I would not consider myself "right wing" - I'm an anarcho-capitalist, and have no problem with the vast majority of the social issues embraced by the left. I take issue with the way they intend to address them sometimes but that applies to all parties and to government in general.
Still, I often bite my tongue when guns come up as a topic of conversation in a professional settings, because when I speak on that topic it's automatically assumed that I'm a Republican. Democrats (and assorted other leftists) seem to regularly project their preconceived notions of what a Republican is onto me, and assume that they are correct.
It's almost like politics optimizes to get 50% of the people on each "team" \s.
It's not “politics”, it's the US electoral system, and particular:
(1) single-winner majority or plurality legislative (and state executive) elections and
(2) Indirect federal executive elections where the voters are elected in winner-take-all plurality elections at either state or a mix of state and district levels.
Together, this strongly encouraged a system of two major national factions, each of which strives to acheive a winning coalition with as little compromise on policy priorities as possible, which in effect means minimal size to acheive victory.