Nation Building

Aziz Poonawalla has finally broken the champagne off the bow of the long-delayed Dean Nation revamp:

"I have been arguing for something called 'purple politics' for some time now. In a nutshell, I think that the dichotomy of our political system is artificial, sustained by the self-interest of the pundit class and the apathy of the establishment media. I believe that there is a True American Majority that is neither red nor blue, but purple - reflected in the 2004 election results when you strip away the binary us vs them perspective and allow for shades of gray (er, purple). I believe that what is needed is more unifying rhetoric, less dividing - and I took Howard Dean to task on that score as well. And I believe that the future of American political discourse hinges on that silent purple majority...

"So, I present to you our new identity: Nation-Building.

"The name refers both to the classical liberal goal of promoting genuine freedom and liberty abroad, and to the liberal progressive goal of empowering human potential and justice. I will solicit views from across the spectrum of classical liberal thought - including some who might ordinarily be labeled 'conservative'. The ultimate goal however is to apply principles to policy, and to foster genuine debate, so that the voice of the True American Majority - the silent purple masses - are finally represented."