It happens whenever Democrats resort/revert to peddling the brand of Third Label No Way centrist-technocrat politics that voters despise. Yes, I know the standard retort is, "Well, a lot of those 'moderate' Democrats hail from conservative-leaning districts; their views should reflect those of their constituents." This sounds convincing on the surface, but it's actually irresponsible, and stupid politics as well.
It's like this: If you're going to campaign as a Democrat, show the courage of your convictions and argue for Democratic policies and principles. It's how you win elections---by persuading voters that you actually believe in something, which energizes the party base and boosts turnout. How do you think all those insane people got elected to Congress four years ago? By faithfully representing the views of their constituents? Maybe in some districts, sure, but in places like Michigan and Ohio and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin---you know, places outside the South that don't normally elect deranged religious nuts---they did it by offering lots of red meat and turning out the base. If you don't do that, you don't win elections, and when Democrats espouse noncommittal Third Way boilerplate, they don't turn out their base. It's really that simple.
---Baron V
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