That’s the lesson I take away from this article (gift link) about the wave of recall elections of conservative school board members (boldface mine):

Leaders of the campaign to recall Mr. Komrosky said that parents in Temecula — and across California — had long taken for granted that school boards generally focus on the mundane work of maintaining school buildings, recruiting strong teachers and making sure after-school programs run smoothly. Now, many said the actions of the new board had snapped them back to attention.

Mr. Pack said he started the One Temecula Valley PAC in 2022 to recruit candidates for nonpartisan local offices, including the Temecula City Council, where he felt recently elected officials were using their positions to make national political statements rather than focus on local government affairs. He cited one Temecula City Council member who tried to make the city a “sanctuary” for the unborn, even though abortion is legal in California and cities can’t ban the procedure.

He said he quickly found that ousting school board members was a top priority for many parents, who felt that the group, under Mr. Komrosky’s leadership, had racked up unnecessary legal bills and strayed from the mission of educating students.

While most people aren’t progressive activists, they’re not conservative activists who think Harvey Milk was a ‘pedophile’ like the aforementioned Komrosky. People really don’t like it when conservatives fly their freak flag, but too often, professional Democrats don’t tell people just how bonkers they are (until it’s too late).

This backlash won’t happen everywhere, but it will happen, if people are told how the bugshit craziness hurts them.