We’re one week after the election, and this isn’t what many of us imagined we’d be seeing. President Donald Trump had early leads that vanished. There are indications that something isn’t right, and there’s a chance that re-canvassing, recounts, and litigation could prompt the state legislatures in close states to step in to address the matter. But that could be a long shot — and a poisoned chalice of sorts.

While Trump’s pugnaciousness was some desperately needed political chemotherapy for the GOP, this treatment, like its medical counterpart, came with some deleterious side effects. In this case, Trump’s default “spoiling for a fight” mode, as seen in his feud with John McCain (even after the senator’s death), probably cost him Arizona. Writ large, it also probably led just enough people who should have voted Republican to either vote for Joe Biden or choose another option in the crucial swing states.

We’re not talking the Lincoln Project types. They and the Bulwark bunch were far more the kind who preferred to talk about conservative policies rather than actually enacting conservative policies. No, we’re talking about conservative or conservative-leaning Americans who liked the policies but increasingly couldn’t stand the person enacting them. Regardless of the part played by the big-city political machines, it’s apparent that there were a lot of people who split their tickets, voting for Biden while also voting for congressional Republicans against the Left’s agenda.

That was enough to cancel out Trump’s successful outreach to black and Hispanic voters, who went for him in record numbers. In fact, in some states, Trump improved his standing by double digits, if exit polls are to be believed. The migration of working-class voters to the GOP is also continuing. Down the road, the key will be finding the Republican leaders who can successfully gather from President Trump’s success in this regard while reconciling with those who were turned off by his personality.

But that may not matter much longer, because it should be clear that the Left has declared total war on conservatism. Even if the GOP wins the two Georgia Senate runoffs (it’s “interesting” how Senator David Perdue’s comfortable lead closed just enough for that to happen), with Biden appointees at the Departments of Treasury and Justice, an army of latter-day Lois Lerners will be unleashed. What we predicted in 2016 will be coming, but with four years of pent-up hatred. Any hopes of a Trump comeback — even with his children — could very well be dashed with show trials intended to either score criminal convictions or simply tie them up.

The loyal Cabinet officials? They’re already the targets of a blacklist that many on the Left want. Lincoln Project types are all for it, as well. After all, they want to “rebuild” a new “conservative” movement — one they’ll be in charge of. Will it actually address the issues America wants addressed? Doubtful. But they’ll have the backing of the mainstream media and Silicon Valley. Speaking of which, the social media platform Parler is exploding, as many leave the censorious sellouts such as Facebook and Twitter. But how long before Google and Apple leverage their combined dominance of the mobile app market to strangle Parler’s growth?

When the Japanese invaded Wake Island for the second time, the Marines on that island radioed, “The issue is in doubt.” Right now, for grassroots Patriots, the same thing can be said. Maybe Trump manages to overcome what big-city political machines appear to have done. But if that doesn’t happen, there are very desperate fights ahead.