religion to wage a "culture war" on the other half of America going all the way back to Nixon and Reagan. Trump was, in a way, a reaction to uneducated whites constantly hearing about how a "browning America" was leaving them not as the kind of ruling class they think they should be, but a minority in "their" own country. Point blank: the GOP has been skirting the line of white nationalism since the "Southern Strategy" was first employed, and over the last 40 years has gone deeper and deeper into the well of relying on white, Christian voters to vote for them on nothing other than identity politics and "wedge" issues like abortion and guns. That does have a consequence: a wedge has been driven between uneducated/rural/traditional whites (who view America as "their" country, not "our" country) and everyone else (minority voters, urban progressives, younger voters). They created a scenario where their voter base views everything as an existential cultural struggle of "us vs. them" and not a disagreement on policy. The Republicans themselves -- the traditional "conservative" lawmakers in particular -- really have no choice but to stay on the crazy train or retire, because these are the people who vote for Republicans, not your country club guys and sensible business owners of yesteryear.

That is the difference, IMHO, and Trump basically saw the GOP base for what it is: a coalition of angry white people who are pissed off at a changing country -- and appealed directly to them. Many of us were shocked, while others weren't surprised to see it resonating, especially after the preview Sarah Palin gave us in 2008 and the birther nonsense that Trump was a part of.
But most were surprised they had enough numbers-wise to win, since Hillary couldn't get Obama's coalition back to the polls. That hasn't changed and won't. Elections have now become a turnout game -- I don't see that changing in the near future, nor do I see any real "healing" moment coming post-Trump.

Republicans have locked themselves into a strategy of ruling as a minority by any means necessary -- be it voter suppression, enlisting foreign governments to meddle on their behalf, selling their souls to special interests, or selling out to a wannabe dictator who gives their voter base the show they want. They will ultimately lose, but they won't go quietly. And the Dems won't help make matters better, for sure. I think this is going to get worse before it gets better, sadly.