And yes, some Democrats have blamed the party’s commitment to identity politics, and also Harris campaign’s choice to leave it unanswered influx of anti-trans ads This came from the Trump campaign.

“For the losing side, elections are a Rorschach test,” said Alexander Theodoridis, a political science professor at UMass Amherst. “You’re basically reinforcing what you previously believed. This ‘Should the Democratic party have moved further to the left?’ It varies between . ‘Isn’t he gone yet?’ “I’ve heard of both.”

But in Massachusetts, Moulton’s comments about transgender student-athletes dominated the discussion. his argument He drew the ire of his fellow Democrats Reports from the LGBTQ+ community in Massachusetts and the state, as well as official decision from his hometown of Salem and He calls on him to resign. Others, including the state Republican Party, applauded his view.

Moulton remained determined. “The reactions prove my point,” the Democrat told reporters at a Veterans Day event in Marblehead on Monday, the fourth day in a row that he has gone to the press to defend his point. “Democrats have problems even discussing difficult issues. … If you scapegoat everything and put it aside because you don’t like the subject, then how do we start winning again?”

Moulton said the media has been overly focused on his comments about transgender athletes, but his real point is broader: The party needs to be more open to discussing controversial issues.

“I don’t think we’re going to win on anything if we can’t debate them,” he said, noting that he’s heard from voters who agree, even thanking him for sharing their ideas.

Theodoridis said after the election that such introspection, although “pretty ugly,” was “pretty normal.” One of the rare moments in his career when he noticed a break in this pattern was in 2020. Trump denies losing no choice at all.

“There is a lot of backlash, a lot of bad attitudes and a lot of finger pointing,” Theodoridis said. “This happens over and over again.”

Anthony Cignoli, a Massachusetts-based consultant who has advised PACs and other groups in several states this election season, said the repercussions of Moulton’s comments within the party have turned into a best-case scenario for Trump and Republicans opposed to transgender issues. campaign trail.

Trump, who He made attacking trans Americans a centerpiece of his campaign he told the crowd At the Madison Square Garden rally “We will remove the transgender craze from our schools and keep men out of women’s sports,” he said last month. He also made patently false claims About children receiving gender-affirming medical treatment During the World Series this summer, anti-trans campaign ads aired in front of a large audience during the school day without parental consent.

“This was unfortunately an easy target for (Trump),” Cignoli said. “And here we are a week later, and now this is what the Democratic Party is dealing with and talking about?”

Liam Kerr, co-founder of the Welcome Party, a nonprofit organization that aims for a big tent vision for the Democratic Party, said he agreed with Moulton that party activists were too quick to silence criticism or stick to traditional party talking points. The party proved not united enough to win, he said, and those on the far left were “keeping the issue on the agenda by creating unproductive conflict.”

“There are many ways to be pragmatic,” he said. “But activists want there to be only one way to be progressive. “And that’s not just a problem for advocates, it’s a problem for those they claim to represent.”

Democrats to Moulton’s left offered very different assessments of where they think their party went wrong and what they see as the path forward.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, whose presidential campaign famously hinged on “having a plan for everything,” released a “fightback plan” in 2013. Time Magazine on Thursday.

While Warren wrote that Harris “deserves praise for running an inspirational campaign under unprecedented circumstances,” she called on Democrats to “fix the economy” to win back working-class voters.

He called on Democrats to step up oversight efforts in Congress, fight Trump in the courts, get involved at the grassroots level and, most importantly, for the Senate to use the remaining time before the new Congress takes office to confirm federal judges and key figures. while regulators still have power.

His assessment was similar, but less harsh, to that offered by progressive Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sanders, who has been the target of criticism for criticizing the party leadership in recent days, wrote the following in an article: Column in the Globe “Democrats lost this election because they ignored the righteous anger of America’s working class and became defenders of a rigged economic and political system,” he said Sunday.

The election stances of two New England senators, which dovetail neatly with their personal policy preferences, show how lawmakers are retreating into their own party factions while taking responsibility for Democrats’ big losses.

Rep. Jake Auchincloss, another moderate Democrat in the state’s congressional delegation, told the Globe on Monday that it was “sort of” in his district that Fall River, one of the largest cities, voted for a Republican for the first time in a century. “The Democrats don’t work for them.”

Asked about Moulton’s assessment of where Democrats are falling short, Auchincloss declined to directly address his colleague’s view.

“As a party, we definitely need to be able to have tough talks,” he said. “I’m actually less worried about where Democrats are debating things and more worried about where they have strong consensus.”

He pushed back as he saw Democrats trying to “increase economic populism” and warned against “trying to push back on the MAGA-lite party.” He said the party needs to put forward a more “real agenda” that includes issues like balancing the budget, securing the southern border and building more affordable housing.

Those in the LGTBQ+ community eventually said Moulton, regardless of his motives, was playing into the GOP agenda by highlighting the trans community rather than effectively criticizing the Democratic Party.

“You participated (in the Trump agenda),” Giselle Byrd, trans advocate and executive director of The Theater Offensive in Boston, said of Moulton. “Congressman “Moulton’s comments are not only rife with transphobia, but they send a fear-mongering message throughout this country at a time when we are already experiencing it.”

Matt Stout and Anjali Huynh 90% of Globe staff contributed to this report.

Samantha J. Gross can be reached at [email protected]. follow him @samanthajgross. Anjali Huynh can be reached at [email protected].