That the American Capitol was stormed by right-wing thugs carrying campaign banners, Confederate flags, and silly string is symbolic of the fragility of the republic as well as the inevitable anarchy of Trumpism. The images from yesterday are destined to be engraved on the minds of the public for a generation. Politically, it is hard to think of a more egregious own goal.

So far, the two most common responses from those on the right have been “I told you so” and whataboutery: those who take comfort in saying that they always knew this presidency would end in tears, and those who insist that the real story here is the hypocritical leftist leaders who failed to condemn violence from their own side over the summer.

Yet neither of these reactions engages in the more pressing questions, on which rests the longevity of American conservatism. How did we get here? And where to from here?