably to the left."

Seems rather circular, and basically meaningless, since the terms "left" and "right" came from the seating positions of "liberal" and "conservative" parties in an erstwhile Parliament, didn't they?   

In my H. S. and college civics and political science classes, I remember "liberals" being described as favoring little governmental intrusion into areas of personal behavior (e.g., "personal morality," expression, association, sexual behavior) but a substantial governnmental (collective democratic) role in regulating "the commons" -- including protecting citizens from being abused or exploited by others. "Conservatives" were said, basically, to favor the opposite: governmental (community standards) regulation of private individual behavior (e.g., "vice" laws) but little or no governmental regulation of business or commerce.   "Libertarians" were described as those who favored little governmental intrustion into either private or public affairs.   
But "conservative" also means holding onto tradition and established law and principles. It's this latter aspect that I find absent in the views of some highly visible media bigshots today who call themselves "conservatives."