hi clo,
personally i think bernie should call himself a social democrat rather than a democratic socialist.
but labels don't mean much if that's all they are.
here are the things he believes according to wikipedia, and really, clo, many of them are similar to the things you believe.
"Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist, and praises the Nordic Model of social democracy. He primarily focuses on economic issues such as income inequality, wealth inequality, raising the minimum wage, universal healthcare, eliminating student debt and expanding social security benefits. Sanders also advocates for bold action to reverse global warming and infrastructure investment in the United States with "energy efficiency and sustainability" as a prominent goal. He has worked with Republican Congressman Ron Paul to audit the Federal Reserve.
Sanders has advocated for more democratic participation by citizens, campaign finance reform and the overturn of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. He has decried institutional racism, called for criminal justice reform to reduce the number of people in prison and advocates a crack down on police brutality. Sanders was a strong opponent of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and has been critical of a number of policies surrounding the War on Terror, particularly mass surveillance and the Patriot Act."