Progressive and socialist platforms are very popular, in hindsight. It's just that propaganda can make people who rely on, say, the ACA vote against "Obamacare". In two sentences you first tell me that a thing is popular, and then explain why that thing is not actually popular. People fall for propaganda. Evidently Democrats haven't been very good at countering it, and they really need to win some elections soon. So if countering the propaganda isn't working they may have to live with it. Doing the "Am I so out of touch? No. It's the voters who are wrong." Simpsons meme thing isn't going to work.