I think that there are a lot of people who have that problem. My cousin and I had a huge blow up fight about the election where he said that I was a spoiled, rich college student who didn't know anything, and that was the only reason I was voting for Bush, and he wouldn't consider voting for anyone but Kerry. But then, when he actually talks about politics, he has many more right wing views than left wing. For example, against gun control, against affirmative action, wants lower taxes. He just doesn't get what the republican party is supposed to be about
The one thing the democratic party has done so massivly well, is to make the entire debate about rhetoric and personalization while getting policy debates that offend and infuriate the majority off the table.
People that vote republican, vote for certain issues and causes, and beliefs, but a huge chunk (I don't want to say the majority of their voters without better proof) of the democratic party voters, do so out out of some kind "team sport loyalty".
Its bizarre, the GOP and the Democrats are not the Yankees and Red Sox, but the fanatism is just like a team thing, with big chunks of dem voters just voting for the party, and spinning anything to justify it.
I've even joked with some friends, that if Jesse Helms ran for senator of NYS on a democratic ticket and Paul Wellstone had run on the republican ticket, Helms would have had a higher number of knee jerk vote dem guys then Wellstone would have had knee jerk vote GOP guys.
The GOP really has to get out there and start educating voters on the just the basics of what their policy positions are, and start to cutting away the disinformation of the dems to muddy the issues.