Democratic analysts who say extreme wokeness is killing their party are right, but issue positions aren’t the whole problem. What’s worse is the use of government power to force everyone else to accept left-wing cultural ideals.

If Democrats want to understand why not even dedicated Never Trumpers could vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, and why so-called “double haters,” those who strongly disliked both major candidates, broke by wide margins in Trump’s favor, they need to remember that people historically have resented edicts and mandates. To recover, the Democratic Party should abandon its outlandish cultural positions, but if not that, then at least abandon compulsion, and relearn persuasion instead.