In activist or radical political milieus "liberal" signifies the opposite of "radical," and is typically taken as synonymous with "reformist" or "bootlicker."
Basically it's used to say "naive and confused but would be a fascist if they had a spine" about both Dems and Repubs.
Generally, I use it to mean a group of people who generally take a similar set of positions on popular issues, and who mostly self-identify (and identify) as "liberals."
"Bleens" would work just as well, but society seems to have adopted "liberals."
I generally only use it in contexts where the major meanings (US Dem Party-like politics, neoliberal economics, liberal intl order) happen to both be roughly aligned w/ each other & what I'm trying to express, or at least don't contradict it. If they're not I'll pick another word
Members of provincial Liberal parties or Liberal Party of Canada, including the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and former Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne.
I usually use “liberal” in the political sense: the belief that govt power shld be limited & political power dispersed; the rule of law should apply to all, incl. govt officials; courts shld be independent; there shld be a clear boundary between the ruling party & the state; etc.