In a weird way, it really doesn’t matter who heads up either the Republican or Democratic national tickets–because this election is rapidly becoming a referendum on the U.S. Constitution and what it means to be an American.
If Republicans win the Presidency and Congress, we are very likely to jettison the Constitution in favor of the provisions of Project 2025. The forces that produced Project 2025 represent the real power structure of today’s GOP; its members see Trump as a convenient “front” because he is ignorant, stupid (those aren’t the same thing) and interested only in garnering attention–thus easily manipulated. Should he be replaced at the top of the ticket, it would either be with someone equally malleable or with a Project 2025 true believer.
Fortunately, the Democrats–unlike the Borg (look it up)–don’t believe that resistance is futile. As Joyce Vance has recently reported, Democrats have created a task force to combat what can accurately be described as an extension of the January 6th coup attempt. The task force has been created by California Congressman Jared Huffman, who described its formation and purpose.
We started by getting leaders from groups across the political spectrum of our House Democratic Caucus to sign on – Progressives, New Dems, CHC, CBC, API, Pro-Choice, Labor, LGBTQ Equality, and, of course, the Congressional Freethought Caucus I co-founded with Jamie Raskin! From there, several other members signed on, including two from leadership (Joe Neguse and Ted Lieu). Our ranking Appropriator, Rosa DeLauro, just joined us this week, bringing the Task Force to 15 members, including some of the most effective communicators in Congress.
We’re working closely with experts from more than a dozen leading advocacy groups, including Accountable.US, Democracy Forward, Center for American Progress, ACLU, Protect Democracy, Court Accountability, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and more.
Our work plan starts with over half a dozen subject matter briefings for Task Force members and staff by the end of August. We’ve already had the first two: last week on messaging/communications, including some recent polling on Project 2025, and this week, an ominous briefing on how the various elements of Project 2025 link together in a very strategic attack on democracy and civil liberties. As we complete these “deep dive” briefings, we’re developing and pushing out messaging materials for Task Force members, outside partner groups, and the media. In September, we will have a big, congressional hearing-like event where we publicly roll out highlights of the various briefings in conjunction with the outside groups. The hearing will feature testimony from leading experts and different Task Force members will take the lead in presenting different parts of Project 2025. We believe this event will get a lot of attention and will distill Project 2025 for the American people in a way that helps them understand how radical and destructive it is, why it must be taken very seriously, and how we can stop it.
After added discussion about the task force plans, Huffman addressed the central issue: what would the enactment of Project 2025 mean for the American experiment?
As Huffman explained, Project 2025 is a sweeping attack on democracy and fundamental American freedoms–an attack on health care and reproductive liberty, social justice, the livability of our planet, and much more.
It aims to systematically dismantle our democratic checks and balances and consolidate unprecedented power in a second Trump presidency. It’s truly a roadmap to make Trump, already an aspiring dictator, into a real one, and to impose a radical social/religious order on all of us. It exudes an “any means necessary” philosophy, including the explicit embrace of dystopic authoritarian measures like domestic military deployments, detention camps, mass deportations, an unprecedented political purge of the federal workforce, political weaponization of federal law enforcement, and more. These are my greatest concerns because they would end American democracy as we know it.
There are certainly other worrisome parts of Project 2025, including dramatically weakening public education (with a goal of ending secular public education), sweeping attacks on the environment and rollbacks of climate action, clear threats to our social and retirement safety net, and privatization schemes and other reckless giveaways to powerful special interests.
Rick Wilson has said that Project 2025 “polls like Ebola,” which explains why Trump is suddenly trying to dissociate himself from it, but Heritage worked with over 100 extreme Rightwing groups that are at the heart of Trump’s political base, along with several of the most loyal (and scary) members of the prior Trump administration –- Mark Meadows, Stephen Miller, Peter Navarro, and several others.
The GOP roadmap that is Project 2025 is breathtakingly clear. Those of us who want to keep the Constitution need to ensure that voters know where that roadmap would take us.
“As Huffman explained, Project 2025 is a sweeping attack on democracy and fundamental American freedoms–an attack on health care and reproductive liberty, social justice, the livability of our planet, and much more.”
Joe Scarbrourgh began his “Morning Joe” program this morning with the simple sentence, “The Democrats must unite!” How often have I made this statement and pointed out that the Republicans are gaining strength because they remain united while disagreeing on different issues. Something Democrats don’t seem to comprehend; well, their numerous disagreements finally got down to where the cheese binds on June 27th and the following two weeks and split the party. It has been easily recognizable to me that they have been looking for an “excuse” to put their personal agenda in place in the White House and they kicked President Joe Biden in the balls when he had a bad night. It isn’t going to work for anyone BUT the GOP!!!
“The GOP roadmap that is Project 2025 is breathtakingly clear.” It has been “breathtakingly clear” to them since 2015; we are just now realizing this was not a bad joke when they nominated Donald Trump in 2016 but their deadly plan all along. The Democrats are so disunited that I have been receiving surveys and polls for 8 years which all end with begging for donations, claiming I am not a member of the Democratic party, because I do NOT donate on line to them. I have sent countless replies, which have no chance of being read by anyone in the Democratic party, that I donate directly to Democratic candidates and Democratic party organizations and include my membership number. Are there two Democratic parties, one public and one private; are they actually that disunited that they don’t recognize direct donors like myself who support and give in full faith of supporting democracy, Rule of Law and the Constitution of the UNITED States of America?
We are now seeing Democrats in the House and the Senate who are joining the GOP on issues, which means supporting Project 2025, because they disagree with some of President Biden’s and Vice President Harris’ stand on some issues and Joe’s tone of voice or occasional speech gaffs in public. They may not support Project 2025 outright but their votes against President Biden and Vice President Harris will put Project 2025 in place on November 5, 2024.
I’m starting to see FB posts on P2025 from a few Democrats concerned about what a Trump victory will mean for the country. It’s been on X for quite some time. I’ve read through some of it but get distracted by those groups who helped write it. As for those worried about the destruction of our democracy or the constitution, P2025 will only do MORE damage to what has already been destroyed by the oligarchy (specifically in 23-25 states) and an activist court owned by the oligarchy. The oligarchy already destroyed the free press decades ago, so there are no external checks and balances – no Fourth Estate.
And yes, Trump is distancing himself from P2025 and laid out his own overly simplified platform for the GOP. If anybody thought he would adopt someone else’s platform and implement a complicated plan, they think too highly of Trump. They also ignored his first presidency.
Hollywood has bailed on Biden, and so has Pelosi. A couple of Democratic senators have bailed. Once the public sees Clooney hasn’t kissed the ring, it will cause significant problems for Joe and the DNC. Trump doesn’t have to do anything at this point. He can sit back and watch the DNC and Biden self-destruct. Approval ratings for Kamala Harris are tanking even further, meaning the people don’t want her either. It’s not racism or sexism because she’s not a very good leader. She was supposed to take on immigration for Biden but failed miserably.
Yesterday, one of the last posters mentioned Joe Lonsdale and his Cicero Institute, producing boilerplate laws making homelessness illegal nationwide. Joe is a typical Silicon Valley Libertarian who left CA after taking parting shots at Newsome. He now lives in Austin, TX, where many High Tech founders live. Lonsdale is the co-founder of Palantir and now owns several other companies. For such an influential oligarch, you’d think he’d have a Wikipedia page about him, but he does not. His Google Search turned up a relatively cleansed background. How does this happen?
When Peter Thiel and Joe co-founded Palantir, they could only raise dollars from their previous companies. Guess who was their first investor? The CIA’s venture capital fund. After that original investment by the CIA, Palantir became a major defense contractor. They could leverage one defense contract after another until they became multi-billionaires. This is how the CIA operates these days, so if you want to know who is behind AI in the world, look at the Intel Comm. Google and Facebook started the same. Can anybody say Elon Musk? People think Silicon Valley is full of billionaire entrepreneurs, but they work for Intel Comm. Their inventions serve Washington/Langley first and then are sold to customers. 😉
Joanne, do not believe that the repeated surveys mean that they do not attend to what you may say, I’m sure that the “survey” and such, are just there to encourage donations.
The Dems do not have the “lock step” mentality of the R’s, and that is a good thing, over all.
Paul Ryan and John Boehner, along with Mitch McConnell instituted a level of insistent obedience in the Republican side of congress, that was absurd, but useful. I recall a Republican congressman leaving congress, complaining that they were no longer even “allowed” to lunch with Dem buddies!!
Project 2025 is anathema to the constitution, and if allowed to breathe will probably stop at nothing to try to create a 1984 culture here.
I sincerely hope that efforts to educate (Oh my! “Educate”) the public about it are very successful!
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Biden is in fine form. I’m sure we can all agree that–not only is Biden’s mental health good enough for a sitting president. But, we can boldly affirm he is competent to (if either of these were his chosen profession) perform surgery or captain an airliner– such as a DC20 wide body aircraft.
That should read DC 10.
On the one hand it seems that the Democrats feel comfortable disagreeing even to the point of losing the election. On the other hand we have the Republicans, who have to fear for their lives and the lives of their families if they disagree with any utterance of their candidate. Which would you prefer to be in charge?
thanks for this subject. no correction needed if the heritage found is behind it and/or supported it,like trump will,it would never have been written. amazed at how an org like this is wanting to dismantle the very freedoms its given them to plan,and or act on,and how they will take that away from any American.im still wondering why few if any here in NoDak heard about 2025 until recently. there its the same common theme between these blue collars, just the same ol mish mash of god guts and guns BS.now add 2025,and how they, want to take over and become sole exicutor to any thing that civil liberties mean to anyone else. ive challenged my NPR station and Dave Thompson to bring on Gov, Burgum and his take on 2025. im sure it will never happen,as fact, this NPR is as far right as it can go without being a fox sponsor. too deep? nope, its the cycles of how people think and respond to subjects today here in NoDak. the news here lacks. local content is hardly visable besides a few hours of main street and some whatevers that really establishes this NPR as out of touch and keeps its hands of its third rail of left wing anything. as far as local am/fm here,its all run by right wing investors and hitlers huns..
best wishes.
Once again, given the alternative, if Joe Biden stands at the podium and drools for two and a half hours I will still vote for him!
Walking the dog downtown, I have seen flyers on telephone poles and trash cans about the dangers of Project 2025! These are physical paper flyers.
Todd, I do not believe that tfg has distanced because the Project was not his idea, rather that he is posing as distancing himself because, being the malignant narcissist he is, and he does it well, he saw, early on, that too many people were grossed out about it. Manipulators have a capacity to hone in on the pulse of their audience. And, this dude is a MASTER manipulator!
In support of my above contention, I just came across this:
https://www.alternet.org/trump-project-2025-newsweek/
Dan Mullendore. That is encouraging. But whoever is putting them up needs to get them out into the suburbs and small communities, too.
Mitch,
Undoubtedly, many former Trump allies contributed to P2025, but it is way too specific for Trump to follow.
His platform reads more like an executive summary and fits his style. Once January 2025 rolls around, we shall see if he was lying. My favorite goal is how he is going to combat inflation. Everything he plans to do will increase inflation, but he says he will cut the inflation rate, which is precisely what you’d expect from Trump.
One of the primary reasons Trump is mocking P2025 is that he doesn’t understand it. He is not that well-versed in how the government operates. Could others implement it for him? That’s certainly a possibility.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/11/politics/trump-allies-project-2025/index.html
I don’t believe vampires are real.
But then I see Stephen Miller on TV, and a little part of me thinks…maybe?
That Rick Wilson (Lincoln project?) has found that project 2025 polls like Ebola is revealing where the majority of Americans are at in their thinking. Democrats driving home that is the Maga agenda even when they try to falsely/ deceptively present a more benign image. Most Americans want to feel secure in their daily lives; Law and order, freedom to practice the religion of their choice or none at all, making personal choices of family planning, the freedom to speak up and talk about the injustice in their lives and those around them, without retribution from authorities. All these threats and having to walk on eggshells around die hard Magas and their leaders is so counter to the American way.
Borg is a symbol that represents a sci-fi idea of collective thinking that insists on its way and “assimilating” others through pressured, incredibly coercive ways. Think gas-lighting, lies, messing with you in destructive ways to cause intense fear/duress in people who resist. That symbol certainly applies to today’s Maga cult.
Glad to see well known Democrats working on projects to make know to public what’s going on.
I think more than resistance is needed to combat the juggernaut of Magas platform 2025. I think Democrats need to go on the offensive, reminding people of the corruption and feel of the tfg administration. tfg’s word salads were symbolic for what was going on in his administration. The chaos of 2016 through 2020; Riots in the streets, out of control pandemic that killed millions of Americans, firing of all the IG’s that oversaw our money and advisors in the WH extorting millions of dollars from foreign governments for their personal use, also using the justice department for personal vendettas, cozying up and making nefarious deals with corrupt dictators, calling military “suckers”, disregarding emoluments clause and sending foreign dignitaries to stay at his hotels at exorbitant prices to enrich himself. The list of offenses goes on and on and his SCOTUS delays justice and says these acts are probably “official”!
I agree that it doesn’t matter who the Democrats nominate to run for Potus. What does matter is that the American people unite and vote in mass to reject Maga and project 2025 and defend our freedoms.
The SCOTUS decisions in Dobbs, Chevron, Snyder and Trump have already begun the process of Moving to Project 2025 goals. They are going after no fault divorce, contraceptives and building an army to fulfill their goal of internment and deportation for millions.
The House just passed a bill that would required a passport to vote.
The powers in charge are not going to risk the outcome of a Presidential election being in chaos and litigation all over the country to secure the authority to rule as they see fit. We know what the plans are. They make no secret of their intent to violence if necessary. The question is how many in law enforcement and the military will honor their first oath or bow to the loyalty oath they will be required to take to keep their jobs.
The water temperature is getting close to boiling and us frogs are getting cooked.