I think Al is right, and I actually think it's one of the things that's wrong with the Left. I know so many leftists who are shitty people up close but who work tirelessly for Causes. On the other hand most of my conservative friends are some of the best friends you could have in a moment of crisis, despite their shortcomings vis-a-vis humanity. My small anecdotal sample notwithstanding, I think this is clearly an area where we could learn from each other.
To tie it all back to the chicken-fucking book, conservatives demonstrate their tribal loyalty by showing preference towards those they have a cultural affinity to. Liberals demonstrate their tribal loyalty by showing no preference towards those they have a cultural affinity to. I think it's easier to be a misanthropic conservative because if you hate the right people, everyone who matters will put up with the fact that you hate them, too. It's tough being a misanthropic liberal because you're supposed to be above all that. I'd put it this way: you have a cultural bias towards non-shitty conservatives because they're putting up with you. Meanwhile you swim in a vast sea of liberals - you "know so many leftists" who are shitty but "most of your conservative friends" are great.
Oh. Dude. Say no more. Speaking as someone who paid for college mixing bands in clubs, from swing to death metal to punk to ska to disco, allow me to assert with no quaver in my voice that there is no shittier crowd on earth than a jam band crowd. That there is a hypocritical, self-satisfied set of smug-ass smarmy sociopaths.