In a contest against high-minded ideals, conservative culture romped and former President Donald Trump is returning to power riding a wave of discontent with the political left in America.
Many find themselves stunned, wondering how this could have happened, but no one should be surprised. The signs were there for months.
While the polls showed the race a dead heat, something else was going on just below the surface: For the first time in decades, more Americans were identifying as Republicans than as Democrats. Just as the leader of the Republican Party was convicted of 34 felony counts, was found liable for sexual abuse and frequently descended into seeming incoherence on the stump, Americans were consistently, and in record numbers, self-identifying more with his party. In places like Pennsylvania, long-held Democratic voter registration advantages eroded significantly.
It's hard to argue that the GOP has suddenly become more appealing. Indeed, the favorability levels for both parties remain relatively low. And Trump did not offer the country a compelling or serious plan to address his party's problems. Instead, he offered them an opportunity to reject the perceived leftward shift of progressivism and to stake a claim for conservative culture.
In this way, it's perhaps the most asymmetrical campaign of our lifetimes.
This is a preview of Brendan Buck's latest article. Read the full column here. And for more real-time updates and analysis on the election, follow MSNBC's live blog.
