In practice there’s a false dichotomy between “partisan politics” and “forming opinions based on the issues”. That’s because The Issues are typically defined based on what arguments are easiest for the Right to win. (That’s comically true on Fox News, but mostly true everywhere else too).
Broadly speaking, left-wing politics is about cultivating a consensus, and right-wing politics is about deciding what’s right and then selling it (both approaches have pros and cons). If you regard yourself as a no-nonsense down-to-earth person, the Right has you squarely in its sights with the sales trick known as “talking past the sale”. They put their hands on their hips, they ask you to put on your thinking cap, and they say: here are the issues; here’s what the candidates say about those issues; now you decide.
And they really do want you to think long and hard about the question, because the longer and harder you think, the deeper you internalise their definition of what the question is. Pretty soon they’ve got you trained. Once you believe that terrorism / military strength / small government / etc. are the most important things, they don’t need you to be loyal to the GOP brand per se.
This is just one part of the political battlefield, of course. Lots of voters don’t give two shits for the official definition of What’s Really Important, and they’re subjected to other tactics. But if you’re a certain type of man, and you’re not constantly on guard for it, right-wing politicians will lead you around by the nose using this tactic.
