ADVERTISEMENT
The “brutality” of the break that McDonnell described is a reflection of the high-decibel environment of contemporary American politics. There is little room for a graceful exit when every move is analyzed through the lens of a zero-sum game. McDonnell’s journey from a young Democrat in the 1980s to a Republican in 2026 is a microcosm of the realignment seen across the Rust Belt and the Great Plains. It is a transition where the old alliances of labor and class are being superseded by the new alliances of culture and religion.
