Every word I have heard from Bernie Sanders

[PosterChild]

63. The point is that...

.... someone who identifies themselves as a "socialist" is auto-magic-ly, ipso-facto-ly, a fringe, minority figure in American politics.

If his message is simply classic liberal boilerplate, why doesn't he simply call himself a classic liberal Democrat and avoid the ideological albatross of "socialism"?

There is either more to being a socialist than simply being a Democrat or there isn't. If there isn't, why bother with distinguishing oneself as such? If there is, then he deserves to be considered "on the fringe" of the Democratic Party. In fact, he is so much so that he assiduously avoids calling himself a Democrat even though he us running in the Democratic primary for the nation's highest office. An office which would make him the head of the very Democratic party he alienates himself from.

If being "fringe" is a detriment, all I can say is that he did it to himself.