Doesn't that happen every election? Just in the years I've been voting, I recall Republicans gloating over "Sore/Loserman" in 2000, mocking Kerry's loss in 2004 ("maybe he'll get another purple heart for that wound!" type of stuff), and Democrats mocking McCain and (especially) Palin's loss in 2008. That was all distributed over internet memes as well as in other forms.
Same on the local level in Texas (where I lived for some years), with partisans actually seeming happier about the TX Democrats' misfortunes than the TX GOP's success.
I agree that it's all the same. I think it feels more pronounced now giving the more personal (yet dehumanized) nature that Twitter and Facebook have taken since 2008.
I don't think it's actually hate. I'm not precisely sure what it is, but it seems to be the same thing that causes people to gloat when their favorite sports team wins. And sometimes it's pretty mean-spirited in the sports realm as well.
> I'm not precisely sure what it is, but it seems to be the same thing that causes people to gloat when their favorite sports team wins.
I disagree. Though sports fans have moments when they feel intense hatred for the other team, almost every fan knows that at the end of the day, it's just a game. They know that -- just like their team -- their opponent was just trying to win as a matter of pride.
The consequences of political contests are much more serious, which leads many political supporters to actually hate the other side. They don't see politics as a game; they see it as an idealogical war that directly affects their quality of life. Many actually think that politicians they don't agree with and their supporters are evil. If you want proof of this difference, just look at the comments on articles about sports rivalries and compare them to comments on articles about divisive political issues.
However, I'd guess that if the winning team of a sporting event was allowed to modify the rulebook for all future games, it would begin to look a lot more like politics over time.
It also helps that there are effectively infinite teams when compared to politics. If there was a sport with only two teams, and everyone was expected to be a fan of one of the two (passed down by your parents of course), we might approach a politics level conflict.
The primary emotion I can recall coming from the left during the George W Bush years was hate. Come to think of it, they still hate Bush, c.f. the town-hall debate question this time around.
Same on the local level in Texas (where I lived for some years), with partisans actually seeming happier about the TX Democrats' misfortunes than the TX GOP's success.