Democratic Primaries

In the 1920s and 1930s, Republicans, in particular, had lumped Socialists, Communists, and Anarchists together under an "un-American" label, and a whole lot of American citizens were buying what the Republicans were selling. Because of things like this, FDR never called himself a Socialist, and never referred to his many programs as Socialistic programs. As andym correctly points out, FDR did not make a lot of big promises before he was elected in 1932. He really only made one big promise--that he would make things better--that happy days were here again.

Donald Trump's previous doctor apparently used to have the White House chef sneak ground up cauliflower into his mashed potatoes in order to get some vegetables into Donald Trump, who would not have eaten the cauliflower if the cauliflower had been presented as a side dish. Sometimes one has to sneak in things that are for people's own good. FDR was determined to put in place programs that were for people's own good, and he did not need the stigma of "Socialism" tied to his programs because the stigma of Socialism would make it harder for members of Congress to vote for those programs and because the stigma of Socialism would have made it harder for the American public to accept those programs.

Senator Bernie Sanders, to this day, refuses to acknowledge how much stigma is still associated with Socialism, despite the fact that he is the only Socialist Senator, and despite the fact that there are only 2 or 3 Democratic Socialists in the entire U.S. House of Representatives. There is a reason why so few Socialists exist in Congress. Similar to 1932, a whole lot of America is not ready to embrace Socialism. The fact that Bernie Sanders proudly wears a label that so obviously hurts his candidacy betrays a complete unwillingness on Bernie Sanders' part to make compromises that will help him get things accomplished. Senator Bernie Sanders simply will not bend, and this is his greatest weakness, because politics is about knowing when and where to bend, and when not to bend. Bernie simply never bends, and that is not good politics. That is just stubbornness.