Bernie did not run for his first office as a “democratic socialist.” He ran as a good ole Soviet style socialist. No two ways about.
Was he lying then, or is he lying now? My guess is that his views have not changed over the years.
The media knows that “Socialism” doesn’t poll well, so Bernie is identified as a Democrat (erroneously) or an “Independent” (which means unaffiliated and could be anything in the spectrum from Constitution Party to Libertarian to Socialist, Socialist Workers, Workers’ World Party, Socialist Green Communist Party, or Communist Party USA).