Given the embarrassing state of the right in the United States, it no doubt serves their interests to identify a bogeyman to deflect attention. And that bogeyman is "socialism" - a loaded term that has much more to do with attempting to create a fictional, threatening "other" than it has to do with a sober, balanced description of reality.
There can be no doubt - the USA is, to a certain degree like all other civilized nations, embraces the basic communitarian principles that undergird socialism. And that's a damn good thing. Yes, there is some "forced" redistribution of money from the rich and powerful to the poor and disenfranchised. Is that a terrible thing, especially for someone who claims to be a follower of Jesus?
The real world is complicated. Why some are rich and some are poor is complicated - it is foolish to imagine that the poor simply need to leave the beer and cigarettes - funded by the public purse - and "get a job". Likewise, it is equally unrealistic to think that we do not need the incentives of capitalism to flourish - the evidence is clear that capitalism, properly moderated of course, works.
But this is not an "either-or". And when some on the right trot out the tired "socialism" thing, they are engaged in a program of demonization, not a responsible dialog on how to best order a society.