I'm saying that people get a lot more sensitive about "talking politics" when the positions of the two major parties are in pretty stark contrast and it's blind

I'm saying that people get a lot more sensitive about "talking politics" when the positions of the two major parties are in pretty stark contrast and it's blindingly obvious they can't pull the usual "both sides are the same / equally bad / etc". At least, you can't really claim to support the GOP because you want to do something about climate change, only that you don't think it's important or don't think it's happening. Contrast this with a lot of tech issues, where you can throw up your hands and claim the whole system is fucked, and that both sides have their faults in roughly equal proportion. You're not forced to think about the consequences of supporting one party or the other as much.