OK, I’ve started the process of reading “Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership” which is published by the Heritage Foundation – that which, along with the Federalist Society, gave us Trump’s three Justices on the Supreme Court. (who, apparently, are trying to return the “favor” to Trump by, at a minimum, stalling on their ruling on Trump’s absurd claim president’s are “absolutely immune” from prosecution while they’re in office.) Who knows how this court will rule, but they’ve already given Trump what he wants, which is pushing the trial in his “coup d’etat” case out past the election – his only hope to avoid this prosecution would be “we the people” proving we have collective amnesia and allowing him to somehow STEAL another election.

I’m not sure how much reporting I’m going to do on this directory of how to turn a democratic republic into a fascist state through the use of doublespeak and pure hypocrisy. For example, in the first 20+ pages there is an emphasis on whoever the next president is that he/she would strictly follow the constitution and enforce the “rule of law.” (My characterization) This, while they are eagerly funneling MILLIONS to Trump’s “Super PAC’s” and pushing for a convicted FELON to be the next “conservative” president. While, of course, making positive remembrances of Ronald Reagan as the, I guess you’d say, “kingpin” of the conservative movement. (Apparently, the “rule of law” only applies to us “liberals.”)

Of course, Reagan was a covert racist who specialized in what we now call the art of the “dog whistle.” Phrasing his comments in ways which signaled to the white nationalist community in America that he was with them. I keep hearing people rationalizing that “I’m not a racist” – I know someone who is Black. And, then of course, enthusiastically supporting an OVERT racist in Trump. For me, you just can’t have it both ways. At this point in my life I’ve met too many white old people, like myself, who’ve benefited from “white privilege” their entire lifetimes who show who they are, really, by their enthusiastic support of a LIAR, a racist, a misogynist, and, very possibly, a traitor. (who knows – well Trump does, – where all the missing Top Secret documents actually are.)

If you looked at the photos of the evidence made public after the FBI executed a search warrant on Mar a Lago (They MUST convince a judge they have the evidence of a CRIME before they can even get the search warrant) you saw all the folders labeled “Top Secret” which were empty. What did Trump do with the contents of those folders? Who knows? All I can say is I know I don’t trust Trump to not, possibly, sell them. Trump is nothing more than a cheap mob boss, but he’s the perfect stooge for the people who have published “Project 2025.” In my previous post I pointed out I’ve come to the conclusion that as evil as Trump is, he’s just the front man for the actual problem.

In other words, Trump is just the “puppet” providing the “mechanism” the people aligning themselves with “Project 2025” – or, I guess I should say, to be more precise, the people who actually wrote it all down to mainstream their fascist plans for America, need to gain POWER. In other words, the GOP’s problem goes way DEEPER than the issue with Trump. Our so-called “liberal media” spends the bulk of its time chasing their tails as they focus their airtime on the TWICE IMPEACHED so-called four times indicted (for 88 alleged FELONIES) two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president while spending a small fraction of their airtime reporting on Joe Biden’s accomplishments (which are, by the way, many) and, possibly more importantly, reporting on what’s on the pages of “Project 2025.”

I’ve bookmarked the free version you can get online (get it by clicking HERE) and, I’ve committed myself to taking the time to read as much of it as I can. It’s about 900 pages of a fascist wish-list and, of course, the authors are hoping hardly anyone reads it. (It’s almost like watching Fox “news”) Especially, they don’t want undecided VOTERS actually reading it. It’s the people behind this project who are the real problem as awful as Trump actually is. This I can guarantee you – Trump will never read it as far as I have (20+ pages of the actual document – there’s also a long intro) but, he’ll be expected to follow their plan. I’m 76 (soon to be 77) and I could NEVER have imagined our country would be facing such a challenge from within, but, if you’ve studied Lincoln, you shouldn’t be too surprised. This “challenge” is like resurrecting the “lost cause.”

Will the voters actually show up? Will they vote in record numbers for Joe Biden and democrats up and down the “ticket?” That is the challenge and that’s what republicans are working “overtime” to prevent. There are issues in this campaign which go well beyond the “stuff” which, for example, seems to be turning young people away from Biden. Even though Joe Biden is the best thing that has happened for them in their young lives. (And, yes, I agree, it would be better to have someone less than 81 years old – who knows how to run the government, but, beating Trump and his fascist backers is the challenge)

Biden recognizes the danger of the climate crisis, for one example. He understands the burden of Student Loan debt and is trying to do something to help. He’s working to create more affordable housing and has plans to help young people who want to buy their first home, but he needs a democratic Congress to accomplish this. He supports WOMEN’S reproductive rights, he supports fixing the Voting Rights Act, he supports Civil Rights for all Americans, he’s working hard to push down the excessive costs of goods and, inflation in general, he’s a strong supporter of labor, and he’s done a great job in bringing BACK together the NATO alliance which was fractured under Trump. Also, as opposed to Netanyahu (and Trump) he supports a “two state solution ” in the Israel, Hamas war, and the list goes on and on.

Speaking of the Israel/Hamas conflict, President Biden can’t ORDER Netanyahu to do anything. Israel is a sovereign nation. However, Trump and Netanyahu are on the same page so young people who plan to vote against Biden because of him standing strong with Israel, I think they should rethink their logic. For example, a vote for a third party candidate is, in essence, a vote for Trump. Young people not voting is what Trump is attempting to accomplish with his misinformation flooding Social Media which is where most young people get their “news.” Very few young voters will actually read even parts of “Project 2025” and my hope is they don’t find out the details when it’s too late. What America needs right now is a group effort, democrats, disaffected republicans, and independents working together to re-elect President Biden and give him a democratic Congress.

That would mean people like Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley (who both participated in the coup attempt) and Rick Scott (who allegedly led a company which committed the greatest Medicare FRAUD of all time) should be VOTED OUT of office. Democrats need enough Senators to allow the FILIBUSTER to be removed from key legislation republicans routinely are BLOCKING. And, of course, the HOUSE must be returned to democratic control so that SOMETHING, anything, can be accomplished. Remember, this republican led House, has ONLY passed a few bills – keeping the government’s “lights” on – and, when Trump was president, the ONLY significant piece of legislation was the tax cut aimed at the “top 1%.” (And, OBTW Trump is promising to extend that tax cut in order to pull in MILLIONS from America’s Billionaires.)

From what I’m gathering so far, MOST of the DAMAGE the “Project 2025” would cause would be to the executive branch – where they are proposing what amounts to a “loyalty test” for anyone who would be employed in one of the HUGE bureaucracies and systematic purging of “career civil servants.” Think of the institutions this would undermine. The Justice Department, the State Department, the Education Department, Homeland Security, the CIA (and 17 other intelligence agencies), the Agriculture Department, the FDA, the EPA and those are the ones I could think of right off the top of my head. A MASSIVE amount of LONG TERM damage could be inflicted on the executive branch of government via “Project 2025.” (Oh yes, the SCOTUS would be FURTHER compromised as well)

Here’s the speculation of how the SCOTUS factors into this fascist takeover of the U.S. Right now, there are three YOUNG Justices who have LIFETIME appointments to the Court. If, as predicted, during a second Trump administration both (of the most CORRUPT Justices) Alito and Thomas will resign, allowing for two YOUNG replacements. The Court will be in right wing control for a generation +. There are so many CRITICAL reasons why Americans SHOULD be turning from this threat, but the Court has to be right at the top. Since the Bush v Gore decision in 2000 the Court has been pushing their corporatist bent on “we the people,” and putting two more YOUNG right wing Justices on the bench will prove unspeakably disastrous to America as we move forward with the challenges of our time. If you believe the recent decisions of this court are bad, just consider facing the likelihood of more of the same for another 30 years. Yikes!!!

Final Thought: I’ll keep reading “Project 2025” and, periodically, be giving a report on my interpretation of what’s in the document, but I hope MANY more Americans decide the future of our nation is important enough for them to read it as well. The “you know what” is about to hit the fan and it will require a unified mobilization to stop it. What Trump has accomplished for the “puppeteers” behind “Project 2025” is, through his pathological LYING, and the willingness of right wing media to mirror the LIES, to create a HUGE cult following of Americans willing to vote against their own self interests. I recently linked interviews with Trump supporters by Jordan Klepper and, if you haven’t seen them (Here’s a new one) you should check them out. You get a really good idea of why Trump loves “uneducated voters.”