Actually, the term 'liberal' really means someone who believes in Free Trade and laissez-faire (it used to mean that here, and still does in Europe). It was hijacked by US socialists because the term 'socialist' got a bad name in the US. Now 'liberal' has a bad name, and they are starting to use 'progressive', but they are the same old socialists underneath.
I think you right that one can apply the term "moderate" to some of those who term themselves "liberal" in that they are only somewhat leftist. I like "liberal" for them, though, because many of them would reject the term moderate leftist and because so many of them do retain some classical liberal values, some emphasis on freedom of the individual. They actually think that they are believers in individual freedom. 'Course, they tend to think in this only of things like sexual and literary freedom, which I consider to merely be offerings from the Left designed to seduce them to the dark side. A successful seduction, aided by the expropriation of the word "liberal." These same "liberals" have no problem with economic slavery or with near total state power, as long as it's perceived to be in the service of compassion.
I consider myself to be a "classical liberal," so I do agree that the uses we are discussing to which the word "liberal" has been put in the last century are perverted. I take some pleasure, though in discussing definitions of these things.
I read in one of David Horowitz' books that the term "progressive" was a euphemism for "communist" back in the thirties. I guess they think, probably correctly, that everyone has forgotten this, so they brought the word back to do the same job. Very creepy!