The Red scare left a lasting cultural imprint. Ask any socalist what they think socialism is and compare it to what an American[1] thinks socialism is. Note the differences.
Also, Glenn Beck had a lot to do with it. He gave a bizarre version of 20c history that stuck, to a lot of angry people who don't read. It used to be that right-wingers would target the New Deal as socialism, now they think the banks and consumer rights are socialism.
If you can convince people the banks are socialist, you've created a Schrödinger's Premise where the banks primarily exist to destroy the banks; any premise that is both true and not true at the same time can be used to prove anything.
If you can convince people the banks are socialist, you've created a Schrödinger's Premise where the banks primarily exist to destroy the banks; any premise that is both true and not true at the same time can be used to prove anything.