Every Saturday from now until the election on November 5th, we will be bringing you at least 100 reasons the far right plan for a new conservative administration must be stopped.
Why this series? To help you, as a voter and concerned American, talk to your friends, family, and neighbors about the alarming proposals included in this document. It must be stopped and that will only happen if everyone understands what’s at stake and turns out to vote.
This is the challenge of our time.
Project 2025 is a complicated, 922-page document. When I first heard about it, I tried to read it and quickly realized I didn’t have the depth of understanding needed to fully comprehend its intent and scope. Therefore, this series will focus on curating the guidance of trusted experts.
Presidential Candidate Trump will try to tell us it’s not his plan, that he doesn’t know anything about it. That is a lie and we will share the proof of that, starting with professor and author Heather Cox Richardson, who informed and comforted millions of us through the political chaos of the past several years.
With her sharp eye to history and ability to relate it to current day events, Professor Richardson explains the GOP candidate’s relationship to Project 2025 in her July 5, 2024 Letter from an American: (emphasis and headlines added)
“ from Heather Cox Richardson:
HCR: On July 2, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts assured Trump ally Steve Bannon’s followers that they are winning in what he called “the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.” In March, Roberts told former Trump administration official and now right-wing media figure Sebastian Gorka about Project 2025:
“There are parts of the plan that we will not share with the Left: the executive orders, the rules and regulations. Just like a good football team we don’t want to tip off our playbook to the Left.”
HCR: This morning, although Roberts has described Project 2025 as “institutionalizing Trumpism,” Trump’s social media feed tried to distance the former president from Project 2025.
“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” the post read. Despite this disavowal of any knowledge of the project, it continued: “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
In what appeared to be a coordinated statement, the directors of Project 2025 wrote on social media less than two hours later that they “do not speak for any candidate.”
What about the many deep ties to the Trump camp? And why does his name show up on more than 190 pages of the Project 2025 playbook?
HCR: Aside from the fact that “[a]nything they do, I wish them luck,” sounds much like the signaling Trump did to the Proud Boys when he told them to “stand back and stand by,” Trump’s assertion and Project 2025’s response can’t possibly erase the many and deep ties of the Trump camp to Project 2025. Juliet Jeske of Decoding Fox News noted that Trump’s name shows up on more than 190 pages of the Project 2025 playbook.
Look at Top Donors and Associates
HCR: Rebekah Mercer, who sits on the board of the Heritage Foundation, was one of Trump’s top donors in 2016; her family founded and operated Cambridge Analytica, the company that misused the data of millions of Facebook users to push pro-Trump and anti-Clinton material in 2016. Trump’s national press secretary,Karoline Leavitt, has appeared in a Project 2025 video.
5 alarming proposals of Project 2025:
Replace experienced civil servants with hand-picked loyalists
Kill Department of Education
Erase separation of church and state
End renewable energy and ramp up use of fossil fuels
Mass deportation of immigrants
(For a deeper understanding of the horror of #5, click here to read David Pepper’s article focused on this specific proposal. Pepper is a lawyer, writer, political activist, former elected official, and adjunct professor, and served as the Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party between 2015 and 2021.
In that role, he was engaged in numerous fights and extensive litigation over voter suppression and election laws in the Buckeye State. Stemming from that work, David appeared in “All In”—the documentary highlighting Stacey Abrams’ nation-wide fight for voting rights.)
HCR: Trump’s own super PAC has been running ads promoting Project 2025, calling it “Trump’s Project 2025,” and many of its policies—killing the Department of Education, erasing the separation of church and state, ending renewable energy programs and ramping up use of fossil fuels, deporting immigrants—are also Trump’s.
Project 2025’s director,Paul Dans, (and former Chief of Staff for Trump at the Office of Personnel Management, ed.) as well as both of its associate directors, Spencer Chretien(former special assistant and associate director of presidential personnel for Trump. ed) and Troup Hemenway, were in charge of personnel in Trump’s White House, and the theme of Project 2025 is that “people are policy,” by which they mean that hand-picked loyalists must replace civil servants. Trump’s former body man John McEntee, who reentered the White House as a senior advisor after having to leave because he failed a background check, was in charge of hiring in the last months of the Trump White House; he helped to draft Project 2025. Key Trump ally Russell Vought wrote the section of Project 2025 that called for an authoritarian leader; he is also on the platform committee of the Republican National Convention.
“Rotten Cognitive Ability”?
HCR: If indeed Trump knows nothing about Project 2025 and has no idea who is behind it, his cognitive ability is rotten. As former chair of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele wrote, “Since [Project 2025] is designed to institutionalize Trumpism and you know nothing about it, then why do you echo some of its policy priorities during your rallies? Coincidence? And how exactly don’t you know that Project 2025 Director Paul Dans served as your chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management, and Associate Director Spencer Chretien served as your special assistant and associate director of presidential personnel? And folks say we should be worried about Biden.”
Why is Trump distancing himself? Project 2025 is toxic to voters … somewhat like Ebola.
HCR: Trump’s attempt to distance himself from Project 2025 indicates just how toxic that plan is with voters. As political scientist Ian Bremmer dryly noted, it seems that “the second [A]merican revolution apparently [is] not polling as well as the first in internal focus groups.” Former Republican strategist Rick Wilson was even more direct, saying that Trump was trying to distance himself from Project 2025 because “most of it polls about like Ebola,” the deadly virus that causes severe bleeding and organ failure, and has a mortality rate of 80 to 90%.
Summary of Reasons to Stop Project 2025
At the end of each post in this Series, the alarming proposals included within the pages of Project 2025 will be summarized. Here are the first five:
Replace experienced civil servants with hand-picked loyalists
Kill Department of Education
Erase separation of church and state
End renewable energy and ramp up use of fossil fuels
Here are the opening words that introduce it and the four pillars it is founded on.
“It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on Day One of the next conservative Administration.
The 2025 Presidential Transition Project paves the way for an effective conservative Administration based on four pillars:
policy agenda,
Presidential Personnel Database,
Presidential Administration Academy,
playbook for the first 180 days of the next Administration.”
If you believe the coming election is critical to our future, please share this series and comment about what actions you are taking to ensure a future for democracy and the founding ideals of the United States.
“For Democracy,Talking is more important than agreeing.
When you are dialoguing with others, here are a few suggestions for keeping a respectful political conversation:
Identify your goal. Be a realist and understand that not everyone is going to see things your way. Be genuinely interested in hearing another perspective on the topic because that is how we learn about each other.
Avoid making assumptions. Perspectives are not going to be universal. Don’t ask someone a question to interrogate but to understand the perspective honestly.
Demonstrate empathy. Be aware of and share another person’s feelings and experiences. If a person brings up something and a specific word strikes a chord with you, don’t jump into an argument but ask clarifying questions.
Always engage in active listening. This is the intent to understand the other person fully rather than listening to respond. Think about how you word your questions. Use “I” statements instead of “You” statements. Ask for examples and paraphrase what you are hearing.
Remember to breathe. If someone says something that upsets you, don’t forget to breathe, inhale, exhale, and practice meditation techniques before you say something you will regret.
Exit with care. Know when to exit the conversation by changing the topic.
If you don’t want to talk politics, then don’t. You can choose to engage in a positive conversation by practicing these tips. We don’t have to agree during a conversation, but we need to model respect for each other. Too many people lose relationships that matter because they don’t remain respectful. It is important to think about how each of us can contribute positively to the climate of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Author: Tessa Hobbs-Curley is considerate about the people of west-central Illinois. She feels that her role as a family life educator serving Henderson, Knox, McDonough, and Warren counties is vital to the residents in her community. Tessa provides community-based training and education on life issues affecting families, adults, and individuals as they age.
Every Saturday from now until the election is a good way to stay awake and increase the direct connections on individual lives, values, freedoms. Thank you, Joyce. Project 2025 is not a secret document. It's been out there for months. “When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.”--Maya Angelou The people behind Project 2025 are counting on all of us to prefer comfort and not do the extra effort to examine, to think, to question, and to stop the horror. The lies and propaganda have been pounding on us every day since the insurrection of the Nation's Capital January 6, 2021. The intention was to turn us on each other. We are so exhausted from filtering so many lies. The creators of Project 2025 do not want us to have any safe spaces or community conversations. It's down to the last lap of this marathon and everyone who can vote can do two things: Make sure you are registered and showing on the voter roles (check and check again with local offices that register voters because some states are actively working to "disqualify" you) and secondly, make sure you understand exactly what you--yes, you individually, will lose if Project 2025 happens. You lose freedom, rights, education, income, health, and, eventually your home and sanity. This is not about THOSE personalities out there--it's totally about YOU who you put in office to spend your tax dollars and to make rules for how you will live or die.
This is incredible to post this from now till the election, Joyce. Super super important as you so well know. I think many do not know what 2025 really entails.
Every Saturday from now until the election is a good way to stay awake and increase the direct connections on individual lives, values, freedoms. Thank you, Joyce. Project 2025 is not a secret document. It's been out there for months. “When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.”--Maya Angelou The people behind Project 2025 are counting on all of us to prefer comfort and not do the extra effort to examine, to think, to question, and to stop the horror. The lies and propaganda have been pounding on us every day since the insurrection of the Nation's Capital January 6, 2021. The intention was to turn us on each other. We are so exhausted from filtering so many lies. The creators of Project 2025 do not want us to have any safe spaces or community conversations. It's down to the last lap of this marathon and everyone who can vote can do two things: Make sure you are registered and showing on the voter roles (check and check again with local offices that register voters because some states are actively working to "disqualify" you) and secondly, make sure you understand exactly what you--yes, you individually, will lose if Project 2025 happens. You lose freedom, rights, education, income, health, and, eventually your home and sanity. This is not about THOSE personalities out there--it's totally about YOU who you put in office to spend your tax dollars and to make rules for how you will live or die.
This is incredible to post this from now till the election, Joyce. Super super important as you so well know. I think many do not know what 2025 really entails.