A relatively moderate Democratic member of Congress is facing calls for his resignation and potential primary challenges, if not ex-communication from the party altogether, after expressing his common-sense opinion on a controversial topic that ran afoul of the party's activist-approved messaging on the issue.

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) is now beset by a concerted effort to have him removed from Congress and ousted from the Democratic Party for daring to suggest that Democrats have pushed too far to the left on the transgender rights issue, the Washington Examiner reported.

Somewhat surprisingly, however, Moulton has stood strong and refused to cower to the backlash, and instead has doubled down on his prior remarks and suggested that the intense backlash he received only served to prove his broader point.

Moulton speaks out against transgender athletes in women's sports

Following the elections earlier this month, in which Democrats were defeated for control of the White House and Congress, Rep. Moulton suggested in a New York Times interview that his party's activist-led stance on transgender athletes playing women's sports had contributed to their devastating political losses.

Moulton said that Democrats waste "too much time trying not to offend anyone" on the transgender issue and observed, "I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete. But as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that."

The swift and angry condemnations he received for making that comment, despite its obvious truth, exposed exactly why so many Democrats are, in fact, too "afraid" to share their honest opinions on the topic of transgender rights and women's sports.

Potential primary challengers emerge

According to Politico's Massachusetts Playbook, there are already rumblings within Rep. Moulton's congressional districts of potential Democratic opponents who might launch a primary challenge against the incumbent representative of the safely deep-blue seat in Congress.

One of those is Dan Koh, a former Andover selectman and former top aide to former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who followed Walsh to Washington D.C. when the mayor served as Labor secretary but stuck around in the Biden-Harris administration after Walsh moved on to a private sector job.

Another is Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo, who recently attended an out-of-town fundraiser that sparked speculation of a congressional bid, though he insisted to reporters that he remains focused on his current job for now.

"I believe that he is vulnerable, and it's not just because of the recent comments," Democratic consultant Doug Rubin told Politico of Moulton. "Challenging [former Speaker Nancy] Pelosi a while ago, the run for president -- I think all of those things have the potential to rub voters the wrong way in his district and provide an opening for a candidate to make a credible campaign."

Moulton said the "backlash proves my point"

The Boston Globe reported this week that Rep. Moulton sat for a Zoom call with several transgender rights activists who were expecting a reversal and apology from the Democratic congressman but were left complaining that "Nothing made an impact. There was no empathy, no love, no pausing."

At best, Moulton acknowledged that he perhaps could have phrased his statement a little better, but also accurately observed that the "backlash proves my point" about Democrats being too fearful of pushback and cancelation to speak out on the issue with their true feelings on the matter.

Indeed, in a second interview with The New York Times earlier this month, Moulton said, "I’ve never had more people, parents and, by the way, a lot of LGBTQ community members, reach out to me and say, 'Thank you for saying this.' Some of them are just speaking authentically as parents. Some of them believe the trans movement has gone too far. It is imperiling the progress we’ve made."

Yet, there is at least one fellow Democrat who is unafraid to speak up on the issue, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who told The Times of the activist-led effort to destroy Moulton's career, "If we allow tested leaders with proven records to get shut down because they have the temerity to discuss what should be a legitimate topic for conversation -- a topic that is currently undermining faith in our party -- we will continue losing races."