I don't suppose there is any area of life where language is misused and weaponized more than in politics.

I am old enough to remember when the word 'liberal' actually meant liberal. Then the crafty left commandeered the term in order to cloak themselves in a fine word which they were undeserving of.

Classical liberalism or what might be considered small 'l' libertarianism today was a well rounded and principled philosophy for living.

Unlike what passes for Liberalism today, it embraced some elements of Conservatism in that it wished to conserve certain important cultural elements (family, patriotism,  meritocracy, etc.) all the while progressing towards a more prosperous, moral and just society.

Progressive is another misnomer when applied to the ideological left. I think 'regressive' would be a more apt descriptor.

Of course, progress is good or bad depending on the type of progress in question. Progress in increasing the health of the world's population is a good. Progress in a cancer is not.