The gist of the argument coming from the strategist types is simple: left-wing positions, on culture war issues like trans rights especially, are not popular with the broad public, and the party would do well to distance themselves…[in] reality, it’s just not how politics work.

Many political strategists imagine that voters hold a handful of heartfelt positions, and that the goal of politicians is to meet them where they are. […]

That is almost entirely backwards. A wealth of research shows that voters don’t come to their policy preferences organically - they follow the cues of political figures they identify with. Meaning that generally speaking, it’s not that politicians see where voters stand and try to move toward them, it’s the other way around.