Norman Thomas is reported to have said this in a 1944 speech:
"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism.
But, under the name of "liberalism," they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program,
until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.
" He went on to say: "I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party.
The Democratic Party has adopted our platform."
Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 - December 19, 1968)
was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.