without reading the whole thread on this ...
The Nixon coalition basically flipped the south from Dem block (civil war legacy effect) to a Rep block (civil rights legacy effect) ... and along with it came issues regarding school prayer, abortion, "religious freedom", xenophobia, immigration issues etc. But there were Republicans (in e.g the North and West) before this electoral realignment, folks that considered themselves the party of balanced budgets, pro-business, limited welfare, a strong defense, limited regulation, and a party of science ... none of this having anything to do with Roe v Wade, Darwin, the 10 commandments, or the Voting Rights Act. The Nixon coalition brought these "social" elements firmly into the fold of being identified as Republican ... so saying economic conservative social liberal is a way of saying "I'm a Republican but please don't identify me with the wackos the party brought in for political expedience."
It is completely a consequence of this electoral realignment that normal Republicans found themselves uncomfortable simply calling themselves "Republicans" for fear of being identified with these other issues which historically had not been identified as being under one political party tent. Once Nixon (and later Reagan) brought these groups identifiably into the Republican tent, the need to add the disclaimer "social liberal" was born.
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