Just read another comment on a news page where Obama was called the following names:

Socialist, Communist, Muslim, Fascist. It really cracks me up that people have no idea what any of these ideologies, or in one case religion even mean. They also don't understand that people who adhere to any of these ideologies even are divided among themselves over what they mean.

I consider myself a Democratic Socialist, similar in thought to Bernie Sanders, however, there are some who would not consider me a socialist. To me, socialism's most important task is the empowerment of the working class majority over capital. Whether that is through strong regulation, removing private money from politics, government ownership, ownership by non-profits, co-operatives, worker participation in private boards, strong union or other worker organization power, direct democracy, or more likely a mix of all of the above..it makes little difference to me. As long as it works and as long as the vast majority get the say over the economy, the environment and their own lives.

My point being, insults like this or throwing things into "left" or "right" terms are lazy, uneducated, and just outdated.