There are a lot of people who will support progressive policy goals but only contingently, when technocratic competence and good judgement can be demonstrated (I know this because I used to be one of them). Many of these people have been peeled off the past few years and so Dems have become ever more dependent on 1) lying and dissembling, 2) threats, censorship, and other authoritarian tactics, and 2) remaining ideological die-hards who are unconditionally supportive no matter how off the rails things go.