"I don't think the policy positions even matter that much, if you can make a strong case and gain the confidence of the electorate."

That's pretty sad state of the system. Policy positions should be the primary thing voters care about.

"It's about mobilizing people by giving them something to care about."

Yeah, but this is how you get the most extreme candidates. Look at the primaries. They have very small numbers of voters, and the voters in just a few states set the tone for those elections due to timing. You can make a huge difference by mobilizing voters with increasingly extreme positions or rhetoric. As you said, status quo doesn't energize. That means the people are less likely to get involved fir the staus quo unless they have a strong sense of duty about voting.