The conversation began with him offering an (unsolicited) political opinion to me: "The thing about Democrats / liberals is that they don't like the American way of life. They don't like the principles this country was founded upon, and they want to change our way of life, even though there isn't a better one anywhere else in the world."

It ended with me replying: "You're obviously not a Democrat / liberal, so why would I let you or your opinions inform me on their worldview?"

You could easily swap in Republican / conservative to the above (with some minor modifications), and the conversation has probably happened. I've made this point before, but it bears repeating: don't tell people who you aren't, and don't tell people what you don't believe. Tell people who you are, and what you believe, and then maybe they'll truly be able to connect with you.