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You keep hearing this story partly because Republicans have an obvious interest in promoting it and partly because large parts of the news media find it irresistible. Itâs a âboth sides do itâ angle that allows us journalists to appear tough, knowing and above the partisan scrum. We love that image. But the facts donât support the story in this case.

For starters, look at this yearâs primaries, which finished last week. Across the country, a grand total of two Democratic incumbents in the House lost a primary. Zero Senate candidates did. In conservative states with moderate Democratic senators â like Indiana, North Dakota, and West Virginia â not one of those moderates even faced a serious primary challenge.

Democrats Are Moving Left. Donât Panic. The situation was very different in 2010 with the Tea Party, which pushed the Republican Party to the right. Multiple incumbents lost that year, as Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report noted last week. âPlease stop with the ârevolutionâ in the Democratic Party narrative,â she said. This yearâs real story is the one that the political scholars Lara Putnam and Theda Skocpol have tried to tell: Anti-Trump activists have taken a strategic approach, backing either moderate or more progressive candidates, depending on the district.

Meanwhile, in Congress, the partyâs reaction to President Trump tells a similar story. Political pundits sometimes talk about âTrump derangement syndromeâ â a condition, supposedly, in which his presidency has made Democrats go crazy. Except that it hasnât.

To take just one example: There is strong evidence that Trump has broken the law, both by obstructing justice and by using the presidency to enrich himself. Still, Democratic leaders refuse to push for impeachment. They say the country should wait for Robert Muellerâs investigation to finish. I think thatâs wise. Either way, itâs certainly not deranged.

Finally, there is policy. Democrats have indeed moved somewhat to the left over the last few decades, on both social and economic issues. As Lawrence Summers, the former Treasury secretary (and no lefty revolutionary), likes to say, the last 15 years should have nudged open-minded people to the political left: The free market isnât delivering healthy increases in living standards for most Americans. In response, Democrats are focusing less on Bill Clintonâs old themes, like personal and fiscal responsibility, and more on using the government to help people.

But think about what a truly left-wing agenda would look like: Top tax rates of 70 percent (which we had as recently as 1980) or higher. A generous âuniversal basic income.â The elimination of employer-provided health insurance, with a system more like Britainâs. These ideas remain limited to the margins. None is likely to happen even if Democrats sweep the elections of 2020.

If you consider yourself a moderate â whether you lean slightly right or slightly left â your choice in this yearâs midterms is clear.

And if you consider yourself a leftist, I understand you are probably frustrated that the Democrats wonât go further. But look at the big picture. The Democratic Party may not have moved nearly as much as you would like, but the party has moved. It has adjusted its agenda in response to soaring inequality and stagnant living standards.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A20 of the New York edition with the headline: âTrump Derangement Syndromeâ is a Myth. Order Reprints | Todayâs Paper | Subscribe