[quote name='KingBroly']You're tying conservative to republican like it's the same thing, which isn't the case.[/QUOTE]
The Republicans AND Conservatives are doing that themselves, not to mention the numerous speeches throwing "liberal" as a dirty word and associating it with the Democrats. You want to blame someone for this, blame it on the Republican tactics that is cementing these labels.
Read the speeches from both conventions, watch the talking points in interviews, etc. You'll see it's the Republicans who will consistently thump their chest about being conservative. On the other hand, Democrats aren't doing that with the word liberal since it's somehow become a dirty word.
Personally, I think it's ridiculous that a person is fully "conservative" or fully "liberal" since it SHOULD vary in different degrees, by issue, by individual person. Unfortunately, it's easier to be on one side or the other in this country, as if it's some kind of football game - it's ridiculous.
I consider myself a Democrat only because I'm a social liberal (bordering on libertarian for certain issues) but conservative when it comes to governmental issues like size, military, etc. Based on existing labels though, I am considered a pot smoking baby aborting gay hippie, despite probably living an actual life more conservative (the actual definition) than actual conservatives (the label).