The Washington Examiner passes on the Economist‘s chart based on the American Political Science Review measurement of the most liberal and most conservative cities of more than 250,000 population:

Madison is not on this list because of the 250,000-population cutoff, which Madison hasn’t reached yet. When it does, well, look at the left side of your monitor or screen, and keep going left until your field of vision disappears, and that is where the People’s Republic of Madison will be.

Why are there so few conservative cities? Probably because of what this chart shows:

This is why you see maps like this …

… of the 2012 presidential election results based upon which candidate won a county. One wonders how we might divide the U.S. by ejecting the most blue counties on this map.

Actually, someone does wonder that, but in reverse, reports RedState:

The nation would be better off if Southern states seceded from the union, and Republicans pushing for right-to-work, voter ID laws and other reforms are “neo-Confederates” according to a candid exchange between a major Democratic donor and liberal organizers on Gamechanger Salon. The forum, a secretive and exclusive digital gathering of over 1,000 leftwing leaders, activists and journalists, was recently made public by Media Trackers, and email exchanges between members offer fascinating insights into the group’s inner deliberations.

Gamechanger Salon participant Jon Stahl sparked a conversation last October about the role of the South in American politics when he posted a link to Michael Lind’s piece for Salon magazine entitled The South is Holding America Hostage. “I thought this was an impressive (if tough) piece of big-picture political strategy and prescription,” Stahl explained before remarking, “Would be interested to hear others’ opinions of whether he is on target or way off…and if so what that might imply.

First to respond was Guy Saperstein, a wealthy California mega-donor to Democratic candidates and leftwing causes. “In the alternative, could we just let the South secede?” the part owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team queried.

He was serious.