It’s probably wrong to call it a “Red Herring”. Bernie-likes are generally “democratic socialists” in particular. While “democratic socialism” is the most popular strand of socialism right now, it is certainly not the only popular one. Even the DSA, named for its basis in democratic socialism, actually has quite a large faction of more authoritarian leftists heavily influence by Marxism-Leninism (i.e. Stalinism).
It’s probably wrong to call it a “Red Herring”. Bernie-likes are generally “democratic socialists” in particular. While “democratic socialism” is the most popular strand of socialism right now, it is certainly not the only popular one. Even the DSA, named for its basis in democratic socialism, actually has quite a large faction of more authoritarian leftists heavily influence by Marxism-Leninism (i.e. Stalinism).