Bernie Sanders wants to make sure everyone knows he's not a Capitalist. Let's help him out

When the curtain rises on tonight's Democratic debate, it will reveal an unpleasant collection of 5 socialists standing on the stage. In terms of policy, there will be little difference between them. They all believe in the same redistributive policies, the same restrictions on individual liberty, and the same tired leftist dogma. Four of them, however, won't admit that.

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Only Bernie Sanders will be willing to proudly declare that he's not a capitalist. Here's a little exchange from this week's Meet The Press, in which Sanders did just that. Chuck Todd wondered if Bernie had ceased to "feel the Bern" of socialism. Sanders wants everyone to know that, no, he's still a big socialist. Don't you dare suggest otherwise:

CHUCK TODD: I hear you. And then the other day I noticed you said, “You know what? Don’t use the word ‘Socialist.’ I’m going to say I’m a progressive.” Are you pushing back on that idea? Or are you embrace “I’m a European Socialist.” BERNIE SANDERS: No, no not at all, it’s not a question of– look. When one of your Republican colleagues gets on the show, do you say, “Are you a capitalist?” Have you ever referred to them as capitalists? CHUCK TODD: Yeah. Are you a capitalist? BERNIE SANDERS: No. I’m a Democratic Socialist. But what I mean is I’ve been elected as an Independent throughout my political career. I am running now in the Democratic nomination process and will support– I hope to win, I expect to win, but– CHUCK TODD: But you’ll support the Democratic nominee? BERNIE SANDERS: I will.

To be perfectly clear, I don't really believe anyone thought Sanders was trying to distance himself from his own ideology. This smells a bit like left-wing wishful thinking. They know that socialism is still deeply unpopular in the U.S. and that Bernie's vocal support of it will probably be his undoing. Aside from those at the statist core of the Democrat party, and a portion of the relatively tiny population of Vermont, American voters simply aren't willing to pull the lever for someone like Bernie. Unfortunately, he's still their only "Hillary alternative." I'd be willing to bet that there are an awful lot of Dems who see the writing on the Clinton campaign's wall and would like nothing more than to give Sanders the opportunity to moderate his socialist stance in the hopes of helping him go the distance. Bernie can try to split hairs over the completely invented "difference" between a "Democratic socialist" and "Socialist," but as the saying goes: If you're explaining you're losing. It won't work - particularly when Sanders starts talking about his desired 90% tax bracket. I guess we should respect him for his honesty - particularly since that honesty will make him unelectable at the national level. Again, Dems, please nominate this man. For more fun, take a look at this Gallup poll from July, which found that socialists fare worse than atheists and Muslims among the electorate....