Welcome to the United States of Gilead. RIP Democracy.
As we navigate through 2024, it is alarming to witness the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and hate crimes. Even scarier is Project 2025, an ultra-conservative initiative poised to reshape American governance in ways that could severely impact LGBTQ+ rights and democracy itself.
The Heritage Foundation
Project 2025 emerged from the Heritage Foundation, a prominent conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, the Heritage Foundation has been a significant player in shaping U.S. public policy, particularly during Ronald Reagan's presidency. Since 1981, the Foundation has published Mandate for Leadership, a series of books offering conservative policy recommendations for incoming presidential administrations. This series has influenced various presidencies, including that of Donald Trump.
Initially, the Heritage Foundation was not a strong supporter of Trump. In 2015, the leader of Heritage Action, the Foundation’s lobbying arm, labeled Trump as a "clown," and critical voices within the Foundation questioned his conservative credentials. However, once Trump took office, the Foundation's influence surged, with at least 66 employees from its database joining his administration, including Betsy DeVos, Mick Mulvaney, Rick Perry, Scott Pruitt, and Jeff Sessions.
Kevin Roberts and the Rise of Project 2025
In December 2021, Kevin Roberts took over as president of the Heritage Foundation. Roberts, who would later lead Heritage Action, has been a vocal advocate for Trumpism. Despite evidence from the Heritage Foundation’s own database showing only 1,513 proven instances of voter fraud in the U.S. since 1982, Roberts has continued to promote claims of widespread voter fraud from the 2020 election.
Roberts launched Project 2025 in 2022, and its blueprint was published in April 2023. This edition of Mandate for Leadership was edited by Paul Dans and Steven Groves, spans 920 pages, and was crafted by hundreds of conservative thinkers. According to NBC, Project 2025’s board includes nearly 40 organizations funded by dark money linked to Leonardo Leo, a right-wing donor influential in shaping the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority under Trump.
Key Elements of Project 2025
Project 2025 outlines an expansive conservative agenda with potential repercussions for various facets of American society:
- Christian Nationalism: Project 2025 promotes Christian nationalism, advocating for policies and practices that align with a specific interpretation of Christian values.
- Climate Change Reversal: One of the most contentious proposals is the abolition of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which Project 2025 describes as “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.”
- Economic Overhaul: Proposed economic reforms are diverse and radical, aiming to reshape the economy according to conservative principles.
- Education Reforms: Citing concerns about "woke propaganda," Project 2025 seeks to drastically reduce federal involvement in education, including the elimination of an $18 billion fund for low-income students, shifting the responsibility to the states, and a halt to investigations into racial disparities in school discipline. Programs like free school meals and Head Start, which supports low-income children and families, would be eliminated.
- Expansion of Presidential Power: Project 2025 seeks to place the entire executive branch under direct presidential control, eroding the independence of agencies like the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and other agencies. It also includes provisions for dismissing all Department of State employees in leadership roles by January 20, 2025 and removing the need for congressional approval for military sales to foreign nations. Kevin Roberts argues that independent federal agencies or employees who do not answer directly to the president undermine the foundation of the democratic republic.
- Cuts to Federal Transit Funding: Project 2025 also proposes cuts to federal funding for transit agencies, particularly through the capital investment grants program. This would impact the Federal Transit Administration, which provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems.
Implications for LGBTQ+ Rights
Furthermore, Project 2025 poses grave threats to LGBTQ+ rights:
- Removal of HHS Role in Sex Education: Project 2025 aims to eliminate the Department of Health and Human Services' role in shaping sex education in the United States. This is alarming because there is already a lack of inclusive sex education, and removing federal involvement could worsen the situation, leaving many without critical, inclusive information.
- Outlawing Pornography: Project 2025 proposes outlawing pornography, arguing that it promotes sexual deviancy, the sexualization of children, and the exploitation of women. This is particularly concerning given that LGBTQ+ individuals are often unjustly labeled as sexual deviants. Additionally, many consenting LGBTQ+ adults work in the sex industry, and criminalizing pornography would disproportionately affect them.
- Death Penalty for Heinous Crimes: Project 2025 promotes the death penalty for particularly heinous crimes, such as pedophilia. This is troubling because conservatives often falsely equate LGBTQ+ individuals with pedophiles. Coupled with the proposed elimination of the Department of Justice's independence, this raises questions about how such rulings would be determined.
- Health Care and Public Health: Project 2025 accuses the Biden administration of undermining the traditional nuclear family and seeks to reform the Department of Health and Human Services to promote this household structure. This includes denying gender-affirming care to transgender people and dramatically reforming the National Institutes of Health by making it easier to fire employees and eliminate DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs.
- Foreign Affairs: In foreign affairs, Project 2025 criticizes the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for promoting a "divisive political and cultural agenda" that includes gender radicalism. The project asserts that USAID's work should be dramatically curtailed, and the term "gender" should be systematically removed from its programs and documents.
- Attack on Gender Ideology: Project 2025 attacks what it calls "radical gender ideology" and promotes a biblically based, social science-reinforced definition of marriage and family. This means recognizing only heterosexual men and women and removing protections against discrimination based on sexual or gender identity. This threatens LGBTQ+ couples looking to marry, potentially jeopardizes the legal status of already married LGBTQ+ couples, and poses significant challenges for LGBTQ+ couples wishing to have children through adoption, surrogacy, or other means. Furthermore, this could pose a threat to custody rights for LGBTQ+ couples with children.
- Disbanding the White House Gender Policy Council: Project 2025 proposes disbanding the White House Gender Policy Council, established in January 2021 by President Biden to advance gender equity and equality. It also suggests that public school teachers must obtain written permission from parents to use transgender students' preferred pronouns and that government agencies should be forbidden from instituting quotas and collecting statistics on gender, race, or ethnicity. Additionally, it calls for the elimination of DEI provisions from federal legislation, labeling DEI as state-sanctioned racism. Federal employees who have participated in DEI programs or initiatives involving critical race theory could be fired.
Taking Action Against Project 2025
On June 11, 2024, Representative Jared Huffman launched the Stop Project 2025 Task Force, supported by House Democrats. Additionally, MoveOn has initiated a petition urging Republicans to reject Project 2025, with the goal of 35,000 signatures nearing completion.
While the measures proposed in Project 2025 are terrifying, the LGBTQ+ community and our allies cannot stay silent. It’s crucial to take action:
- Sign the petition urging Republicans to reject Project 2025
- Email your state senator, advocating for the Equality Act to address gaps in non-discrimination laws
- Inform your friends and family about the implications of another Trump presidency
Defend Democracy and Protect LGBTQ+ Rights
The threat posed by Project 2025 extends beyond LGBTQ+ rights to the core of American democracy. It’s imperative to stay informed, advocate for the community, and vote. Share this information, educate your allies, and most importantly, make your voice heard at the polls. The stakes are high, and our collective action is crucial to protecting our rights and our democracy.
And remember. Every day is all we have, so you've got to make your own happiness.
For more information on this topic, listen to Episode 112. Project 2025.
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