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City Folk
a new, more aggressive politics in what has begun to be referred to as an "urban archipelago" of major metropolitan centers, aging industrial cities and college towns that represent progressive blue islands in what appears on electoral maps to be a red sea of conservatism. These are crowded islands, with enough voters to influence politics far beyond their borders, and they remain bastions of American liberalism: Every American city with a population of more than 500,000 voted for John Kerry in 2004, as did about half the cities with populations between 50,000 and 500,000. In virtually every state that backed the Democratic presidential nominee last year--even traditional Democratic strongholds like Illinois, New Jersey and Michigan--it was only thanks to overwhelming majorities in urban areas that Kerry prevailed. At a time when the federal government is dominated by right-wing Republicans, and when liberal state governments are rare, cities are electing a new generation of progressives [...]Part of a longish piece from "The Nation" in which the author talks about the lefties' wet dream of cities shaping the future, thanks to the large populations and the ability of the government to use local laws to enforce the "public interest." It's wishful thinking, though. Read the whole thing, if'n ya wanna laugh. Posted by: growler 2005-06-03 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=120703 |