2008 Letter from Colorado
posted by on November 3 at 14:45 PM
Hi EliI remember reading the stranger after the last elections (the blue archipelago article) and remember vividly the words you wrote about moving to purple states. That message has been in the back of my mind since I moved to Denver back in 2005, and may have played just a little role in my move. I wanted to let you know that I voted early last week, and I’ll let you guess who I voted for….
Noah in Denver.
Just to make sure the credit flows in the right direction, that piece was written by the Stranger editors at the time. I offered an updated look at the Urban Archipelago idea in 2006, here.
But thank you, Noah, for the letter. More, please.
Speaking of the Urban Archipelago article, is there a high-res version of that cover available anywhere? I know there was one available on the Stranger website at one point, and I printed a poster, but it got damaged in a move, and I want to print a new one. Thanks.
I fished out my copy last night and pinned it to the wall.
Of course, Obama's success has been due to a strategy that is completely at odds with the urban archipelago advice. He developed a 50-state strategy that many people scoffed at, took micro-targeting to new lengths, and made safely red states into competitive states.
I remember getting shit from one of my friends in Seattle for moving back to Denver - "but it's a red state!" Not anymore, baby, not anymore.