re: Half of the U.S. Population lives in these counties.

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It's not "urban America makes people liberal", its more certain people enjoy living the urban lifestyle, and those people tend to lean more liberal.

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The question is, "Why?". I think that people in the urban areas rely heavily on government in their everyday lives, and see the government as the grease that keeps the engine running. In a big city, if the trains don't run on time, the garbage doesn't get collected, and the electricity doesn't stay on, they are in a world of hurt. They also rely on the government to set and enforce the rules of society and protect the populace. They put a lot of trust in the government to take care of these things, so it's only natural that they view the government differently than rural people. In urban areas, people are more anonymous, and don't know the people they interact with on a daily basis (I'm thinking of the scene in "Crocodile Dundee" where Mick is walking down the street in NYC and is trying to say "G'day" to everyone he passes by.

Rural people tend to be more reliant on each other (neighbors and friends), and less on the government. The role of government is different and smaller and less important role in peoples lives.