Project 2025: My Interpretation

 

This past summer I've been hearing a lot about Project 2025 (conservative proposals for downsizing the Federal government and a wish list of policies).  I decided to find out for myself how “extreme” it is.  And since I wanted to form my own opinion, I read all 900+ PDF pages. (Okay, I skimmed some of it.)    

 

I took a lot of notes, did some fact checking, and made numerous snarky comments to myself.  But for this bonus blog post, I wanted to dig deeper and try to understand the purpose behind Project 2025.  Why do these conservatives advocate for the policies that they do?  What is their world view?  

 

Below is my interpretation of Project 2025’s major topics.  I use a lot of quotes, but it's not unbiased, and it's not nonpartisan.  Please don't take offense.  Most Americans polled by yougov.com don't like it's more extreme proposals either. 

 

For a more formal analysis, check out this nonpartisan summary by Snopes.com (The Facts About Project 2025: The Pro-Trump Proposal To 'Reshape America').  Or FactCheck.org's A Guide to Project 2025.   

 

Recurring Themes 

As all-encompassing as the document is, I noticed some recurring themes throughout:   

• The Federal Government is a “behemoth” and it's waging war on conservatives and conservative values.  Decentralize and privatize as much as possible.  
• Give more power to a president who is sympathetic to their priorities and can implement them. 
• Be able to appoint people who agree with them and fire those that don't, with no interference from Congress or anyone else.   
• Eliminate agencies that they don't like or at least weaken them.   
• Eliminate policies that they don't like (e.g. DEI, climate change, abortion, LGBTQ+ protections) 
• Seal the border and try not to let anyone in.  Detain and deport those immigrants already here.   
• Ignore climate change.  Not the government's responsibility. 
• Put more money into building up weapons of war (especially nuclear warheads) and less money into everything else.  Unless it has a religious aspect to it.   
• Push policies that promote their Christian conservative values. 

Their Beliefs 

 

Abortion 

They want a national abortion ban, "push as hard as possible to protect the unborn in every jurisdiction in America."    

 

They want the FDA to retract it's previous approval of mifepristone (one of two pills used in a medical abortion).  Or at least make it illegal to mail it (especially to red states with an abortion ban). 

 

In addition to other contraceptives, they want to eliminate the week after (aka morning after) pill from ACA coverage.  They say it’s a "close cousin" to the abortion pill mifepristone.  (It's actually an emergency contraceptive that temporarily prevents ovulation.  It has no effect on an already fertilized egg.)   

 

They don't believe abortion is part of women's healthcare. They want to monitor women's abortions, miscarriages, stillbirths, and treatments that cause the death of a child (like chemotherapy).  "HHS should use every available tool, including the cutting of funds, to ensure that every state reports exactly how many abortions take place within its borders, at what gestational age of the child, for what reason, the mother's state of residence, and by what method."   

 

Education 

They want to shut down the Department of Education (DOE) because it's run by a bunch of woke lefties and it doesn't listen to parents.  They think the DOE injects "racist, anti-American, ahistorical propaganda" into the classrooms.   "Congress should shutter it and return education to the states."  Or at the very least stop telling children they can choose their own sex, and that America is "systemically racist". 

 

They think Critical Race Theory (CRT) spreads discrimination against whites and those who support it believe racism is appropriate, even necessary.  (CRT is an academic field to understand the nature of race and racism in the United States.) 

 

Energy 

The Department of Energy should end the "unprovoked war on fossil fuels".  They don't like those "eyesore windmills" and don't want to drive electric cars.  Extreme "green" policies are taking away our fossil fuel dominance and independence.  Let the private sector take over energy from the government, including carbon capture technology and innovation. 

 

DEI 

They believe Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies are discriminatory against Christian conservatives and cause a hostile work environment for those that don't agree.   

 

Rescind interpretation of sex to include "sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, and sex characteristics".  And we must eliminate the terms "sexual orientation and gender identity, diversity, equity and inclusion, gender, gender equality, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights and many other terms used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights, out of every rule, federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists."   

 

Family 

They are big into family, but it has to be the right kind.  Marriage, between a man and a woman, with (preferably) biological children.  Prioritize funds for stay-at-home moms who take care of children rather than universal daycare (full of abuse anyway). 

 

Married people should stay together.  They seem to think non-marriage arrangements are likely to result in child abuse. 

 

Eliminate the Head Start Program (preschool care for low income families).  It’s full of scandal and (child) abuse and doesn't do any good, "little or no long-term academic value" (plus it cost money).   

 

Immigration 

Ideally, they would like to close the border and not let anyone in.  "Gang violence and domestic violence are not grounds for asylum".    

 

They would like continuous monitoring of aliens, more detention centers, have military help patrol the border, and asylum seekers pay their own fees.  Deport or detain unaccompanied minors to discourage them from coming.  Deport DACA participants as that is an illegal program.  And change Title 8 so aliens "shall" be detained, not "may" be detained.  No paroles unless really necessary.   

 

Public Media 

Defund public broadcasting like NPR and PBS.  Too liberal and no profit in it. 

 

Transgenderism 

They really don't like transgender people and target them the most (now that they've lost the war on homosexuality).  It goes against what some societies believe and promotes "outright bias against men".  And poor unsuspecting people are being pressured into changing their sex. 

 

The term "gender" now used by those seeking to alter "biological and societal sexual norms", subsidize single-motherhood, disincentivize work, and penalize marriage. 

 

They want to "reverse policies that allow transgender individuals (and HIV people) to serve in the military.  Gender dysphoria is incompatible with the demands of military service, and the use of public monies for transgender surgeries or to facilitate abortion for service members should be ended."   

 

"Children suffer the toxic normalization of transgenderism with drag queens and pornography invading their school libraries." (Drag Queen Story Hour events are usually geared toward children 3-11, and hosted by drag queens who read children's books to promote reading and diversity.) 

 

They believe pornography is used in transgender ideology and to sexualize children.  "Pornography should be outlawed.  The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned.  Educators and public librarians who purvey (supply) it should be classed as registered sex offenders."  (Child pornography is illegal in the United States under federal law and in all states.)