Former Wisconsin Gov. Lee Dreyfus once called the city of Madison 30 square miles surrounded by reality"" in reference to its predominantly liberal atmosphere. His remarks are commonly used to describe Madison's ethos today.
While experts predict Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to win big in Madison, the rest of the state does not have such a liberal voting record.
Dhavan Shah, UW-Madison professor of journalism and mass communication, thinks Dreyfus' idea has become part of Madison's culture, and is ""pretty well hewn into the fabric of conversation.""
However, according to Shah, Madison is not completely permeated with liberalism.
""[Madison's liberalism] is not nearly as ubiquitous as people might imagine,"" Shah explained. ""There's a sizable portion, including among the student body, that would consider themselves conservative.""
Charles Franklin, UW-Madison political science professor, echoed Shah's statements, and said he believes Madison's liberal attitudes are in line with other major cities across the country.
""Every academic town or every capital city is often seen as being isolated in one way or another from the rest of the state,"" Franklin said. ""I think it's worth it to recognize that it is not uniformly so. There's a minority, but certainly a non-trivial minority of conservatives in the area.""
Lucas Moench, a UW-Madison sophomore who identifies himself as a Republican, said even though Madison is a liberal place, conservative havens are also available.
""I'm in College Republicans, which is a nice group of like-minded individuals. It gives me a foundation and friends that believe in the same things I do,"" Moench said.
While many Madison residents take a liberal stance on policies, they may be surprised when the rest of the state does not share attitudes that are popular in Madison.
Lindsay Miller, a UW-Madison senior, was surprised at how the rest of the state did not share Madison residents' opposition to the proposed marriage amendment last November. She said Wisconsin's passing of the gay marriage ban revealed just how much of the state is conservative.
""I was very surprised to see how many conservatives there actually were, and how much that contrasted with the city itself,"" Miller said.
According to Shah, the degree of polarization between Madison and the rest of Wisconsin may be exaggerated in many people's minds.
""I'm sure there are misperceptions in both directions,"" Shah said. ""People out of state probably assume Madison is more liberal than it actually is. People in Madison probably assume that the rest of the state is more conservative than it actually is.""
Franklin also said political leanings throughout Wisconsin range from liberal to conservative, and everywhere in between.
""It depends on where you are. Obviously, the suburban counties around Milwaukee are extremely conservative and very Republican. As you go up north, some of that is pretty conservative, but some of it is also somewhat libertarian. In some cases, progressive,"" Franklin said.
Political theorists have projected Madison going to Obama, but it is only one part of the state.
Whether Wisconsin goes red or blue on Nov. 4 is still unclear. However, one thing we can count on is a high political involvement of the citizens of Madison, regardless of their partisan ideologies.
