Welcome to the next installment of “why you should be scared out of your wits by the Republicans’ fascist plan and tell everyone you know.” I’ve tried to make it a quick read, but be warned: you might need a barf bag at the ready.
Yesterday I broke down the first of four “promises to the American people” made by the founders of Project 2025. Here’s the link to Part One: www.dailykos.com/... Today I’ll share the second one with you. Though it shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been paying attention to the way the GOP has operated for decades, the unwavering zealotry and clout behind it, having gained momentum during the Trump years, should worry us. They’re a coalition with deep pockets, and they have more money and power than they’ve ever had before. So do we, but it’s still going to be an uphill battle. Without further ado, here is their second threat:
PROMISE #2: DISMANTLE THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE AND RETURN SELF-GOVERNANCE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Let’s unpack that. First of all, what exactly is the “administrative state?” They’re talking about authorities like the IRS, the FCC, the EPA, FEMA, USPS, etc.
This “promise” is to tear down everything that makes the country function. If you think bureaucracy doesn’t work well now – is too complicated and not user-friendly – it’s going to be so much worse after it has been “dismantled” or taken over by the GOP’s minions.
In a world where climate change is creating MORE need for agencies to help put out literal fires and aid those facing environmental disaster, lack of institutions set up to help in times of crisis will lead to mass chaos, destruction, and death.
It is what happened after Trump dismantled President Obama’s Pandemic Task Force and thus allowed COVID-19 to spread. It is what happened when a severely challenged FEMA could not effectively help victims of Hurricane Katrina under Bush Jr. On a smaller scale, lack of resources under a Republican governor, Snyder, exacerbated the Flint Water Crisis – in addition to the environmental racism that made Flint, a majority-Black city, a low priority for the state.
Such disasters will happen again, on a much larger scale, and there will be nothing in place to help the victims. If the victims are Black, LGBTQ, disabled, or otherwise marginalized, they will be doubly disadvantaged as personal disasters occur on top of collective ones. People will wait even longer for life-saving services such as disability, food aid, and Medicaid determinations (if we even have any welfare at all after they gut everything).
They follow this existential threat to the American people, disguised as “freedom,” with more barefaced lies. Again, unsurprising. But it’s not business as usual when the enemy comes armed with a 900-page document with input from more than 100 organizations, baldly stating their intent to do you harm. This is Reagan’s Mandate for Leadership on so much juice it has roid rage.
First, they claim that the regulatory branches of the government are bloated and intentionally cryptic due to the bureaucrats who run it wanting to hold onto power and not be held accountable. I would argue that if such agencies don’t work well, it’s because they are already understaffed due to the influence of Republican policy. Their inefficiency isn’t due to bloat – it’s due to lack.
I want to add that, here in Michigan, since Gretchen Whitmer became governor, things that were not being done under Snyder are now actually getting accomplished. Social services have been streamlined and made easier; for example, you’ll talk to a human if you call up DHHS and the process of applying for aid has been made much less convoluted. The roads are indeed getting fixed, as she promised. Those are two examples I’ve personally witnessed; I’m sure there are others. The point is, things do not work under Republicans, because Republicans dismantle them to make them difficult and frustrating, and then say, “see how much the government sucks? It’s all the Democrats’ fault!”
As I pointed out in the first installment of this series, it’s pure DARVO – Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender – a known tactic of narcissistic abusers.
The Project 2025 document goes on about departmental bloat and corruption, with the lies becoming ever more reminiscent of statements made by hate groups.
Examples, taken verbatim:
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Bureaucrats at the Department of Education inject racist, anti-American, ahistorical propaganda into America’s classrooms;
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Bureaucrats at the Department of Justice force school districts to undermine girls’ sports and parents’ rights to satisfy transgender extremists;
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Woke bureaucrats at the Pentagon force troops to attend “training” seminars about “white privilege”; and
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Bureaucrats at the State Department infuse U.S. foreign aid programs with woke extremism about “intersectionality” and abortion.
This section of the screed ends with the statement that the administrative state will remain until Congress “acts to retrieve its own power from bureaucrats and the White House” (which they don’t elaborate on) but in the meantime, a conservative president can take action to implement a lot of their recommended policies. These actions are mainly issuing executive orders to fire bureaucrats and shut down agencies – things Trump did when he took office and that President Biden has largely reversed.
They end this section all the while talking about “the Left” as if it’s made up solely of “bureaucrats” and ignoring the fact that there is such a thing as a Leftist voter. This is the first step in annihilating us — pretending we don’t even exist. They then pivot to their wish to declare war on China.
Stay tuned for Part Three of this series, which will deal with their foreign policy, and the singling-out of China with nary a mention of Russia.