You are missing my point.

He has always been able to refer to the democrats as "they" because while he has always caucused with them, he was not a party member. He ran as a democrat so that he would not play the same role as Nader and split the progressive vote. He did so because he put the progressive cause above his own need to identify as a socialist. The democrats never gave him credit for that.

I did so for my own different reasons. Having been born in a country where socialism was a respected term, I always agreed with its principles. I knew that voting independent or social democrat, was not a winning idea in this country, that always puzzled me, but I wanted to make my vote for a progressive cause count so I registered as a democrat after I became a citizen.

So, I do not vote as a democrat "because it suits me", I do so because it is more important that I vote for a progressive cause rather than be concerned about what label would I wear.