What does being a "Liberal" mean? (US)

[Fair&Balanced]

More on what a liberal is not.

A liberal is not one who believes that the phantom menace of sharia law is a threat to American society.

As potential GOP candidates jockey to distinguish themselves heading into primary season, there seems to be at least one issue on which they widely agree: Sharia law is a continuing threat to the United States.

Invoking Sharia and casting it as a growing danger at odds with American principles has become a rallying cry for conservatives. It’s also quickly becoming an unlikely pet issue among 2012 presidential contenders: Potential candidates have almost unilaterally assailed the Islamic code, making it as much a staple of the campaign stump speech as economic reform, job creation and rising gas prices.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54605.html

Religious fear mongering is much more a conservative ideal.