There's growing evidence Democrats do better when they moderate (get closer to average American's viewpoints) than go extreme progressive (go away from average American's viewpoints). Again people are turned off by extreme positions. So many people voted for Trump, or didn't vote for Dems, because they believe we sponsor sex change surgery for minors, or paying for immigrants' sex changes (I know it's called gender reassignment surgery, but this is how middle America talks about it).
How the hell is going more progressive, spending more time talking about trans girls playing sports (a wildly unpopular topic), vs going in with a hard-hammered message of economic stability, which is what people keep voting for?
Whenever I hear leftists talking about going more progressive, I wonder if you've spent any time wandering around the flyover states, talking to the average farmer or factory worker, because they decide the president, not us. We are out of touch with them, and nothing we are doing is drawing them in - only turning them off.