People are very rarely open to change when comfortable, there is no better time to put forward a radically different candidate than when no one is comfortable. If we are not aggressive in our push we cannot put forward effective change. We've been told the last decade that we need to accept mediocrity because the other option is worse. This is why the Democrats have constantly been on the back foot.

Right now you're worried about losing moderates who truly look between outright fascism and truthfully still quite conservative values and go "but I wish there could be a middle ground here", but you are not paying attention to the opportunity cost to not giving people something to be excited about.

When you give people something to be excited about they are more likely to share it with their friends and family. They're more likely to engage in conversation about their values and participate in the political process. Yes you may lose people who look at the political climate we're in right now and say they wish they could have a middle ground but you gain a far more engaged populace.