I honestly don't think Bernie would have had a chance at getting the kind of traction he got if the US right hadn't basically massively overplayed its hand by trying to tell a generation that grew up after the end of the cold war that Obama was a socialist.
It led to a very strong, very noticeable shift in perception where a much wider group of Americans in discussions would start asking questions about socialism instead of shooting down any mention of it with insults.
Re:Brutalism is Back
by TheCoelacanth on Wednesday October 12, 2016 @12:45PM
(#12694420)
He probably wouldn't have chosen to call himself a socialist if the American right hadn't watered down the term so much.
I'm referring to the US associations; I think that's the cultural zeitgeist that the New York Times is more familiar with :-P
Sort of the backlash to the right wing calling both European Social Democrats and American moves to expand the welfare state "socialist" as a term of abuse.