I remain the same INDEPENDENT democratic socialist that I was protesting the Vietnam War with MILLIONS of my generation back in 1968 . It was clear to me at age 21 that the capitalist system coupled with American imperialism could only be defended by lies and brutality . But I also learned from my reading about a century of PROGRESSIVE politics that the Democrat Party was NOT the ideal place to create a genuine mass movement for social change.
But I can always give - and withhold - critical support - to maverick " socialist " Democrats like Bernie Sanders who at least manage to speak TRUTH TO POWER longer than I expected.
Still a REAL socialist always questions and challenges the moral legitimacy of " legitimate " wealth. And never supports foreign military adventures sponsored by the plutocracy , the far less than ONE PERCENT of the US population.
And NO socialist will slobber over the shadow government of the United States , the FBI, the CIA , the Pentagon War Machine. Is that YOU , Bernie ? Then I remain a CRITICAL supporter . My hair will turn pure white if, in the fall of 2020, old Bernie Sanders exhorts the American voters to elect Joe Biden !