Yes, very much so. Certain conservatives in the US (Rush Limbaugh(?) specifically) turned "liberal" into a bad word in the 80s. I'd like to take the word back.
There is a long list of sh**t that "leftists" want or defend that is not founded on the ideas of liberty and equality. Leftists care more about "fair" and "leveling the playing field", those things often, and especially the dumb ways they often chose to go about them, go directly against liberty and equality. That's not to say they don't want liberty and equality, they just want to limit them more than a liberal would.
(nor is it to say conservatives/righties don't have the exact same problems with liberty and equality, they clearly do, which is exactly why the word liberal needs to be saved)
