Of course I'm partisan. I actually stand for something. The two major political parties in the country are very far apart regarding the issues most important to me. The liberals and progressives are represented by the Democrats, while the conservatives and libertarians are represented by the Republicans. There are other very minor parties which support each of them as well.
In general the liberals represent science, the environment, woman's concerns, education, gay rights, workers unions, government assistance and universal health care. The conservatives represent the fundamentally religious and big business while generally fighting against those things I mentioned about the liberals. They wish to defund the EPA, fight stem cell research, against abortion, favor religious rights over all others when in conflict, against gay marriage, cut government assistance programs and certainly against any form of universal health care outside the free market. And they won't even have the discussion concerning gun control. The answer is NO.
The choices for me couldn't be clearer. It's good verses evil, oil verses water, science versus religion. A vote for a Republican is to support and endorse a side of the political divide which is further away from my vision as I can imagine in this country. I will not support or recognize those people who are against everything I stand for as my leaders and representatives.
I'm certain the conservatives and Republicans feel the same way about me. We are not together at all despite all the pretense. We have no unified sense of purpose. We don't even like each other very much. Talking about these issues with friends leads to heated, angry hostilities toward one another.
You say partisanship...you better believe it. Unless you don't much care about the world you live in.