Originally Posted by alansmithee

I recently read a book that talked about this very phenomena. It was about game theory and strategic thinking. What they said ends up happening is that people often are forced to misrepresent their beliefs (by being more extreme) to get movement to their side. Because the closer to center you are, the less your position will cause change. So people will take the most extreme position possible without going "over the edge" and being considered a crackpot. Even if you would be happier at a more central point on the idological spectrum, you will go farther than that to counteract such behavior from the other side.