This is the deeper flaw with the Trump/Moore approach to politics. Trump upended conventional wisdom with his constant, off-putting combativeness and willingness to pander to a relatively narrow conservative base at the expense of everyone else. But with Moore, the obvious downsides of that approach are becoming obvious. He may have retained the loyalty of his die-hard, core supporters, but at the expense of alienating everyone else.

The obvious question is: how soon before this catches up with Trump, too? Or is it already happening? I have already observed that motivated Democratic turnout in Virginia’s recent election suggests Trump’s 2016 election victory was made possible by Hillary Clinton’s unique lack of appeal—and without her to suppress the votes of Democrats and Democrat-leaning Independents, there will be the devil to pay.