Meteor Blades is asking whatever happened to Project 2025 on Daily Kos? OK, so here is a diary about it, using stories published in just the past few days.
First off, Larry Hogan, Republican candidate for senator from Maryland, has this op-ed in today’s WaPo: Project 2025 shreds American values
Naturally, he has to take a couple (more than a couple) swipes at Democrats. But at least he says this:
This 900-page proposal from the Heritage Foundation was published last year — with the input of many former Trump administration officials and those with close ties to the former president — to serve as a blueprint for a future administration. To call many of these ideas “radical” is a disservice. In truth, Project 2025 takes many of the principles that have made this nation great and shreds them. . . .
Project 2025 also proposes enacting absurd and dangerous policies that must be rejected, including mass deportations, disbanding the Education Department, potentially abolishing the Federal Reserve, and withdrawing the abortion medication mifepristone from the market.
This radical approach is out of touch with the American people.
Newsweek compared last night’s Trumplerant™ to Project 2025: Donald Trump's Speech Compared With Project 2025 Policies and lays out the many places where Trump called for “policies’ exactly in line with Project 2025. (There’s no one clip that summarizes it, but go read it, it’s not that long.)
Newsweek again, yesterday: What Project 2025 Means for Women
[Quoting Prof. Carrie Baker of Smith College] "Something that nobody is talking about is the fact that there's a lot in Project 2025 about reviving the traditional patriarchal family. It stigmatises single parenthood, and makes cuts to social support for single parents and children in single-parent families. To incentivize marriage, it punishes people that don't get married.”
Scientific American, today: What to Know about Project 2025’s Dangers to Science
Project 2025, the sweeping right-wing blueprint for a new kind of U.S. presidency, would sabotage science-based policies that address climate change, the environment, abortion, health care access, technology and education. It would impose religious and conservative ideology on the federal civil service to such an extent that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has, dubiously, tried to distance himself from the plan.
“Dubiously” is right. The New Republic (yesterday) reports on Trump team’s worries about Trump being tied to the project his advisers have been working on for years. Watch: Trump Adviser Slams Project 2025 as “Pain in the Ass”
Trump’s campaign has grown increasingly frustrated by reporting on the affiliation between the campaign and Project 2025’s agenda, despite their apparent ties, and the program’s intention to serve as a de facto policy agenda for the Trump campaign. Project 2025 includes policies ranging from the dismantling of government agencies, such as the Department of Education, to the implementation of national abortion bans and contraception restrictions.
And of course the Project 2025 aren’t concerned this means Trump is repudiating their work:
But Trump’s sudden pushback didn’t rattle people involved with Project 2025—instead, they felt confident that his turn of favor wouldn’t stand in the way of their ability to implement the far-right agenda come inauguration day.
“The general sense is this is a PR gesture for him to provide himself maximum room to maneuver and avoid making any commitments at this point,” one source on Project 2025’s advisory board told NBC News. “He wants to avoid having to answer questions about anything he doesn’t want to answer questions about. Most people I know who are involved with it don’t seem overly worried that this actually constitutes a repudiation and is going to mean anything on Jan. 20.”
Three days ago, Forbes had this to say: Trump Wants Distance From Project 2025—But Here’s How JD Vance Has Closer Ties
Former President Donald Trump named Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, as his vice presidential candidate Monday—a pick that could complicate Trump’s effort to distance himself from the controversial policy agenda known as Project 2025, as Vance has close associations with the right-wing organization behind the project.
USA Today, today: What would Project 2025 do for education: Why the conservative plan may not sound new in Tennessee
KHOU-11 (Houston), today: Yes, Project 2025 recommends dismantling NOAA
NOAA to be replaced by a sharpie.
Paul Krugman, July 15: Don’t Lose Sight of Project 2025. That’s the Real Trump.
Task & Purpose (Military), today: Project 2025’s plan for the US military
Among the changes that follow a clear conservative policy agenda, Project 2025 includes expelling transgender service members from the U.S. military and not allowing them to be recruited; reinstating troops separated for refusing to get vaccinated for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19); and rescinding a Defense Department policy that covers the travel costs for troops who need to go out of state for abortions and other reproductive care – all of which are popular conservative platforms. [emphases in original]
The Hill, yesterday: Does Project 2025 propose eliminating overtime pay? (Answer: Not in so many words, but pretty close.)
Chicago Sun-Times, yesterday: Project 2025 is latest example of Heritage Foundation's long history of conservative activism
Etc, etc, etc.
Trump and the GOP are clearly worried that Project 2025 will hurt their chances in November, even more than their radical anti-abortion agenda (which is part of Project 2025). They are trying very very hard to get voters to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. It’s up to us to pull the curtain, to rip the curtain, to expose their fascism to the disinfecting light of truth.
Remember, we’re not just fighting Trump. Or even Vance. We’re fighting for our lives and liberty against a major political party that has gone batshit insane, and is getting worse by the hour.