112. Project 2025

Snarky Opener (0:00)

Welcome to the United States of Gilead. RIP democracy.

Episode Introduction (0:24)

Hello, my LGBTQuties, and welcome back to another episode of A Jaded Gay. I'm Rob Loveless, and today I am a jaded gay because I'm getting ready to go on vacation, which obviously, yeah, that's gonna be a lot of fun. But like all the pre-work to get there is killing me.

Like I have to catch up with work. I have to get things done around my house. Trying to catch up with the podcast. Of course, the few days before you leave for vacation, everybody needs something from you. So, ugh, just a lot. But in a few days, I'll be free. I'll be on the beach, and it'll be worth it.

Hot girl summer, what what. But speaking of hot girl summer, you know one thing that's not hot?

These conservative jabronis who are coming after the girls, the gays, and basically anyone who's not white, straight, male, Republican, and Christian. And preferably rich. 

Project 2025 (1:10)  

That's right. We're talking politics today. It's not going to be the most fun episode, but it's very important to talk about. So...

Real Housewives of New Jersey Soundbite

pay attention, please.

So, unless you're living under a rock, you know that, obviously, there's a presidential election coming up. Cher, save us all. And we've talked in past episodes about certain politics and legislation that has negatively impacted the LGBTQ+ community.

And even though it's 2024, we've been seeing an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and hate crimes against the community.

And if that's not scary enough, conservatives have put together the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, also known as Project 2025, to provide the 2024 Republican presidential nominee with a personnel database and ideological framework.

Literally, like, Project 2025 sounds like the title of a horror movie, am I right? And who knows, maybe it'll be a documentary horror movie because unfortunately, we know who the 2024 Republican presidential nominee is.

So, as stressful as this episode may be, we are going to go over what Project 2025 means, specifically for the LGBTQ+ community, because, again, while scary, it's important that we remain informed.

But before we dive into that trauma, let's pull our tarot card.

Tarot (2:32)  

So, the card for this episode is the Six of Swords in reverse. As you may remember, Swords is tied to the element of air. It's masculine energy, which is action-oriented.

And Swords is tied to forms of communication, both written and verbal. And you can think of phrases like the Sword of Truth, and the pen is mightier than the sword.

And in numerology, six is tied to balance, choice, and harmony. Now, typically, the Six of Swords represents moving forward and embarking on a healing journey, which is great. Because, remember, the number five is sometimes referred to as a conflict number.

So, with six immediately following, it can signify overcoming that conflict. However, when we draw the Six of Swords in reverse, it's indicating we may be having difficulty moving on. And this is typically caused by unresolved conflict.

So, with Swords being masculine energy and action-oriented, we need to rely on our intuition to guide us beyond this conflict. And in doing so, we may go through a transformation in our lives, and it may be one that pushes us outside of our comfort zones.

And while that might feel a little concerning and vulnerable, ultimately, it will allow us to leave behind things that are no longer serving us and continue our journey toward what we hope to achieve.

So, with that in mind, let's unpack the terror-filled Project 2025.

The Heritage Foundation (3:50)

And kicking it off, let's ask the question, where did Project 2025 come from? Well, it was published in April 2023 by the Heritage Foundation.

According to Wikipedia, this organization is an activist American conservative think tank based in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1973 and has had significant influence in US public policymaking, most notably taking a lead in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

And just your regular reminder that Ronald Reagan let an entire generation of gay men die at the hands of AIDS. And George HW Bush was just as complicit.

Anyway, since 1981, the Heritage Foundation has published Mandate for Leadership, which is a series of books that offer specific conservative policy recommendations designed to be implemented by the federal government.

This was first published for the incoming Reagan administration, and additional editions have been published, typically coinciding with an incoming presidential administration.

The Heritage Foundation’s Relationship with the Trump Administration (4:51)

Now, interestingly enough, the Heritage Foundation was not entirely in favor of Trump during the 2016 election.

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

"In July 2015, appearing on a Fox News panel, the leader of Heritage Action, the foundation's advocacy arm, said 'Donald Trump's a clown. He needs to be out of the race.'

The following month, in August, a Heritage Foundation economic writer, Stephen Moore, criticized Trump's policy positions, saying 'The problem for Trump is that he's full of all these contradictions. He's kind of a tabula rasa on policy.'

In December 2015, the Heritage Foundation Executive Vice President Kim Holmes, opposing Trump's candidacy, criticized Trump as quote-unquote, not a conservative. Holmes also criticized Trump supporters, writing that 'They are behaving more like an alienated class of Marxist imagination than as social agents of stability and tradition. They are indeed thinking like revolutionaries, only now their ire is aimed at their progressive masters and the institutions they control.'

But with all that in mind, the organization seemingly changed their tune because, once Trump won the 2016 election, the Heritage Foundation obtained influence in his presidential transition and administration and had a say in his administration's staffing.

According to a 2018 New York Times article in 2014, the Heritage Foundation had begun building a database of 3,000 conservatives who they trusted to serve in a hypothetical Republican administration. And at least 66 Foundation employees and alumni from that database were hired into the Trump administration. And some of these winners, and I'm using that term sarcastically, include Betsy DeVos,

Wendy Williams Soundbite

Should she suffer? All right, clap if you think she should suffer.

Mick Mulvaney, Rick Perry, Scott Pruitt, and Jeff Sessions.

Kevin Roberts (6:47)

Fast forward to December 2021, Kevin Roberts was appointed to serve as president of the Heritage Foundation. Then, in September 2023, he was appointed to serve as president of Heritage Action, which is the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation.

In January 2024, Roberts stated that he didn't believe Joe Biden actually won the election. And he also said that he saw his organization's role as institutionalizing Trumpism. He's continued to assert that there was massive voter fraud in 2020, even though no substantial evidence has been found.

In fact, he was presented with data from the Heritage Foundation's own database, which indicated there were just 1,513 proven instances of voter fraud in the United States since 1982. And his response to this was, and I quote, "Voter fraud is very hard to document, and the Democrat Party is very good at fraud." 

So, with all that background in mind, this stunad established Project 2025 in 2022. And as we talked about upfront, this edition of Mandate for Leadership was published in April 2023. Edited by Paul Dans and Steven Groves, it consists of 30 chapters and is 920 pages long.

It was written by hundreds of conservatives and, as NBC notes, Project 2025's board of more than 80 conservative organizations includes nearly 40 that have received funding from dark money groups linked to Leonardo Leo, a major right-wing donor who influenced the shaping of the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority under Trump.

An Overview of Project 2025 (8:24)

Now, obviously, it would be a lot to cover 920 pages of conservative bullshit babble, but some of the key elements of Project 2025, which we should be aware of include:

A push for Christian nationalism.

Abandoning strategies that combat climate change.

And this includes abolishing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which the project calls and, this is a quote, "one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry."

Economic reform.

Which some claim vary in their degree of radicalism.

A dramatic reduction in the federal government's role in education. 

Since they cite quote-unquote, woke propaganda as a major concern. This includes allowing an $18 billion federal fund for low-income students to expire, which would result in those responsibilities falling to the states.

The federal government would no longer investigate schools for signs of disparate impacts of disciplinary measures on the basis of race or ethnicity. Free school meals and the Head Start Program, which provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families would be eliminated.

But hey, let's make sure we're spending money to put those Ten Commandments in every classroom.

It also encourages the future president to ensure that any research conducted with taxpayer dollars serves the national interest in a concrete way in line with conservative principles. Sounds like a dictatorship to me.

Another key element is the expansion of presidential powers.

Specifically, Kevin Roberts argues that the notion of independent federal agencies or federal employees who don't answer to the president violates the very foundation of our democratic republic.

Project 2025 seeks to place the entire executive branch of the US federal government under direct presidential control, eliminating the independence of the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and other agencies.

It also proposes that all Department of State employees in leadership roles should be dismissed by the end of the day on January 20, 2025. And, if this is implemented, congressional approval would not be required for the sale of military equipment and ammunition to a foreign nation unless unanimous congressional support is guaranteed.

And given the recent Supreme Court ruling that presidents are given some level of immunity, this is quite alarming.

There are also proposed cuts to federal funding for transit agencies across the nation.

In the form of the capital investment grants program. And this includes the Federal Transit Administration, which is one of ten modal administrations within the Department of Transportation and provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems.

Now, obviously, that's just a high-level view of the full 920 pages.

Project 2025 and LGBTQ+ Rights (11:12)

And as terrifying as all of that may sound, it's even scarier when you consider how Project 2025 views LGBTQ+ rights.

First off, it wants to remove the role of the Department of Health and Human Services in shaping sex education in the United States.

And as we previously talked about, there is a lack of inclusive sex education already. So, removing it altogether will be even more dangerous.

Project 2025 also wants to outlaw pornography.

And argues that pornography amounts to promoting sexual deviancy, the sexualization of children and the exploitation of women. Which I'm surprised by that one because Trump never had a problem exploiting any woman before.

Additionally, criminal persecution is recommended for individuals and companies producing pornography.

And this is problematic, one because they're creating a correlation between porn and sexual deviancy, and they already consider LGBTQ+ individuals to be sexual deviants. And two, consenting, LGBTQ+ adults are more likely to be employed as sex workers.

From a law enforcement standpoint, Project 2025 promotes the death penalty for what they describe as particularly heinous crimes.

Such as pedophilia. And while it's a terrible stereotype, we all know that conservatives love to liken LGBTQ+ people to pedophiles. And keep in mind Project 2025 already said they want to eliminate the independence of the Department of Justice.

So, if that's the case, how exactly are these rulings going to be decided? And one more question, do you think they'll hold up this punishment accordingly for all the Catholic priests who abuse children?

Regarding health care and public health, the mandate also accuses the Biden administration of undermining the traditional nuclear family. 

And wants to reform the Department of Health and Human Services so that this household structure is promoted. This includes having federal health care providers deny gender affirming care to transgender people, and dramatically reforming the National Institutes of Health by making it easier to fire employees and to remove DEI programs.

Regarding foreign affairs, the Heritage Foundation considers the US Agency for International Development to have a and this is a quote, "divisive political and cultural agenda that promotes abortion, climate extremism, gender radicalism and interventions against perceived systemic racism." Also, in case you are wondering, the US Agency for International Development is an independent agency of the United States government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance.

As such, Project 2025 asserts that the agency's work would be dramatically curtailed, and the word gender would be systematically purged from all of its programs and documents.

And lastly, Project 2025 attacks what it calls the radical gender ideology and promotes the idea that the government should maintain a biblically based, social science-reinforced definition of marriage and family. So, it proposes the recognition of only heterosexual men and women, and the removal of protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual or gender identity.

Not only is this a threat to LGBTQ+ couples looking to get married, but it could put the legal status of already married LGBTQ+ couples in jeopardy. Additionally, for LGBTQ+ couples who want to have children, this is a serious threat to those avenues, either through adoption, surrogacy, or else.

And for LGBTQ+ couples who already have children, this could impose risk to them retaining custody of their own children.

Taking it a step further, the mandate calls for the elimination of provisions pertaining to DEI from federal legislation. And it actually calls DEI state-sanctioned racism. Additionally, federal employees who have participated in DEI programs or any initiatives involving critical race theory might be fired.

The White House Gender Policy Council, which was established in January 2021 by President Biden to advance gender equity and equality in both domestic and foreign policy development and implementation, would be disbanded.

Additionally, public school teachers who want to use transgender students' preferred pronouns would have to obtain written permission from their parents. And government agencies would be forbidden from instituting quotas and collecting statistics on gender, race, or ethnicity.

Excerpts from Project 2025 (15:31)

And as much as I hate it to do this, I did browse through the full PDF of Project 2025 to see some specific mentions of the LGBTQ+ community. And here's some excerpts:

“The next conservative Administration should dismantle USAID’s DEI apparatus by eliminating the Chief Diversity Officer position along with the DEI advisers and committees; cancel the DEI scorecard and dashboard; remove DEI requirements from contract and grant tenders and awards; issue a directive to cease promotion of the DEI agenda, including the bullying LGBTQ+ agenda; and provide staff a confidential medium through which to adjudicate cases of political retaliation that agency or implementing staff suffered during the Biden Administration. It should eliminate funding for partners that promote discriminatory DEI practices and consider debarment in egregious cases.”

“The next HHS secretary should also reverse the Biden Administration’s focus on “‘LGBTQ+ equity,’ subsidizing single-motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage,” replacing such policies with those encouraging marriage, work, motherhood, fatherhood, and nuclear families.” "Bureaucrats at the Department of Justice force school districts to undermine girls’ sports and parents’ rights to satisfy transgender extremists.”

“Families comprised of a married mother, father, and their children are the foundation of a well-ordered nation and healthy society. Unfortunately, family policies and programs under President Biden’s HHS are fraught with agenda items focusing on “LGBTQ+ equity,” subsidizing single-motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage. These policies should be repealed and replaced by policies that support the formation of stable, married, nuclear families.”

And I'm sorry, did Trump ever have a stable marriage or nuclear family? I don't think so. Anyway, here's another excerpt:

“While in theory the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers aims to support family members with duties to care for older family members, the plan is overly focused on racial and “LGBTQ+ equity.” The strategy should be examined to establish an efficient plan to support caregivers and their families.”

“Practical reforms to enhance the Secretary of Health and Human Services’s accountability should include the following: Investigate, expose, and remediate any instances in which HHS violated people’s rights by:

 1. Colluding with Big Tech to censor dissenting opinions during COVID.

 2. Colluding with abortion advocates and LGBT advocates to violate conscience-protection laws and the Hyde Amendment.”

“The Biden Administration, LGBT advocates, and some federal courts have attempted to expand the scope and definition of sex discrimination, based in part on the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. Bostock held that “an employer who fires someone simply for being homosexual or transgender” violates Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination. The Court explicitly limited its holding to the hiring/firing context in Title VII and did not purport to address other Title VII issues, such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and dress codes, or other laws prohibiting sex discrimination. Notably, the Court focused on the status of the employees and used the term “transgender status” rather than the broader and amorphous term “gender identity.”

And here's a few action items Project 2025 recommends regarding that:

“Restrict the application of Bostock.

·       The new Administration should restrict Bostock’s application of sex discrimination protections to sexual orientation and transgender status in the context of hiring and firing.

 Withdraw unlawful “notices” and “guidances.”

·       The President should direct agencies to withdraw unlawful “notices” and “guidances” purporting to apply Bostock’s reasoning broadly outside hiring and firing.

Rescind regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, and sex characteristics.

·       The President should direct agencies to rescind regulations interpreting sex discrimination provisions as prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, sex characteristics, etc.

 Direct agencies to refocus enforcement of sex discrimination laws.

·       The President should direct agencies to focus their enforcement of sex discrimination laws on the biological binary meaning of “sex.”

Stop Project 2025 (19:50)

Yeah, so I'm terrified, and you should be too. But just because we're scared doesn't mean we should sit back and let this happen.

Fortunately, on June 11, 2024, Jared Huffman, the US representative for California's second congressional district since 2013, launched the Stop Project 2025 Task Force led by a group of House Democrats.

Additionally, MoveOn, a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee, started a petition calling for Republicans in Congress to publicly reject Project 2025. It has a goal of receiving 35,000 signatures. And as of recording this, it has close to 31,000.

And I signed it. It takes five seconds, so I've included the link in the show notes. When you're done listening to this, go sign it yourself and send it to your friends and family to sign, as well.

Now, just a quick warning though, after you submit your signature, it does automatically populate a page for you to donate if you're interested. But you don't have to donate. You can just close out the page, and your signature will still be recorded. You'll get a notice of the recorded signature first before that page pops up.

Also, like we talked about in the Obergefell v Hodges episode, send your state senator an email urging them to pass the Equality Act to cover critical gaps in non-discrimination laws. I've included a link to that in the show notes as well.

And make sure your friends and family are aware of what another Trump presidency can result in. Share this episode with them. Tell them about Project 2025. Make sure they know what exactly they're voting for. And most importantly, make sure you get out and vote.

Episode Closing (21:21)

And I know this is another disappointing election year. Like, really America, these two dinosaurs are the best we can do?

And I've seen people I follow share on social media that even though they're anti-Trump, they're not voting for Biden either because of a number of things, including how he's handled the war in Gaza.

And I understand what they're saying. I don't like how Biden has handled a number of things, too. And as of recording this, I saw on the news this morning that a number of House Democrats are sitting down with Biden to kind of urge him to step down from running, given his poor performance in the recent debate.

No update on that yet. I'm hoping that maybe he'll get a reality check and step down and that the Democrats can put up a stronger candidate.

But at the end of the day, if Biden ends up being the Democratic nominee, I don't view voting for him as giving him a trophy or an award. I view voting for him as protecting me. Believe me, he's not my first choice by any means.

But we have already seen the damage the Trump administration has done in four years. And Trump and his flunkies were very unorganized in that four years. They have some more common sense now. And they also have the Heritage Foundation backing them up with this 925-page mandate, which is a blueprint for basically launching fascism in America and ending democracy as we know it.

So shit is getting real, and as damaging as the Trump administration was in those four years, another four years will be detrimental to our freedoms. And don't forget, Trump appointed three extremely conservative Supreme Court justices.

And we've seen the impact that has had on significant rulings like 303 Creative LLC versus Elenis, which allows businesses to discriminate against gay customers, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and like we mentioned at the beginning of the episode, the more recent ruling which grants the president certain levels of immunity.

I personally feel that the Trump administration's rhetoric really riled this country up and empowered those extremely racist, homophobic bigots to feel that they have the right to spread hate. And when other conservative politicians saw that Trump's antics really resonated with this audience, they latched on to that extremist rhetoric, which has led us to Project 2025 and wants to turn America into a fascist society where MAGA fanatics can wreak whatever havoc they want.

So yeah, Biden is not my first choice. But I know that voting for Biden isn't just voting for the president. It's voting for an administration. It's voting for potentially a new Supreme Court Justice. It's voting for pushing back against fascism. It's ultimately voting for more than just one person.

Now, obviously, I can't tell you who to vote for. But really, make sure you educate yourself and weigh your options, and take some form of action to advocate for our community. Because we can't stay silent. There is just too much at risk here.

And connecting it back to the tarot, Six of Swords in reverse. This is indicating we might be going through a transformation in our lives, and it might be pushing us outside our comfort zones. And as a result, it's going to remind us to leave things behind that are no longer serving us to continue our journey forward. 

So that might mean moving to Canada in 2025, I don't know.

But in all seriousness, Six of Swords comes up right after five, the conflict number. And this card is a sign that we are beginning to move on from conflict. Now again, obviously, when we draw this card in reverse, it's telling us that we may be having difficulty moving on.

And obviously, yeah, it's hard to move forward towards complete equality when we have these crazy conservative extremists just trying to turn everything into a Christian state where if you don't follow the Bible to a T, you don't have any rights, despite separation of church and state.

And putting ourselves out there, being vulnerable, speaking up for our rights, showing up at the voting polls, you know, having hard conversations with our family and friends to understand politics that are affecting us, it's uncomfortable. But now is really the time where we need to put ourselves out there, obviously making sure that we're safe, but putting ourselves out there and putting our concerns out there so that those around us, especially our straight allies, who may not realize how much is actually at risk for LGBTQ+ people can start to understand what's going on and what they're voting for this year.

So, I'm sorry for a depressing episode. I know this is stressful. I'm feeling stressed myself. But again, it's really important that we are informed and aware of what is being put out there and what we are voting for because it is not just one person we're voting for. It is an entire administration. It's an entire legacy. It could potentially be the future of our democracy that we're voting for.

So, make sure you're informed, share this episode with some family and friends, make sure that they are aware of Project 2025 and what they're voting for.

You know, I sometimes think straight people think that oh, well, you know, there's not so many things in politics that affect us day to day. And yeah, for marginalized communities like LGBTQ+ people, it sucks, there are some rights up for grabs there. But I mean, it's it's a small group that has to deal with it.

No. I mean, one, that's a terrible way of thinking. But two, Project 2025, while it is very scary for what they're saying about LGBTQ+ rights, this is going to impact the entire nation. Gay, straight, male, female, regardless of race, regardless of gender, regardless of wealth status, regardless of religion, whatever. 

They're talking about going after federal agencies. They're talking about turning the executive branch into a sole dictatorship. So, there is a lot at stake here.

So, share this with them. Make sure they're informed. Do your research. Sign the petitions we talked about. And educate your straight allies.

Connect with A Jaded Gay (26:33)

So, as always, thanks for bearing with me through this episode. Thank you for listening. I greatly appreciate it. Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe.

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And remember, every day is all we have, so you got to make your own happiness.

Mmm-bye.