Is Bernie Sanders a "Socialist?"

I think it's important to distinguish between "social democratic" and "socialist" parties and labels. Sanders is clear, when you ask him about specifics, that what he's talking about is social democracy; where most of the economy is private, but the tax and regulatory systems are structured so that basic economic fairness is assured; and, as well, those areas where the private sector does NOT serve the public adequately (such as passenger rail, the post office, parks and recreation, education (at least a parallel system to private education, free at all levels), health care funding, retirement and disability security, investment in basic science and technology advances, state of the art infrastructure, including renewable energy conversion on a fast track, etc., ... then the public sector is adequately funded and structured to provide those services. I believe that the MAJORITY of Democrats would like to see this become the official policy and agenda of the Democratic party. Then, possibly, the bankruptcy and lunacy of their current policies having at last become so manifest that only the fringe can deny it, the Republicans can morph into a Center Right party like Angela Merkel's... which would occasionally gain the ascendancy without having the ability or even really the desire to dismantle the mixed system that will serve the American people well and become tremendously popular, as such systems have in a long list of countries.

Oh, which, you ask? How about...
Japan
Taiwan
South Korea
France
Spain
Scandinavian countries
Netherlands
Germany
Italy
Brazil
...and to a significant extent many others.