By: Rebecca Miller, 2024 Democratic National Convention Delegate
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” -Sinclair Lewis.
Democracy is fragile. The November election is literally the choice between good and evil—the Resistance or the Empire. It transcends one man or woman who is the right person for the job—this time, it comes with extra baggage. Project 2025.
The “Cliff Note’s” History of Project 2025:
Project 2025 roots are firmly planted in racism and sexism. The Project’s authors want to take us back to the “good old days,” where some people are property and have limited rights, such as voting or owning property. Forget John Locke. It is about white male supremacy.
We’ve seen it before. The Klan rationalized their actions based on Christian theology and the invocation of “states’ rights” regarding slavery and segregation, and that women are the weaker sex because we bit an apple.
History has provided us with some diversions—the Civil War, the 19th Amendment, the Civil Rights Act, and many more extensions of protections leveling the playing field. These infuriated the Oligarchs, leaving them to fan themselves with paperback copies of Atlas Shrugged.
And so began attempts to reclaim White Power. Nixon and the Southern Strategy. Reagan and the Moral Majority. Paul Weyrich and the Evangelical vote pivoting from segregation (Bob Jones University vs the IRS) to abortion as the unifying raison d’etre.
Who is behind Project 2025?
Let’s discuss the Heritage Foundation, the creators of Project 2025. The Heritage Foundation was established in 1973 by Weyrich, Joseph Coors, and Edwin Feulner and has inserted itself into the GOP with money, voters via the Evangelical movement, and consultation. Since Paul Weyrich provided his manifesto, the drive to take over the government and establish “conservative values” has existed. Still, the sitting Republican Presidents didn’t mindlessly follow his extreme agenda, so the Heritage Foundation needed a patsy. They got one in 2016. Now, they want him back in 2025, but this time with a hammered-out plan to destroy our government and replace it with “Conservative Values” that only benefit the wealthy white straight Christian males. Period.
“How many of our Christians have what I call the goo-goo syndrome: good government? They want everybody to vote. I don’t want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people. They never have been from the beginning of our country, and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.” Paul Weyrich
What is Project 2025?
Project 2025, aka the “Mandate for Leadership,” is a 900-page presidential transition project plan based on four pillars:
- A policy agenda for the next Republican presidential administration
- A LinkedIn-style database of personnel who could serve in the next administration pre-vetted to ensure matching values and quick placement
- Training for candidates via the “Presidential Administration Academy”
- A first 180 days in office action playbook
This playbook is a systematic plan to undermine the rights of millions of Americans by dismantling programs and protections while promoting special interests and forced Christian Nationalism. The authors of Project 2025 invoke “states rights” by dismantling the administrative state (Chevron) and advocating a return to “self-governance to the American people by securing God-given individual rights to live freely.” Well, if you’re a rich white, straight Christian guy, that is…
The authors claim they can make this happen without congressional approval, and with the recent SCOTUS ruling, they sure can.
“4.3 million people could lose overtime protections, 40 million people could have their food assistance reduced, 220,000 American jobs could be lost, and much, much more. The stakes are higher than ever for Democracy and for people”—Democracy Forward.
What’s at risk (besides everything)?
Here’s a short list:
- Mass deportation—enabling ICE to detain and deport without a warrant and increase “temporary shelters” to provide a 100,000-bed capacity for detainees—IE concentration camp. p.133-153
- Overtime pay—if you work over 40, your hours get reduced the next week, or you get to save them for PTO and create your own family leave. BONUS: If you work the Sabbath day, your employer will be FORCED to pay you time and a half—unless you’re a nurse. Pizza for you. p.581-590
- A nationwide ban on abortion, including IVF, and most birth control—199 references to abortion restrictions, including revocation of HIPAA. p.449-503 and beyond.
- Cutting social security, raising taxes on the people while eliminating deductions and incentives like green energy, prescription drug price control, and lowering taxes for corporations-p.691-696
- Student loan forgiveness REVERSED, so long Pell Grant, and free student lunches p.322, 331
And much, much more, which will be covered in future articles
What can we do as Democrats?
- Read and distribute Project 2025, aka Agenda 47, to everyone you know. Read the document and annotate it. It affects EVERYONE regardless of whether they are red or blue or if they follow the sentient bottle of tequila. That’s the beauty of the Project—it discriminates against everyone unless you are rich, white, straight, and male.
- Register people to vote, check voter registration, and support your local/national Dems—get active!
- Have difficult conversations with your crazy Fox-watching Uncle Joe. It’s painful, but keep pushing.
- Vote. Vote like your life, and Democracy depends on it. Remember: they don’t want everyone to vote
- Let’s get to work!
It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our Democracy– Barrack Obama.
Works Cited
Baker, Carrie N. “Project 2025: The Right’s Dystopian Plan to Dismantle Civil Rights and What It Means for Women.” Ms. Magazine, 16 May 2024, msmagazine.com/2024/02/08/project-2025-conservative-right-wing-trump-woke/.
Becvar, Kristina, et al. “Project 2025: Affirmative Action.” The Fulcrum, 9 July 2024, thefulcrum.us/inclusion-diversity/project-2025-affirmative-action.
Dans, Paul. “Project 2025: A Mandate for Leadership.” Hertiage Foundation , Apr. 2023.
Forward , Democracy. “The People’s Guide to Project 2025.” Democracy Forward, 28 June 2024, democracyforward.org/the-peoples-guide-to-project-2025/.
Gourley, Bruce. “Legislating Inequality: The Christian Confederate Roots of Project 2025.” Americans United, 28AD, www.au.org/the-latest/church-and-state/articles/legislating-inequality-the-christian-confederate-roots-of-project-2025/.
Group, Wikipedia. “Paul Weyrich.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 July 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Weyrich.
Perlstein Rick Perlstein is the author of a four-volume series on the history of America’s political and cultural divisions, Rick. “Project 2025 … and 1921, and 1973, and 1981.” The American Prospect, 10 July 2024, prospect.org/politics/2024-07-10-project-2025-republican-presidencies-tradition/.
Quinn, Melissa. “What Is Project 2025? What to Know about the Conservative Blueprint for a Second Trump Administration.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, July 2024, www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-project-2025-trump-conservative-blueprint-heritage-foundation/.
Ramirez, Nikki McCann, and Ryan Bort. “A Guide to Project 2025, the Right’s Terrifying Plan to Remake America.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 11 July 2024, www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/project-2025-plan-remake-america-explained-1235056542/.
Staff, Guardian. “Barack Obama’s Farewell Speech in Full: Annotated.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Jan. 2017, www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2017/jan/11/barack-obamas-farewell-speech-in-full-annotated.
