Editor’s Note: The article below first appeared in David Corn’s newsletter, Our Land. The newsletter is published twice a week, most of the time, and contains articles and stories about politics, culture, media and behind-the scenes. Subscribers pay $5 per month, but you can try Our Land for free for 30 days. Plus, David Corn’s American Psychosis : A Historical Investigation […]
At the Iowa State Fair last month, a representative of Project 2025— a conservative organization gearing up for an eventual Trump presidency— was enlisting supporters. AP Charlie Neibergall
Note from the editor: The following article first appeared in David Corn’s newsletter, Our Land. The newsletter, which is published twice a week( most of the time ), offers behind-the-scenes accounts and articles on politics, the media, and culture. A free 30-day trial of Our Land is available here, but membership only costs$ 5 per month. Additionally, a new and expanded paperback edition of David Corn’s New York Times bestseller American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy has only been published.
The American democracy is in danger from an autocratic threat. Compared to Donald Trump and his tens of millions of fervent supporters, it poses a different threat. The right-wing infrastructure is the one that is openly plotting to undermine the checks and balances of our constitutional order and concentrate extraordinary power in the presidency. If successful and combined with a Trump( or other GOP ) victory in 2024, its efforts would set the country on the road to autocracy.
It is well known that Trump wants to be a warlord ruler. He frequently makes statements that show a desire to have complete control over the US government. His team has openly discussed his plans to consolidate government power in the White House should he win as the candidate launches a subsequent campaign for the office. According to a recent New York Times article, his team aims to” adjust the balance of power by enhancing the president’s authority over every aspect of the national government that currently functions, by law or tradition, with any degree of independence from political interference by the White House.” Trump touts authoritarian vision for next term, according to a story in The Washington Post published in April.
These plans call for changing the civic service regulations so that the White House could immediately fire tens of thousands of national employees, if not more. That would imply that Trump could fire governmental agency employees who do not swear allegiance to him or who question the validity or appropriateness of White House directives. If Trump or a subordinate requests that an IRS career established look over someone’s tax returns, that person might get pink-slipped.
However, this effort to reform the US government goes way beyond the irrational fantasies of a failed casino owner and his henchmen. The right-wing establishment as a whole, including its top think tanks and policy shops, is involved in the effort to give Trump or another Democratic president control over the federal government.
Conservatives have been in favor of removing the( metaphorical ) wall built after Watergate, which effectively prevents the president from having undue influence over the Justice Department’s decisions and its criminal and civil investigations. This would mean giving the White House direct control of the Department. Jeffrey Clark, the top Justice Department official who, unexpectedly, teamed up with Trump after the 2020 election to push the department to fraudulently assert that the election results were tainted, has been in charge of this accusation. As part of the criminal investigation into the allegations that Trump engaged in a” legal enterprise” to rig the previous election, Clark was indicted last month in Fulton County, Georgia. At the Center for Renewing America, a Washington, DC-based think tank run and staffed by Trump administration veterans, including Russell Vought, the previous head of the Office of Management and Budget, and Kash Patel, who worked for Trump at the National Security Council, Clark had been working on this Justice Department initiative.
The Center for Renewing America is only a small component of the autocratic operation of liberty for the right. A 1, 000-page report titled Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, which serves as a guide for an impending White House autocrat, was published by dozens of liberal organizations, led by the Heritage Foundation, as part of what they call Project 2025. They want to eliminate federal employee protections, which could result in the firing of up to 50,000 people and the replacement of Trump( or Republican ) supporters. This would be done while destroying the alleged” heavy state” bureaucracy and the” operational state.”
As was already mentioned, this would eliminate the civil service by firing knowledgeable and experienced governmental agency employees and replacing them with political hacks. We’re referring to EPA attorneys who might warn the White House that selling oil leases off socially delicate coastlands would be illegal. Or maybe a CIA analyst who compiles data indicating that the president’s actions could have unfavorable effects( such as information stating that bombing Mexico might lead to an immigration crisis)?
Project 2025 entails much more than just scrutinizing the polite service. It also calls for limiting the Justice Department’s independence and suggests increased prosecutions of people who mail abortion pills or distribute them. The project calls for repealing the Pentagon’s initiatives for diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as reversing climate change policies and economic regulations. The next president is urged to” maintain a biblically based, cultural science-reinforced definition of marriage and family” in one chapter on the Department of Health and Human Services. In other words, the equality of marriage should be the focus of the second chief executive.
A Heritage Foundation tradition is referenced in Project 2025. The far-right think tank produced its first Mandate for Leadership, a lengthy report outlining liberal proposals for the new administration, four decades ago when Ronald Reagan was elected president. A similar right-wing wish list can be found in Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership volume, but its overarching theme is the strengthening of presidential authority so that a probably conservative president could unilaterally impose righteous policies on the country. This is quite the turnabout for a movement that was previously defined by its cries against the evils of great government. It is evidence of how greatly Trump’s authoritarian tendencies have permeated the traditional universe.
The ambitions of a power-crazy indicted past president would come true with Project 2025. According to the Heritage Foundation, it is raising$ 22 million for the project, which will involve enlisting thousands of right-wingers to” flood the zone” of the federal government. This procedure might be risky and severe.
I was asked to talk about this initiative on MSNBC the various night. I read a variety of articles about the project and its unique content to get ready. But during the segment, I considered a especially risky scenario.
If Trump enters the White House again, he has previously vowed to pardon the January 6 attackers, rewarding and approving aggressive insurrectionists as well as domestic terrorists and seditionists. Imagine that Trump’s supporters organized fresh acts of political violence, whether in big or small numbers. Trump could order the Justice Department never to look into or prosecute these criminals under the proposals put forth by Project 2025, Jeffrey Clark, and others. He could defend the brownshirts who use violence against his rivals. Trump could also take the exact action in instances of election meddling or voter suppression. He could give the FBI instructions never to look into his family’s, his allies ‘, or his own businesses’ shady business dealings. He and his favorites would have complete freedom to break the law or help those who do. ( Refer to Vladimir Putin. )
Trump has repeatedly stated that he will bring charges against and imprison his opponents and critics using the Justice Department. That sounds like the typical Trump bluster. However, if he completely seizes control of the department and the federal law enforcement system, him and his supporters — including the violent ones — could get away with murder. Not to sound alarming, but maybe in a literal sense.
If Trump avoids prison and winds up back at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the structured right wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again. It has been said frequently that Trump failed to cause more harm to the country because he and his minions were ignorant. Even worse, it aims to institutionalize Trump’s propensity for authoritarianism. A support system is necessary for a mad-king ruler, and the Heritage Foundation and its partners are pleasantly working to create one for Trump.
To view the MSNBC segment in which we talked about Project 2025, click around.
Note from the editor: The following article first appeared in David Corn’s newsletter, Our Land. The newsletter, which is published twice a week( most of the time ), offers behind-the-scenes tales and articles about politics, the media, and culture. Although joining only costs$ 5 per month, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Our Land here. Additionally, British Psychosis: A Historical Investigation by David Corn
Editor’s Note: The article below first appeared in David Corn’s newsletter, Our Land. The newsletter is published twice a week, most of the time, and contains articles and stories about politics, culture, media and behind-the scenes. Subscribers pay $5 per month, but you can try Our Land for free for 30 days. Plus, David Corn’s American Psychosis : A Historical Investigation […]
At the Iowa State Fair last month, someone from Project 2025, which is a conservative organization preparing for the possibility of a Trump administration, was looking to get backers. Charlie Neibergall, ein Reporter von der Associated Press (AP), This piece of writing first appeared in Our Land, a newsletter written by David Corn. The newsletter is issued twice each week (generally speaking) and it furnishes coverage of the inner workings of politics, media, and culture. Joining Our Land for one month only costs $5–or you can get a free 30-day test period by registering here. According to David Corn’s American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy, a book that was recently featured in a new and extended paperback version, this hazard can be connected to the growth of the GOP. It is a distinct risk that is distinct from Donald Trump and his millions of devoted followers. Right-wing groups are making public plans to weaken the laws that check the power of the president and give them more authority than ever before.
