Party vs country?

I've been keeping mostly away from DU and politics for the past month or so. What's happening to our nation is just too depressing. But in light of several emails I've received from an old friend (who's a Republican) recently, and the content of those emails, I have to wonder about something.

And please read this all the way before you respond.

Just this morning I received an email from him with excerpts from a book written by a former Secret Service agent, In the President's Secret Service (2009). The clips were about the presidents themselves, and how -- of course -- the Democrats were awful people and the Republicans were mostly great people. It's like my friend (or his source) reduced the entire 285-page book to a few anecdotes for the explicit purpose of bashing Democrats.

It seems to me that a lot of the Republican rhetoric I've seen recently focuses around bashing Democrats, either individually or the party itself. But it's not about the issues: it's not about arguing for what the administration is doing or not doing, or about whether it's good for the nation or not. Which makes me wonder if it's all focused on "party over country."

Has anyone else noticed this, or am I just not reading enough?