As for the word "liberal", I've never really seen this as a negative word, though I do often use it to contrast to my own, usually conservative, views. For me the word comes up often both in describing politics as well as religious views (liberal religious doctrine is decidedly different from liberal politics), but never do I mean it as inhertinly negative. Clearly I might find someone whose beliefs are more liberal than mine to be objectionable, but I also might find someone whose view are more conservative than mine to be problematic as well. I'm pretty much the most conservative guy around here on most issues, but there are many other groups of people in which my perspective is one of the most leftward leaning. When it applies, I am just fine with being labeled as a "liberal"- I don't feel that it the term contains any inherint negative connotation.

Not that what my feelings on the subject are is important to this particular discussion, since you are talking about broader tendencies among Republicans. I just wanted to make it clear that if I ever say "liberal", I don't mean "evil". I just mean the side of an issue that is more progressive than my own.