It's Fascism With a Capital F

Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants. Let's see what 14 minutes of speaking with the President of the Heritage Foundation looks like, shall we?

In a word: yikes.

But here's the thing the Kevin Robertses of the world don't understand. The vast majority of Americans live outside the conservative bubble. While Roberts would like nothing better than to inject his own personal beliefs into the lives of 340 million Americans, that's not how it works in this country. Heritage can lay out this blueprint for the likes of Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, and Stephen Miller to squee over but for it to become law they need 270 electoral votes. And to get 270 electoral votes you need to capture not only your own base but independents as well. Go too far right or left and you've lost them. But staying the course with a generally centrist view of governing and there's no reason you can't win their vote. 

Project 2025 is so ridiculously hard right that it would make the ghost of Hitler blush.

Replacing 50,000 nonpartisan employees with Trump loyalists. Refusing to acknowledge the results of a free and fair election. Mass deportations for all 11 million undocumented immigrants. A nationwide abortion ban. This is basically a laundry list of everything that the Far Right has wanted to accomplish since Ronald Reagan's presidency. The only difference is that now with control of the Supreme Court, Republicans feel that they are closer than ever to enacting these policies. Win in 2024 and they get to reshape the American government in the Christofascist haven they've wanted for the past half century. 

Again, this plays well on Newsmax and Fox News. Charlie Kirk sees nothing wrong with this. Kellyanne Conway will likely blame liberals for fear-mongering about what she would call some simple "policy proposals" and nothing more. When Kevin Roberts speaks on behalf of the Heritage Foundation, he is speaking on behalf of a group that now rivals CPAC in terms of just how far right they've turned over the past 8 years. His members are the same ones touring the country from one failed Trump rally to the next. Like Roberts, they believe that post-birth abortion is somehow a thing. When Roberts goes into the lion's den on MSNBC and shares his vision for Project 2025, they stand up and applaud in their homes. They see nothing wrong with what he and the Heritage Foundation are proposing. 

Independent voters do.

That is what Roberts and his ilk don't understand. Republican voters are pot-committed to the party's unabashed fascism. They're fully onboard. But, believe it or not, independent voters are not. Independent voters don't want the removal of 50,000 nonpartisan government officials. Independent voters don't want the mass deportation of 11 million Americans, the overwhelming majority of whom work blue-collar jobs that American-born workers refuse to do. Independent voters don't want to force women to give birth. And independent voters don't want to support a party that will again refuse to acknowledge the democratic processes undergone in a free and fair election.

Despite what A.G. Sulzberger of the New York Times will tell you, democracy is the central issue at play in the 2024 election. Through partners like the Heritage Foundation, Republicans are making it clear that they no longer value the norms and standards of our constitutional republic. But while Republicans are all in on Project 2025, it is independent voters who will ultimately decide this election. As horrifying as the possibility of a second Trump presidency is, it is equally horrifying to think what that same presidency would look like trying to implement Project 2025. Independent voters are always considering the differences between the two candidates and with the current Biden/Harris Administration versus Project 2025 they now have two distinct versions of what the country could look like at this point next year. It all comes down to which version resonates most with independent voters. 

And seeing just how extreme Project 2025 truly is will land a significant number of them in the Democrats' corner come November. 

***

Like what you're reading? Never miss another post! Get notified via email here.

Donate at the link below to keep us going.