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That doesn't mean we pretend everyone is equally imperfect (politically or personally), therefore any discussion of their imperfections is not necessary or relevant.

This is not the problem. The problem -- and it isn't exclusive to FR, or the Left/Right schism, or even to politics -- is that too many people leap all the way from "I don't agree with you" to "I seriously hate you because I don't agree with you" all in one short step. People become so caught up in their points of disagreement, they fail to appreciate the areas where they do agree, where there is plenty of common ground. Sticking to politics, there truly are plenty of people who claim to hate the Left, but for whom no Republican is ever good enough. So while they're looking for the impossible, the possible is seldom accomplished.

too many people leap all the way from "I don't agree with you" to "I seriously hate you because I don't agree with you" all in one short step

Yep.

Then comes the name-calling and vulgar "suggestions" that totally displace rational evaluation of the facts and substantive debate.

From what I see, it comes from not knowing how to debate and being unwilling to learn.

As soon as a disagreement is reached, especially if there is no way to reasonably dispute the argument counter one's point, some people simply launch into a sudden tizzy of hurling personal insult and vulgar "why don't you . . ." tirades. (Check my recent posting history for examples, lol.) It's just weird.

In my view, it appears to come from feeling highly put upon by someone disagreeing with you. And being unwilling to accept that debate can, and should occasionally, lead one to a new conclusion. Moreover, that it's okay to simply say, even in the face of strong counter-arguments, "I still disagree." After all, most of what we are discussing is a matter of opinion!

Yet instead of handling disagreement that way, some people appear to feel emotionally cornered and this leads them to make really embarrassing emotional responses that have nothing to do with the substantive issues being debated.

This is not the problem.

P.S. I disagree. I still think this is a big part of the problem!

It's really a combination of what I said and what you said in your last post:

There are some people who think since "no one's perfect, I vehemently hate anyone who points out the imperfections in my candidate/conclusions, etc."