That's not what happened. What happened is, voters who said they were going to vote for a Republican largely did actually show up and vote for a Republican. Whereas a significant minority of voters who said they were going to vote for a Democrat stayed home instead.

As for "smug liberalism" where if only uneducated people were given the facts, they'd make the right conclusion and be liberal, is probably a real thing; i.e. there are educated people who are still ignorant and there isn't a lot you can about it. A major factor in getting along with each other is living among each other, and that really doesn't happen in rural areas of the country. There's no real effective way to impart city dormitory life, not just social tolerance but diversity appreciation, to people who don't live in cities.

The election is really not that big of a surprise. The country is this divided. It is very difficult for the same party to win three election cycles in a row. And, key Democratic party demographics didn't show up to vote in sufficient numbers that it affected the outcome of the election.

This is not "tore our heads off" territory, that's hyperbole.