What is Project 2025? (Part 1)

A Presidential Transition Project from The Heritage Foundation

What is Project 2025?

Kamala Harris (and before that Joe Biden) has used her campaign platform as bully pulpit to demonize Project 2025 as an “existential threat to democracy.” Many progressive activists, including David Pakman, host of The David Pakman Show on YouTube, have also used their platforms to join the chorus.

Curiously, I’ve never met someone in the ordinary course of life who has even the slightest idea what Project 2025 actually is, what it says, or why the Harris campaign and Democratic party writ large is so hell-bent on attacking it nonstop.

We certainly get our fill of talking points full of “fear and freakout” warning against Project 2025’s erosion of democratic norms, significant risks to civil liberties and human rights, and threats to education and knowledge suppression, etc. … but that’s where the details end. We don’t get the benefit of a point-by-point refutation, or even a hint of a counter-proposal, just giant claims that would stress anyone listening out (which is the point). As Carl Sagan said, big claims require big proof … #weareallstillwaiting

But this is a REALLY BIG DEAL … these allegations are no-joke and must be dealt with on their own terms.

So, let’s look at them, together ….

My Approach

Given its cult-like fame in this election cycle, I’m going to use up some Substack real estate presenting Project 2025 to you in bite-sized chunks. This way you can consider its merits and/or demerits for yourself.

But, I’m not presenting it in my own words, but in their words, that is the words of the actual authors of Project 2025. Where I add any explanatory commentary, I will indicate that so you aren’t confused.

Before we dive in, note that the Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership is fully available to the public for free via project2025.org in online and downloadable formats. It’s about 900 pages, so get some new ink before you print, if that’s your preference. You can also purchase a hard copy if you’d like. Given its length and level of detail, few beyond policy wonks, politicos, and very high information voters have taken, or will ever take, the time to read the primary text. But, to their credit, they are 100% transparent, putting it all out there for anyone to consume at any time. There’s no need for biased fact-checkers (on either side) - you can, and should, learn about it yourself.

Let’s Start at the Beginning

Here we go!

Here’s verbatim text from the home page <project2025.org> …

—

Project 2025 is a historic movement, brought together by over 100 respected organizations from across the conservative movement, to take down the Deep State and return the government to the people. 

Its Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, published in April 2023, is a product of more than 400 scholars and policy experts from around the country. The book offers a menu of policy suggestions to meet our country’s deepest challenges and put America back on track, including:

• Secure the border, finish building the wall, and deport illegal aliens

• De-weaponize the Federal Government by increasing accountability and oversight of the FBI and DOJ

• Unleash American energy production to reduce energy prices

• Cut the growth of government spending to reduce inflation

• Make federal bureaucrats more accountable to the democratically elected President and Congress

• Improve education by moving control and funding of education from DC bureaucrats directly to parents and state and local governments

• Ban biological males from competing in women' s sports

The Truth About Project 2025

… from “The Truth About Project 2025” page <project2025.org/truth/> …

The Left has spent millions fearmongering about Project 2025, because they’re terrified of losing their power. And they should be. Project 2025 offers a menu of solutions to the border crisis, inflation, a stagnant economy, and rampant crime. It shows how we can take on China, fix our schools, and support families. But most importantly, it dismantles the unaccountable Deep State, taking power away from Leftist elites and giving it back to the American people.

…

Project 2025 is not partisan, nor is it secret. Project 2025 does not speak for any candidate or campaign, in any capacity. It was stood up in 2022, before any major candidate announced a campaign, to assist the next conservative president.  

We are an open book, with our materials available online. 

Project 2025’s policy book is nothing new.

Mandate for Leadership has been published regularly since the 1980s. In it, respected conservative authors espouse conservative policy ideas for incoming administrations to consider. Progressive organizations do the same thing. As just one example, the far-left Center for American Progress prepares policy recommendations for liberal presidents, including President Obama in 2008.

We will not stop offering ideas to reverse America’s decline. Our aim is to restore American democracy “of, by, and for the people,” not of, by, and for the elites who currently control Washington. 

The Real Policy Recommendations

… continuing on the same webpage …

Secure the Border

Project 2025’s policy reforms would end America’s decades-long border crisis by: 

• Thoroughly enforcing existing immigration laws.  

• Aggressively constructing a wall on our southern border.  

• Efficiently identifying and rejecting fraudulent asylum claims.   

• Restoring the “remain in Mexico” policy for people awaiting asylum claims.   

• Arresting, detaining, and removing of immigration violators anywhere in the United States. 

Unleash American Energy

Project 2025’s policy reforms would secure abundant access to energy for the American people, including low-cost gasoline, by:

• Ensuring access to abundant, reliable, and affordable energy. 

• Removing efforts to push sustainable-development schemes connected to food production. 

• Stopping collaboration with and funding of progressive foundations, corporations, international institutions, and NGOs that advocate for climate fanaticism. 

• Ending the Biden administration’s war on fossil fuels in the developing world and supporting the responsible management of oil and gas reserves as the quickest way to end wrenching poverty and the need for open-ended foreign aid. 

• Ensuring that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission facilitates rather than hampers private-sector nuclear energy innovation and deployment. 

De-Weaponize the Federal Government and Dismantle the Deep State 

Project 2025’s policy reforms would restore self-governance to the American people by:  

• Firing supposedly “un-fireable” federal bureaucrats. 

• Closing wasteful and corrupt bureaus and offices. 

• Eliminating woke propaganda at every level of government. 

• Restoring the American people’s Constitutional authority over the administrative state. 

• Returning governing power to the Congress and President instead of unelected bureaucrats. 

Improve Education 

Project 2025’s policy reforms would strengthen our education system by: 

• Expanding school choice, so all children have the option of a great education, regardless of zip code. 

• Promoting parents’ rights in public education so American schools serve parents, not the other way around. 

• Removing critical race theory and gender ideology curricula in every public school in the country.  

• Returning education control to state and local governments.  

• Shifting some functions of the Department of Education to other departments including Labor, Justice, and Commerce. 

—

This page from the Project 2025 website continues with a section on Debunking the Lies about Project 2025, but for brevity’s sake, I’ll publish that tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I urge you to peruse Project2025.org and read their claims so you can support it, object to it, or perhaps a little of both, based on actual knowledge, not invective and inuendo (a horrible byproduct of our ridiculous electoral environment)!

I hope you’ll find this review as useful as I have …

xo,

Kelley for The Savvy Citizen Team

October 15, 2024