This really isn’t liberalism. If you just take views justice from right to left it illustrates where each political party really is:
Fascism—justice is power
Libertarianism—justice is freedom
Conservatism—justice is rights/responsibilities
Liberalism—justice is fairness
Utilitarianism—justice is happiness
Socialism—justice is power
Over the last 100 years the GOP has remained fairly static and squarely in the conservative camp. There was a slight tick toward libertarianism during the Goldwater years, but that was short lived. Then during the Obama years the GOP took a slightly more decided turn toward libertarianism. Today the GOP is on the right side of conservatism.
The Democrats during that same period of time moved quite a bite. Coming out of the Great Depression, there was a great deal of public outrage at the banker class who was thought to be at fault for the economic crash. Working class people were devastated and suffered disproportionally. The Dems, who were basically conservatives, began to move toward liberalism in light of the economic unfairness. This led to four-term FDR. Coming out of WWII was a economic boon and a revival of conservative values. But the children of the so-called “Greatest Generation” resisted the stifling morality of their parents. The baby boomers became the free-love, if-it-feels-good-do-it, whatever-makes-you-happy generation. The Dems latched on to the boomers and moved from liberalism to utilitarianism. The country’s reaction was to vote in 12 straight years of GOP presidents.
In light of this, the Dems changed strategy. They created a disenfranchised class out of the disadvantaged. Their position used to be, “The system isn’t working for you so we need to change the system by adding social programs.” Through the 80’s and 90’s the message became, “You’re not just disadvantaged. You’re disenfranchised. It’s not just that the system isn’t working for you. The GOP is intentionally keeping you down.”
Today, the Dems have upped the ante through class warfare. Conservative, white males have all the power. The Dems, who are dominated by white males, have a new message: “White males have all the power now and we need to take it from them so women and minorities can have justice.”
So the Democratic Party today is a long way from liberal. It is throughly socialist. Rank and file members may be liberal, but the party campaigns and operates from a socialist position.
Also note that the scale of justice positions shouldn’t be understood on a straight line, but as a circle. Extreme left and extreme right end up at the same point—totalitarianism. If you understand this, controlled speech and re-education programs make sense.