forgive my cynicism about Sanders. It's a product of years of compromising my own values for candiates I thought were lesser evils.
At my heart I am very much in line with a lot of Marxist and Socialist thinking, but pragmatism and cynicism have pulled me toward the center. As far as American democratic socialists are concerned, Bernie is still worlds apart from other self-professed democratic socialists like AOC. I think he's a dying breed, but living proof one can balance civil libertarianism with socialist aims. Most of the AOCs of the USA would implement large, centralized government at the expense of individual liberty and freedom of speech in order to bring their ideas to fruition. I think Sanders is one of the few who would attempt to do so without sacrificing individualism and the entrepreneurial spirit. He was right to criticize the identity politics of the left and right in the wake of Trump's election. Shame more on the left aren't hearing his warnings.
He's the closest thing to a libertarian socialist we're going to get at this stage (assuming we're only counting people with a chance of winning). My brain is closer to supporting Tulsi or Warren in a primary, but my heart is still with Sanders.