The lack of a strong moral core fails the Dem party again and again. The leadership thinks that they can carve out certain issues (trans rights, the genocide in Gaza) from their platform, but the base thinks more holistically. You can’t countenance certain horrors, and still expect robust support.
To this day "The Bulwark" and other handmaidens to fascism blame Harris's catastrophic loss on the very base that had been BEGGING the campaign to change course to defeat Trump.