You’d think that Democrats facing difficult races in 2022 and beyond would be doing everything they could to distance themselves from their party’s national image on social issues. But the outsized influence of the party’s activist wing, powerful teachers’ unions, and the left-leaning corporate media make it difficult for even the ostensible moderates to pivot to the center on cultural issues. Think about the Left’s contemporary line on the culture war: CRT isn’t being taught in schools and, even if it is, that’s a good thing, because it’s actually just honestly teaching the history of race in America, and parental concerns about it are illegitimate and rooted in racism. Alternatively, teaching young children about gender identity is literally saving lives — and anyone who opposes the ideology in public schools is literally murdering transgender kids. These lines have become something approximating conventional wisdom in elite left-wing institutions — and those institutions define the worldview of the modern Democratic Party.

Against that backdrop, how could a moderate Democrat “pivot” on these issues? You can’t “moderate” on the murder of trans kids, nor can you “compromise” on actual, honest-to-God racism. It’s a “yes” or “no” question. If that’s really what’s at stake, any concessions are morally unacceptable. Moderate Democrats in both the House and the Senate have been willing to break with their party on economic issues such as spending and overzealous regulation. But on CRT, gender ideology, and other cultural issues, the entire party apparatus is in lockstep.