Got bad news for you about modern American political discourse. Just tune into one of the major right-leaning networks sometime, it's rough.
Just one random example of a high profile career lawmaker:
"The senator dismissed House Democrats proposals to boost paid sick leave and bolster safety net programs like unemployment insurance and food stamps as “wage controls and price controls and socialism.”" https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Ted-...
"Sen. Ted Cruz took aim Friday at socialism, which he blamed it for killing jobs in liberal cities.
“The blue states with high taxes, high regulation their people are fleeing because they don’t have jobs,” he said while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland’s National Harbor.
Welfare != socialism