Householder is a consultant with the Washington bipartisan public affairs and communications firm, Purple Strategies Inc. He entered the consulting business after serving on the staff of then Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. He has also worked for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack when he was governor of Iowa and other elected officials.
What is your job about?
I help corporations, trade associations, law firms and individuals in public affairs, media relations, litigation communications and in other ways related to their public voice. It’s all about recognizing the fact that the public is more important than ever in influencing the outcome of policy decisions. Providing a channel to the public and effective content to flow along that channel from my clients is the central aspect of my day to day job. Media relations, social media, government relations, etc. are all tactics.
Why is it purple?
Purple Strategies is the strategic fusion of Democrats (blue) and Republicans (red) working in tandem — combine the colors and you get purple. The pendulum never ceases swinging.
Anti-incumbent fervor: Real or overplayed?
A bit overplayed at this point. It’s the meme of the moment in Washington, but really just a simple way of describing a more complex set of circumstances. We hear talk about the disconnect between Washington and everywhere else, but it is more evident now than ever. It really has become a very closed village with self-re-enforcing story lines and people on both sides of the aisle outside of D.C. get that.
When you want to completely unplug from your job, what do you do?
Head to West Texas or Mexico. You can’t really worry that much about the nexus between corporate America and government when you’re in places where neither has much of a role.
— Julie Mason
