Eric Liu

Eric Liu in Publishers Weekly | 'The Monday Interview: Eric Liu, of The True Patriot'

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:26:00 -0400

An interview with Eric Liu, co-author with Nick Hanauer of The True Patriot, which was published by Sasquatch in January 2008.

Publishers Weekly: How would you describe The True Patriot?

Eric Liu: The book is an argument that we’ve got to reclaim patriotism in more progressive terms. It’s written in the style of a Thomas Paine pamphlet, and is meant to provoke debate about the ways in which over the last four decades patriotism as an idea has been hijacked by the right and surrendered by the left--to the detriment of both. We put the book out there to reframe the conversation and take it out of the realm of reflex and gauzy cliché and reground it in a set of moral principles. People have a list of clichés built up in their mind, either positive or negative, and they’re far removed from truly revisiting the moral core of what it truly means to put country before self. LINK

Eric Liu in Politico | 'Poll: McCain Holds Edge on Patriotism'

Communications — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:10:00 -0400

...A recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll showed that 35 percent of voters said they had concerns about Obama’s patriotism. Only nine percent said they were worried about McCain’s. Eric Liu, a former domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton who co-founded the True Patriot Network with Hanauer, said Obama has not been forceful enough in conveying a message on patriotism. “It is not something that Obama has particularly, persistently, or effectively, really done,” Liu said. “What’s encouraging to us is that he’s beginning to find his voice on patriotism,” he added, “What this poll suggests is there is some urgency to that.” LINK

Eric Liu in USA Today | 'Poll: Flag Pins, Protests Both Patriotic'

Communications — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:36:00 -0400

..."The wellspring of patriotism is very deep across party, across region, across demographics," says Eric Liu, a former White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and co-author of The True Patriot, which explores the meaning of patriotism... LINK

Eric Liu on KUOW Radio| 'The True Patriot: the Opportunity and Responsibility of Citizenship'

Communications — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:03:00 -0400

How do you define patriotism in America in 2008? Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer wrote a little red book called The True Patriot. They want to remind people of their responsibilities as American citizens. Have liberals run away from the concept of patriotism? Has the concept of patriotism been turned into a political cudgel that squelches open discussion? Can the left and right agree on what patriotism means? Are you a patriot? Does the word patriot make you uncomfortable? LINK to audio

Eric Liu in TIME | 'The New Patriotism'

Communications — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:04:00 -0400

...What we need going forward is third-way patriotism, a new patriotism that blends the faith of our fathers with, as Lincoln said, the unfinished work remaining before us. That new patriotism, as Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer write in The True Patriot, means "appreciating not only what is great about our country but also what it takes to create and sustain greatness..." LINK

What is True Patriotism?

Communications — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
03/06/2008 - 6:00pm

Has the right hijacked patriotism? Has the left ceded it? Does wearing a flag lapel pin make you a true patriot? Is dissenting against a war truly patriotic? Who decides? Written by former speechwriter and senior domestic policy advisor to President Clinton, Eric Liu, and Seattle-based entrepreneur and philanthropist, Nick Hanauer, The True Patriot argues that in these cynical times there should be a higher call: to country first. The… more

Eric Liu on WTOP Radio | Interview on The True Patriot

Communications — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:23:00 -0500

Interview on The True Patriot (WTOP Radio, DC)

Author Eric Liu discusses American patriotism and his new book, "The True Patriot," with WTOP Radio in Washington, DC. Please find the transcript below, and audio of the interview linked as an attachment at the bottom of the page. Visit WTOP.com for more news.

WTOP: Three names for you now: John McCain, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. Of those three, who would you say is a patriot? Well many people might say all three are patriots, running for President, but surveys show the word “patriot” is most frequently connected with McCain and other Republicans. A new book is trying to change our definition of patriotism: it is called The True Patriot, co-written by Eric Liu, who used to write speeches for President Clinton, and Liu talked with me a little earlier about this:

ERIC LIU: One of the things that’s remarkable about American politics today is that for too many of us, the word “patriot” conjures up somebody who is a conservative. And while plenty of conservatives are patriotic, and are good patriots, their side doesn’t get to own the word.

WTOP: Is the word… more

The True Patriot

adminn — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:06:00 -0500

It’s been hijacked by the right and abandoned by the left, but the principles of true patriotism -- country above self, responsible stewardship, equality, shared sacrifice and service -- are inherently progressive. The True Patriot challenges progressives to retake patriotism. Written in the pamphleteering style of Thomas Paine, it presents a manifesto, ten-principal plan, and moral code that reframe the concept of patriotism and return politics to what it once was: a civic virtue and responsibility that fueled the country’s founders.

Praise for The True Patriot "The True… more

NYT Quotes Eric Liu on Asian Americans and College Admissions

Communications — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 21:55:00 -0500

When Jonathan Hu was going to high school in suburban Southern California, he rarely heard anyone speaking Chinese. But striding through campus on his way to class at the University of California, Berkeley, Mr. Hu hears Mandarin all the time, in plazas, cafeterias, classrooms, study halls, dorms and fast-food outlets. It is part of the soundtrack at this iconic university, along with Cantonese, English, Spanish and, of course, the perpetual jackhammers from the perpetual construction projects spurred by the perpetual fund drives. Too Many? Not Enough? Some say Asian-Americans are being denied spots at top colleges to keep their numbers in check (Asians make up 5 percent of the population)...When I ask the chancellor at Berkeley, Robert J. Birgeneau, if there is a perfect demographic recipe on this campus that likes to think of itself as the world’s finest public university — Harvard on the Hill — he demurs. “We are a meritocracy,” he says. And — by law, he adds — the campus is supposed to be that way. If Asians made up, say, 70 percent of the campus, he insists, there would still be no attempt to reduce their numbers...If Berkeley is… more

Eric Liu

Operations — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:53:00 -0400

FellowEric Liu is an author and educator who has served in leadership roles in national politics and media. His most recent book, The True Patriot, co-authored with Nick Hanauer, is a pamphlet in the style of Thomas Paine that argues for a new progressive patriotism. He is also the author… more