In the several months following the 2004 U.S. elections, an idea began to emerge first in whispers, then echoing progressively louder throughout the country’s liberal intelligentsia. The idea, unlike nearly everything else coming out of liberal policy shops, can be boiled down to two words: Think local. It may prove to be the single most successful progressive initiative since the New Deal.

In the wake of the election, now powerless at the national level, many progressive Americans began, out of necessity, to look for social ills closer to home, where their work could have a real impact. They began volunteering at shelters, running for local office and supporting local businesses in favor of national chains. Here in Seattle, a documentary film is currently in the works, highlighting some of these folks, and perhaps the city’s most progressive newsweekly, The Stranger, resoundingly espoused the idea in its post-election issue. With national and international events appearing to spiral out of control, it became reassuring to turn inward.

The basic concept of this “neo-localism” is simple: Progressives can no longer rely on national legislation and “activist judges” to advance their agenda of cultural tolerance, economic opportunity for all and a better environment. A generation-long campaign by conservatives to brand these national solutions as ineffective has been, in large part, successful. In order to turn the tide, the battle for the hearts and minds of America’s communities must be fought block by block, house by house.

These battles will be fought on new and shifting terrain: the “exurbs,” where the edge of a metropolitan area meets undeveloped farmland in a sea of strip malls and housing developments. George W. Bush carried 97 of the 100 fastest-growing counties, most of them exurban, in the 2004 election—up from 94 in 2000. These counties are home to 16 million Americans (increasing at a rate of 1 million per year), and in 2004 they went for Bush 63-37. Though urban downtowns have enjoyed something of a renaissance lately, it’s clear the exurbs are where America is headed.

If American Liberalism is to survive, it must establish a cultural beachhead in the exurbs. Unlike liberal-friendly cities, exurbs can be isolated. Most of them lack institutions like union halls and fraternal lodges, which have been the bedrock of progressivism for nearly 100 years. Unfortunately, these organizations are dying out, as Robert Putnam documented in his landmark 1995 book, Bowling Alone. Their death correlates with the rise of conservatism in the heartland. It seems clear, then, that bringing a new civic spirit to every community in America must be the core of the liberal agenda. The time has come to invent the new gathering spaces, the fraternal lodges and union halls of the 21st century.

One organization doing just that is Pomegranate, based in the uber-exurb of Issaquah, Wa., where Seattle’s suburbs bleed into the uninhabited foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Pomegranate’s mission is “helping communities utilize their unique gifts to become more vibrant and humane.” All around Seattle’s exurbs, they have built community gathering places, including several outdoor amphitheaters, in an effort to create “civic focal points.”

Although it is not a partisan organization, in the next four years Pomegranate’s work could prove to be the bedrock of a new progressive majority by bringing the community-building spirit of urban arts and culture to the exurbs. The idea is, if the exurban resident can walk into the town square and take in a concert with a friend or family instead of sitting at home in front of the TV, she will be more engaged in the lives of her fellow citizens. And once she comprehends the value of investing in her town, the local hardware store will thrive and the Home Depot out by the interstate will wither. Our communities will be richer, more tolerant and more progressive for it.

Most Americans are in the middle when it comes to politics and culture. According to the Pew Research Center, they more or less support a woman’s right to choose and some sort of civil union for gays. But when it comes time to vote, exurban America hears one side of the issues from their local newspaper or pastor and another side of the issue from Hollywood and the Massachusetts Supreme Court. In that contest, it’s a no-brainer. The local voice, which comes from a trusted, known source, wins every time. By working to expand the culture and public interaction among rural and exurban Americans in the way that Pomegranate is already doing, the vision of a more tolerant, sustainable America can become a reality.