Let's call a spade a spade here NWP. His "labeling problem" is of his own making. He has labeled himself a
Socialist and in this day and age it is anathema to any chance he has of election.
Republicans and Democrats alike should and do fear Socialism. Particularly that of the Marxist/Leninist variety where government controls the means of production which is ostensibly "owned" by the workers.
It is seen by economic theorists, such as Marx, as a cure for the ravages of unregulated Capitalism. We're seeing some of these problems today as the United States enters a new "Gilded Age" where the wealthy control more and more of the finite assets available to the population at large and use this wealth to obtain more and more of these assets until there is not enough left for the lower classes to survive.
From the article linked to your post:
Bernie Sanders faces the biggest test of his decades-long career this week.
The committed Democratic socialist and sometimes self-styled radical has consistently argued that his brand of populist politics can win elections.
Bernie Sanders is not a Democratic Socialist.
He is a proponent of Social Democracy. There is a huge difference.
From Wikipedia:
Democratic socialism is a political ideology advocating a democratic political system alongside a socialist economic system, involving a combination of political democracy with social ownership of the means of production. Sometimes used synonymously with "socialism", the adjective "democratic" is added to distinguish itself from the Marxist–Leninist brand of socialism
Also from Wikipedia:
Social Democracy is a political ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a capitalist economy, and a policy regime involving welfare state provisions, collective bargaining arrangements, regulation of the economy in the general interest, redistribution of income and wealth, and a commitment to representative democracy. Social democracy aims to create the conditions for capitalism to lead to greater egalitarian, democratic and solidaristic outcomes. "Social democracy" is often used in this manner to refer to the social policies prominent in Western and Northern Europe - particularly in reference to the Nordic countries - during the latter half of the 20th century. Alternatively, social democracy is defined as a political ideology that advocates a peaceful, evolutionary transition of society from capitalism to socialism using established political processes.
