You’re still hung up on winning

That's not accurate. It's not about "winning", it's about mitigating losses so that the real methods of change can be more successful.

This new quote still does not vindicate lesser-evilism the way you seem to think it does;

And again, that quote was directed towards Germans, who already had popular leftist parties. The principle is thus:

Lenin is saying communists must soberly assess where the masses are and tailor their platform accordingly

In Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, that tailored platform was one thing. In modern America, it is a very different thing. Meeting the working class where they are means meeting them to the right of progressive liberalism. When that fact changes, so will the appropriate platform.

Meeting people where they are means starting from their present consciousness in order to raise it, not endorsing the blue fascist because the red fascist is worse.

It's not a matter of "endorsement", it's strategic mitigation. Where the masses are, in terms of class consciousness, is center-right at best. Raising that consciousness is going to necessarily pass through liberalism, progressivism, democratic socialism, etc. It's very difficult to drastically shift the perspective of hundreds of millions of people. That will take time, decades if not generations. Blue "fascists" are slower than red fascists, which means less damage in that period of consciousness-raising. Again, baby tigers vs adult tigers.

It's not about endorsement, it's about choosing the easier enemy to defeat.