As a longtime independent democratic socialist I cannot take seriously anybody in the Democratic Party who would self- identify as " socialist ". What working class people really need in this country is a mass Labor Party completely independent of the American ruling class. Note that " socialists " seemingly attached to Democratic Party rarely make SYSTEMIC criticism of capitalism. They focus on those " fascist " Republicans and their " deplorable " base of voters ( often blue collar working class CHRISTIANS ) . These phony socialists are just another tool of Corporate America's TWO PARTY SYSTEM of political control. Hear any ANTI-WAR voices in the " progressive " Democratic Party lately ? No, they are all lock-step in favor of the Pentagon's deranged plans for nuclear World War III with POST-COMMUNIST Russia !