Article snippet: Sen. MORE’s reelection campaign blasted him as a socialist. But there are serious questions as to how effective such attacks will be, given that polling indicates a broadening popularity for ideas that were once on the left fringes of American politics. Fifty-four percent — a clear majority — of adults nationwide who were surveyed for a CNN–SSRS poll conducted in late January and early February support a government-provided national health insurance program. An even higher percentage — 59 percent of the registered voters polled in a mid-January The Hill–HarrisX survey — favored increasing the highest income tax rate to 70 percent. A Reuters–IPSOS poll last summer indicated that 60 percent of respondents — including 41 percent of Republicans — supported a tax on speculative trading to provide free college tuition for those who meet certain income levels. Then there are the particular dynamics within the Democratic Party. A Gallup poll last summer showed 57 percent of Democratic respondents have a positive view of socialism, as against only 47 percent who have a positive view of capitalism. Rep. MORE (D-N.Y.), a former organizer for Sanders who shares his self-identification as a democratic socialist, has taken the party by storm since defeating then-Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a primary last June. To activists on the left, it is a sign that the zeitgeist has shifted in their favor — and that politicians such as Sanders should no longer be considered unelectab... Link to the full article to read more