@ARE_you_kidding_me I think you’ve got an oversimplified mental model of the American electorate. Yes there is the left and right, but what you’re ignoring is that there’s a second axis of top vs. bottom. The establishment lead Democratic party has largely ignored the working class (really since Reagan—especially after Clinton). It left this group vulnerable to populist messaging from Trump and many voted for him. Bernie does incredibly well with working class conservatives. Look at how the crowd loves him in a FOX NEWS town hall. This is a video discussing a 2017 Bernie Sanders town hall in West Virginia where his populist message connects with Republican voters.
Centrism is a losing strategy—Dems lost over 1000 seats during the Obama administration with this strategy. It’s not like most Americans are in the center between the left and right—that’s a myth. If that were the case, a play to the Center would be effective. The reality is that the majority of independents are either further to the left or further to the right of the 2 major parties. For example I refer to myself as an Independent and I would never vote for a Republican (at least as the party currently is). I did vote for Jill Stein though, and would do so again. Also only about half of all eligible Americans bother to vote at all. Bernie’s message is a winner, and if the DNC doesn’t sabotage his campaign, he stands the best chance vs. Trump.
Furthermore, if we define the center not as the midpoint between the two parties, but based on the sentiment of the majority of the American people, then Bernie is the most “centrist” of all of the candidates. Policies like Medicare for all are incredibly popular—even among Republican voters. It’s actually a “fringe” position to want a for-profit, insurance-based (i.e. middle men), healthcare system that is 2x as expensive and has worse health outcomes than other developed countries with universal healthcare.
Because Bernie unapologetically embraces the label “democratic socialist” and then goes on to explain his position, he can go on the offense vs. Trump. He can accurately call out Trump as a corporate socialist without having to play defense. Biden, Warren, and the rest are going to be so terrified of being labeled a socialist, that they’re going to spend the entire election playing defense with their policy proposals: “Here’s my plan, but it’s not socialist because…XYZ.” Meanwhile Trump is going to be on the offense, name-calling and bullying them.
Socialism is hard to beat—at least that’s what Trump is worried about.