The Soviets in Russia around 20 years ago could also have been called "conservative." The problem is that the word conservative has no well-defined meaning.
It would be more accurate if conservatives defined themselves in more concrete terms, such as saying that they support Christian society and morals or free enterprise economics or foreign policy interventionism, instead of the more vague terms like "social conservative," "fiscal conservative," and "foreign policy conservative."
What you just called in your reply - “vague terms like “social conservative,” “fiscal conservative,” and “foreign policy conservative.” the Russel Kirk article you posted calls “the cultural conservatives, the libertarians, the neo-conservatives “
The question before us right now is, will these three be able to unite to stop the progressive republican who is seemingly cruising toward the 2012 presidential nomination?
The actual correct terms, generally, are these
Today’s Conservative - Classic Liberal or 19th Century Liberal
Today’s Liberal - Socialist or Social Democrat at best
A true Conservative would be a supporter of monarchy and clericalism, think 19th Century Austria-Hungary.