The lynchpin is that every four years, a handful of the most disagreeable people rile up the rest to place one of two bets out of many, and if anyone doesn't be

The lynchpin is that every four years, a handful of the most disagreeable people rile up the rest to place one of two bets out of many, and if anyone doesn't bet the exact same way as their riler, they might as well be betting for the other riler, which is an intolerable act. This is how the USA votes, and it's hard for people to separate what amounts to a behavior they must abide to 25% of their adult lives from the remaining time. This is how we maintain our two parties: the GOP, and the people who don't have much else in common besides their dislike of the GOP.