I see this as when US governance really started to break down.

Reagan had announced the goal of the right - to kill governance. This became a religious icon, and Republicans were willing to lie, cheat, steal, disrupt, and damage America to achieve it.

The government of America, more or less shut down for years over a consensual blowjob when pretty well every President in history, R or D, had a mistress, should have been the flashing red light.

(Oh, Clinton was also pretty useless, and really should have kept it in his pants, considering the Republicans were actively investigating him his whole administration!)

America had one chance left, but unfortunately, the next Democratic President was do-nothing centrist gladhander who coasted for eight years with no achievements that will be remembered by history and particularly, one who assiduously protected powerful lawbreakers, whether they were Republicans, Wall Street, Blackwater or fossil fuel companies.

And now it's all over but the shouting.