Falls into the same category as religious fanatic to me at least.

Great way to make and lose friends pretty quickly. The broken-record routine gets pretty old, pretty fast.

In life everything is about tone. There's a time and a place for everything. Sometimes in the sport of politics it's necessary to get the rank and file going; a red meat speech does the trick, but in social company it isn't right to beat your beliefs down people's throats in the style of a brimstone and fire preacher. In other words, be prepared to agree to disagree. Some people take their politics very personally and frankly it's not something that should alienate and end friendships. We all have our views, defend it, and move on. You can communicate your opinions much more effectively taking on that strategy.

Definitely - and I put this on the same tier as the religious fanatics. If you're a political firebrand, you talk about politics TOO MUCH. There's a time and place for everything -and being knowledgeable about what's going on in the world politically and otherwise can be very attractive- but when your friends have labeled you a political firebrand, you could be annoying them without knowing it. So be careful.

No shortage of that here, LOL. I have a woman working for me that is this way... it's really embarrassing when she goes on one of her tirades in the office. I think a dependable rule is this: the more emotional a person feels about a political or religious topic, the less likely the opinion is based strictly on reason. No one will get angry and pound on the table if they encounter someone who believes that the sun rises in the west and sets in the east; but woe to the one who questions whether the Host be Bread or Flesh.

Get riled up about political issues, turning red in the face, and pounding a table or a desk to emphasize your points. Turn every conversation into a fractious debate. Don't just attend political rallies, but organize your own where you are the featured ranter and raver.