Story highlights Sanders looks back to FDR's 1944 speech for inspiration to Thursday's address at Georgetown University

Washington (CNN) Bernie Sanders has always had a take-me-or-leave-me approach to his status as a self-described democratic socialist. But he will head to Georgetown University Thursday to explain precisely what that label means and why his values fit squarely in the American political system.

The Democratic presidential candidate has long been the only member of Congress even remotely self-associated with the word "socialist." But Sanders' bet is that things have changed -- and the label doesn't carry the baggage it once did.

Democratic activists in Iowa surveyed by CNN this fall in Iowa, at the annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner, said they were quite fine with the term "democratic socialism."

"Well I'm not afraid of that label at all. I think a lot of it actually defines who we are as Democrats," said Kristi Keast, a Hillary Clinton supporter.

Anne Fultz, a Sanders supporter, said, "We are already a 'socialist' country. I have Social Security, you have Social Security. We already have that in place."

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