There have been a number of articles saying that Senator Sanders is no longer a fringe candidate but a real threat to Hillary Clinton.

That's because a new Des Moines Register poll has Sanders only two points behind Clinton in Iowa.

And the Real Clear Politics average has him just 13 points behind nationally.

Finally, in New Hampshire, the Real Clear average has Sanders up by 11 points over Hillary Clinton.

In just a few moments Ed Henry will analyze why Mrs. Clinton's campaign is tottering, but i can tell you why Bernie Sanders is gaining some momentum.

And by the way, Talking Points does not come to bury Sanders, but to praise him, kind of.

In contrast to Mrs. Clinton, the senator is energetic, appears to be honest and is not the usual phony politician.

The problem is old Bernie, 74, really is a hardcore socialist:

Nov. 19

BERNIE SANDERS, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: “Democratic socialism means that we must reform a political system which is corrupt, that we must create an economy that works for all, not just the very wealthy.”

That sounds kind of harmless but here are the facts:

According to analysis by the Wall Street Journal, Sanders backs at least 18-trillion dollars in new federal spending over the next decade.

Catastrophic because the nation already has a 19-trillion dollar debt.

According to analysis by the conservative Washington Examiner, Sanders also wants to raise taxes in America by 20-trillion over ten years.

As we pointed out on Monday, if Sanders begins taxing American corporations more, many of them will simply leave the country, taking thousands of jobs with them.

Remember, the USA already has the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world.

Sanders says he will close many tax loopholes and that's fine -- but it all comes back to one thing: The more money you take away from individuals, the less they can spend in the marketplace.

The more money you take away from companies, the less hiring and research they will do.

The goal of socialism is to basically flatten out the American economy so everybody has pretty much the same.

Look, as I said on Monday, even if Sanders were elected president, he'd never get this stuff passed in Congress but he could do a lot of damage by executive order.

There is no way the feds can run the economy, and that's what Bernie Sanders wants.

Now why are millions of Americans buying into that concept?

Two basic reasons.  Some have no clue what Senator Sanders really stands for.  They don't know anything about socialism or about him.

For example, Sanders has been in the Senate for nine years.  In that time only one significant bill with his name on it has passed -- revamping the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Before that, he was in the House for 16 years.

The highlight of all those years was his brokering a deal with his pals in Venezuela to import heating oil to America.

So you can see Mr. Sanders is not exactly a major player in Congress.

But again, he is an honest man not afraid to say what he believes.

Now there is no question that the liberal mainstream media is getting very nervous about Hillary Clinton.

It seems almost every day there is a new revelation about her ethical dilemmas.

On the campaign trail she is less than inspiring, trying to run as a continuation of Barack Obama.

Many voters understand, especially with the stock market melting down, that Mr. Obama's economic policies have not strengthened this country.

The propaganda says that Mr. Obama saved us from a depression.   But take a look at where we are. Your investments are getting hammered, salaries are low for workers and the future, at least this year, is bleak.

When stocks blow up, all of us get hurt.  Get that, Bernie and Barack?

So Hillary Clinton, running on more Obama policy, is folly and Sanders knows it.

One more thing. If the senator does win the nomination (still not likely) that would be a GOP dream.

America will never go socialist.

And that's the memo.