I use it in reference to this area in particular. I went through my formative years in Berkeley California in, part, supposedly the center of 'liberal' thought. Liberal, in it's classic term usage, was to evaluate all positions, consider as many different sides of the puzzle as possible, and, come to a logical conclusion. In other words, liberal in political terms, advocated maximum individual freedom. This aligns with what is now called a Strict Constructionist view of the Constitution. Rather then sliding on a slippery slope of judge made law, when the Constitution says, "...shall make no law..." that's exactly what it means.
However, what I found after a few riots, protests, gas grenades, etc. was these folks were really about as liberal as Mussolini. They had no tolerance for anyone's ideas that conflicted with their own agenda. The 'liberals' were really radicals, who were just as intolerant as any facist regime towards ideas that did not support their agenda. In other words, they were just as prejudice and bigoted, and lacked any tolerance, towards positions or ideas that were different from their own.
Kalifornia, when I use it, is a reference to what has become an over-bearing, over-employed Congress that continues to write too many laws, without bothering to
check into the legality of the laws, or Constitutionality of their laws. They continue to chip away at our personal freedoms, creating administrative agencies that further attack
or freedoms. You should see the amount of junk that you have to go through every two
years to get your car smogged, and legal on the roads here.
For that matter, certain industries are regulated out of business, and, others have such high tariffs, fees, taxes that they have to charge so much money per hour no one employees them. Mechanics are the new doctors and lawyers, charging 125-150 dollars an hour or more. Their shops sit idle, with no customers, since the majority of people can't afford their services. This has created a situation of disposable cars. It seems the goal of the legislature to get rid of all older cars. You buy a car now, it devalues, you go to a mechanic, and, the cost of repairing the car with their absurd labor rates makes it more cost effective to get rid of the car, and buy another. It's often cheaper to replace an engine these days then fix one. All of these are signs of what happened in The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Government grows, and becomes such a monkey on the economy with taxes, fees, etc. that it eventually drives all business into bankruptcy, or,
out of this state. In other words in their zeal to get the Golden Goose, they drive it away, like to India, or kill it.