Democrats have "Urban" Values?

First,look at this dramatic visual of red versus blue weighted by population.

TheStranger.com has a really interesting take about whether democrats need to worry about losing the red part of the country or can survive on just "An Urban Archipelago." A money quote is here:

It's time to state something that we've felt for a long time but have been too polite to say out loud: Liberals, progressives, and Democrats do not live in a country that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Canada to Mexico. We live on a chain of islands. We are citizens of the Urban Archipelago, the United Cities of America. We live on islands of sanity, liberalism, and compassion--New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, St. Louis, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and on and on. And we live on islands in red states too--a fact obscured by that state-by-state map. Denver and Boulder are our islands in Colorado; Austin is our island in Texas; Las Vegas is our island in Nevada; Miami and Fort Lauderdale are our islands in Florida. Citizens of the Urban Archipelago reject heartland "values" like xenophobia, sexism, racism, and homophobia, as well as the more intolerant strains of Christianity that have taken root in this country. And we are the real Americans.

As you can tell, it is a completely balanced and fair analysis. But it is hilarious- you can read it all here (Warning: contains bad language and possibly offensive jokes ahead!)

The whole magazine is an intersting read try "We Won" for a reality check- beter for Kerry to lose this time around anyway?

P.S> I was really hoping "The Stranger" title came from Camus, but I looked around and found no evidence for it. I wish Albert Camus was still alive to write a column these days.