by
Cindy Engen,
PCDCC Communication Committee Member
We have been hearing about Project 2025 and how dangerous it could be. Let’s look at the highlights of this 920-page document.
The organization behind this is The Heritage Foundation, described as a right wing think tank. Russ Vought is the co-author of Project 2025 and was the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for the Trump administration. The President of Heritage is Kevin Roberts, an ultra-right conservative commentator, who has delayed publishing his book with a foreword by J.D. Vance. Vox estimates that two-thirds of the authors and editors of Project 2025 served in the Trump administration. Kevin Roberts has said the organization’s current role is “Institutionalizing Trumpism.” More than half of the project’s organization has received dark money tied to Leonard Leo, a key figure in guiding the selection of Trump’s federal judicial nominees.
How does it differ from what the Democrats are proposing? Here are some significant highlights:
Dems support the right of out-of-work and indigent people to live without homelessness and hunger. Project 2025 proposes a work requirement for food stamps (called CalFresh in California), which will be impossible to achieve for some individuals.
Dems support a woman’s right to choose. The 2025 plans to set up legal penalties for females and their doctors who participate in pregnancy prevention and abortion.
Dems support a Department of Education where educational professionals consider the needs of all children. 2025 proposes the elimination of the Department of Education, so parents and state officials can choose varying standards of education, perhaps with no sex education, race theory, slavery in history training, etc.
Dems support sensible environmental regulations to adjust to the reality of climate change. The 2025 supports the elimination of environmental regulations, such as those that would replace coal, oil, and natural gas with more environmentally friendly products.
Dems support an independent Justice Dept. Project 2025 would expand presidential power by giving more power to White House politicians and less to independent attorneys, and it would include power over the Justice Dept.
Dems support giving federal employees independence for professional and informed decisions. The 2025 supports firing federal employees who prevent Presidential policies from being implemented and replacing those employees with like-minded ones.
Other 2025 proposals are to dismantle Homeland Security, make the National Institute of Health less independent, cut Medicare and Medicaid, deploy the military for domestic law enforcement, ban on books that mention controversial topics, decide how much true history and race theory can be taught, and legal marriage status and benefits only for heterosexuals.
Project 2025 intends to bring us backward in time, not forward. Please vote for representatives Jessica Morse, Neva Parker and the Harris/Walz team, who see this plan for what it is – a way to turn America into an autocracy in which human differences, choices and freedoms are taken away.