My Thoughts on Project 2025

It is probably obvious to those that know me, but there really isn't a whole lot I agree with when it comes to Ronald Reagan. But, there is one quote of his I think is perfect - though not for the same reasons he and his supporters would.

Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.

Ronald Reagan
Gubernatorial Inaugural Address
January 5, 1967
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/january-5-1967-inaugural-address-public-ceremony

I need to pause and look at that first word in this quote. Freedom. I believe one of the problems we have today is that we have allowed this word to by hijacked by a certain element of society that has turned it into jingoistic buzz word. For citizens of the United States at about my age and younger - the Millennials and Gen Z - just hearing the word freedom can give us an uncontrollable eye-roll. The propaganda around this was so incredibly overbearing during the early 2000s that I fear more than a few of us just tuned it out. But, the conservatives do not and should not own this word. The America is the greatest in the whole of all civilization people do not and should not own this word. It has been used with such great frequency that it really is beginning to lose its meaning.

We are at a crossroads here. The social well being of millions of people hang in the balance. I know people have been saying this for years - hell, every single election since I was old enough to pay attention has been THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF OUR LIVES. This, over time, has also begun to lose its meaning. But, the truth is that Reagan's quote above is correct. What we have is fragile. In a democracy where there is frequent leadership and ideological changes, the fight to improve the lives of our fellow Americans - and the world over - is truly a continuous struggle just to maintain.

The leadership of the Republicans have gone off the rails, over a cliff, and is now doing who the hell knows what at rock bottom - perhaps looking for a way to dig deeper. If their policy wishes were just straight up smaller and more efficient government, I could almost vote for someone so honest. But, this is not where we are at, and this is not their positions. And, before I continue, I also have my problems with the Democratic party. A lot. But until we can change the fundamental structure of our election system, we are literally stuck with a two-party system. At the federal level, I have to vote for the Democrats.

Mandate for Leadership 9 (Project 2025)

Project 2025 is the Heritage Foundation's ninth Mandate for Leadership book and was released in April 2023. The first Mandate was published in January 1981 and was a massive 3000+ page tome in 20 volumes. Newly inaugurated President Reagan handed out copies to his cabinet during their first meeting, and he brought in many of the authors of the book into his administration. The Heritage Foundation themselves claim that Reagan instituted close to 60% of the proposals within his first year in office. Later, the New York Times referred to this first publication as the "manifesto of the Reagan revolution." It is the foundation's hope that Project 2025 becomes the manifesto of a second Trump administration.

I have read their Mandate for Leadership, front cover to back, over the past few months, and if I had to sum it up into one short succinct sentence, it would be this: more money for the rich hidden behind a culture war shield.

Nothing that I can discern in this policy document looks to do anything about expanding actual freedoms for your average person. What it actually does is shrink or eliminate almost any oversight, replaces much that remains with loyal political appointments, does away with public safety regulations, and paints it all in a top coat of evangelical Christian values.

Just reading the Foreword by Heritage Foundation CEO Kevin Roberts tells you everything you need to know. And, if the name Kevin Roberts is vague or unfamiliar to you, he was recently in the news for this stunning quote:

We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.

Kevin Roberts
on Steve Bannon's War Room Podcast
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/03/project-2025-kevin-roberts-scotus-immunity-ruling/74289539007/

Yikes.

Based on this policy book, their meaning of freedom is to implement the evangelical culture war ideas across the board - remove all terms like "sexual orientation," "gender identity," and "diversity, equity, and inclusion" from federal rules and legislation, outlaw pornography and imprison their producers and distributors, and register educators and librarians as sex offenders for mentioning anything related to LGBTQ+. They also want to restrict non-government entities, such as social media platforms, from removing disinformation and extreme content under the guise of protecting speech. They want to prioritize married father-mother families in all policies and programs, including removing any extra support single parents receive by calling it a "marriage penalty."

They want to implement stricter work and work-readiness requirements for SNAP assistance (formerly known as food stamps) and housing assistance, impose a maximum term limits for residence in the housing assistance program, and end housing first policies for addressing homelessness. For home buyers, they want to begin encouraging shorter-duration mortgages and restrict FHA eligibility.

They want to ban transgender individuals from the military, remove or diminish the role of unions in the public federal work force, require a fee for asylum applications while restricting eligibility, and end the Flores Settlement Agreement on child detection while also repealing protections for unaccompanied minors. They want to scale back the school meal programs and reject any proposals for universal free school meals. Additionally, they want universal school of choice and/or education savings accounts. They want to get rid of any student loan forgiveness programs, including the Public Service program. They wish to eliminate the Department of Education and the Head Start program. And, sex education, as unhelpful and dysfunctional as it is now, would be pushed to be universally abstinence-only.

They want to increase religious exemptions in healthcare, oppose the idea that abortion is healthcare, restrict or ban abortion drugs, and enforce laws prohibiting the mailing of such medications. They also want to add work requirements to medicare and privatize aspects of it. And, they want to ramp up and re-engage their version of the war on drugs and crime - including increasing the use of the death penalty.

This covers just the policies I believe affect individuals that I have seen. I am 99.999% sure I missed a lot in my initial read through. I know I did because there is a lot here. Just as I was writing this I saw someone on BlueSky point out an entry about pulling back restrictions on teenagers working dangerous jobs. I missed that completely. I also failed to note that they want to completely change how overtime works. I do remember reading that, but I cannot find it in my notes. So I know I am missing some items here and in the other works I have posted. And, that is what scares me. There is so much presented in this nearly 900 page book and the general population has only just begun to notice that it exists.

Back to the Word "Freedom"

So I come back around to this word freedom. Try, if you can, to step back from how this word makes you feel in the current environment of our society. Clear your head of the borderline satirical idea of the word freedom being followed by an eagle cry, waving flags, and fireworks. What does it means to you to live in a free society, one that protects the people that live here. All people.

What the Heritage Foundation is proposing for the everyday person is neither freeing or protective. In fact, it removes protections and freedoms from people to gain the support of a vocal minority. And by doing so, they can implement the other policies that help the likes of the rich and powerful.

I will readily admit here and now, to no surprise to anyone that knows me, that I am far-left. I believe that if we have a government in control, it needs to be working for everyone. Not just evangelicals. Not just the rich. Not just corporations or their shareholders. Everyone. The government needs to help the people under its care to the best of its ability.

So, once again, we're left asking ourselves and those around us: what kind of future do you want? The progress that has been made is fragile, and if we are not careful, we can lose it all - quickly.