Bernie Sanders' socialism could be a problem for fellow Democrats

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist, is surging in the polls, and becoming a problem for his fellow Democratic presidential contenders.

“The greed of corporate America and the millionaire class has got to end, and we are going to end it for them!” Sanders declared at a recent rally.

Last week, Sanders drew an animated crowd of nearly 10,000 in Madison, Wis. He told supporters Obamacare was merely a good start. As he sees it, government-provided healthcare is a right for all Americans.

“If we are going to provide healthcare to all of our people in a cost-effective way, if we are going to take the burden of healthcare off the backs of small businesses, we need to move to a Medicare for all, single-payer system,” he said.

And the senator says President Barack Obama’s fundamental transformation of America has not lived up to its promise.

“In the last 30 years, there has been a huge redistribution of wealth from the middle class and working families to the top one-tenth of 1 percent,” he said. “Our job is to reverse that and redistribute wealth back into the hands of working families.”

While Democrats in the past have downplayed accusations their policy proposals amount to socialism, that’s exactly what Sanders unapologetically advocates. He even told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos he thinks America should be more like Europe.

The problem for Democrats is that Sanders’ policy prescriptions aren’t that far outside the mainstream of the party platform these days. That makes it harder for Democrats to accuse Republicans of moving too far away from the center, where most American voters are more comfortable.

But Democratic voters aren’t shying away from Sanders, at least not in early voting states.

The latest Quinnipiac poll in Iowa gives Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton a 19-point edge for the nomination in that state.

That’s big, but it used to be bigger. Much bigger.

Sanders, at 33 percent in the poll, has more than doubled his support in Iowa since May.

And another poll has Sanders trailing Clinton by a mere 8-point margin in New Hampshire.

As Sanders surges, another Democrat announced late last week he’s getting in the race, too.

“We’re never gonna come in second,” former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb said during a Democratic Party dinner in Iowa earlier this year. “We are the finest nation in the world. We’re the strongest economic power in the world. We are the guarantor of security in the world, and that is going to continue.”

In an email announcement on Thursday, Webb acknowledged the odds are stacked against him, but he’s ready to meet the challenge and compete for the nation’s highest office.

With Clinton feeling a leftward tug as she tries to prevent a mass defection within the progressive base of her party, Webb might be the Democrat closest to the political center in this race.

“We need to be working toward a governing style that will allow the Congress and the presidency to work together, and also people of different parties to work together,” he said.

Webb is a former U.S. Marine and a decorated Vietnam War combat veteran. He served four years as a defense official in President Ronald Reagan’s administration, including two years as Secretary of the Navy. He served one term in the U.S. Senate, from 2007 to 2013.

Webb faces an uphill climb, barely registering thus far in presidential polling.

But he’s not the lone unknown.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley also is struggling to strike a chord with Democrats. While the candidate serenaded supporters in Waukee, Iowa, last week, his poll numbers sing a different tune.

O’Malley grabbed only 3 percent among Democrats in the latest Iowa poll and just 1 percent in the latest national poll.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton sparked controversy over the weekend after roping off reporters at a July 4th parade in New Hampshire. The moving rope line prevented journalists from getting too close. And she’s drawing fire this week for her treatment of the media.

“You know, it’s unfortunate for her because I think it definitely provides an image that looks scripted, that looks controlled,” Peter Baker of The New York Times said Sunday on Face the Nation. “She’s not out there answering the questions. You saw that picture of Jeb Bush just kind of wading into the crowd, and even if the questions are uncomfortable, he’s gonna answer them. She has not given that impression, and the rope does not help in that image.”

And her Republican rivals are not missing the opportunity to use it against her.

“It’s outrageous,” said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Fox News. “I’ve never seen a political candidate who wants to have such little contact with people. … You’re supposed to be asking them for their vote and leading, and she wants to keep everybody away from her.”

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