Thomas Zimmer on what's at stake in the 2024 election"
"This isn't actually about Biden versus Trump. It's basically a referendum on whether or not an effort at achieving a democratic pluralistic multiracial society should be continued or abolished altogether. It's basically thumbs up or down on, on democratic self government and the civil rights order."
If Dems improve their messaging & targeted ads, they should win more Congressional seats, & others down ballot. The Republicans' agenda, esp. cutting the social safety net, including beloved programs, & enforcing even part of #Project2025, would likely ensure Dems the US House. Senate: more difficult. New Survey:
#TFG succeeds with racism & xenophobia. Most LE support him, as was the case in MI when some endorsed him.
"Why LE provides TFG cover... #Project2025 agenda to enlist the local police & to employ red state NG troops to blue cities to round up migrants & send them to deportation camps🚨is undoubtedly a huge hit with the faithful. He made the promise in MI, declaring that "we have to get the law & order back" as soon as he stood in front of the LE officers who applauded-." https://www.salon.com/2024/04/03/why-the-police-are-providing-cover-for-jan-6/
Lisa Needham notes that Republicans pushing Project 2025 are now out and proud about their plan to make Trump president for life:
"Republicans want to permanently enshrine their minority policies into law despite the fact that what they want is broadly unpopular. … Project 25 is all about enacting minority rule in America immediately upon Trump’s election."
The 2nd to last bullet point on page 214 of the PDF that basically is the project 2025 playbook would have made George H.W. Bush’s terms as VP and President impossible.
That’s 16 years of gop in powerful positions they want to never have happen (because they haven’t thought things through).
Not only is #project2025 undemocratic, destructive and without merit or saving grace, it is also deeply shortsighted, thoughtless and foolish.
If Donald Trump returns to the White House, close allies want to dramatically change the government's interpretation of #Civil#Rights-era laws to💥 focus on "anti-white racism" 💥rather than discrimination against people of color.
Trump's Justice Department would push to #eliminate or #upend programs in government and corporate America that are designed to counter racism that has favored whites.
Targets would range from decades-old policies aimed at giving minorities economic opportunities, to more recent programs that began in response to the pandemic and the killing of George Floyd.
Trump campaign spokesperson #Steven#Cheung told Axios: "As President Trump has said, all staff, offices, and initiatives connected to Biden's un-American policy will be immediately #terminated."
Longtime aides and allies preparing for a potential second Trump administration have been laying legal groundwork with a flurry of lawsuits and legal complaints — some of which have been successful.
A central vehicle for the effort has been #America#First#Legal, founded by former Trump aide #Stephen#Miller, who has called the group conservatives' "long-awaited answer to the ACLU."
America First cited the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in February in a lawsuit against CBS and Paramount Global for what the group argued was discrimination against a white, straight man who was a writer for the show "Seal Team" in 2017.
In February, the group filed a civil rights complaint against the NFL over its "Rooney Rule."
The rule — named for Dan #Rooney, late owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers — was instituted in 2003 and expanded in 2022.
It requires NFL teams to interview at least two minority candidates for vacant general manager, head coach and coordinator positions.
American First argued that "given the limited time frame to hire executives and coaches after the season, this results in fewer opportunities for similarly situated, well-qualified candidates who are not minorities."
In 2021, Miller's group successfully sued to block the implementation of a $29 billion pandemic-era program for women- and minority-owned restaurants, saying it discriminated against white-owned businesses.
"This ruling is the first, but crucial, step towards ending government-sponsored racial discrimination," Miller said then.
Other Trump-aligned groups are preparing for a future Trump Justice Department to implement — or challenge — policies on a broader scale.
The #Heritage#Foundation's well-funded "#Project2025" envisions a second Trump administration ending what it calls "affirmative discrimination."
Part of the plan, written by former Trump Justice Department official #Gene#Hamilton, argues that "advancing the interests of certain segments of American society ... comes at the expense of other Americans — and in nearly all cases violates longstanding federal law."
Hamilton is America First Legal's general counsel.
Such groups have gained momentum with the #Supreme#Court's turn to the right
— most notably its recent rejection of affirmative action in college admissions.
The court ruled that programs designed to benefit people of color and address past injustices discriminate against white and Asian Americans.
In 2021, a federal judge blocked a $4 billion program to help Black farmers
#TFG is "impune". He/ #Project2025 promise Christian Nationalists (& others) power.
"Trump’s announcement: now peddling something called the “God Bless the USA Bible” drew outrage from some religious figures, but one group that’s been conspicuously quiet about it lately is evangelical leaders. He's begun making subtle promises to them that we absolutely must not ignore. There're unsettling new ways he's signaling a 2nd term shaped around ideals of #ChristianNationalism. https://newrepublic.com/article/180287/trumps-weird-usa-bible-scam-takes-dark-unsettling-turn
Via Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast
3:50 PM · Mar 30, 2024
"I spent a lot of time reading about project 2025 and now honestly I’m kind of completely freaked out."
Via @rilkeanhearts (?)
7:43 PM · Mar 30, 2024
"I recommend at least reading the Wikipedia page. Share it with friends and family. There was a poll which found 80% of Americans were ignorant of Trumps authoritarian plans and intentions."
I wanted to find some discussion from #RuthBenGhiat regarding #Project2025. Here she does lay out the (violent authoritarian) plans but not using that specific term.
Highly recommend this. #Project2025 has a context, which @tzimmer_history lays out, and represents the many factions aligning around major plans and agendas for remaking federal government should Trump win another term — but goes far beyond him in its aspirations. Mainstream #Journalism needs to do much more to report on, contextualize, etc. #USPol#2024electionhttps://mastodon.social/
Project 2025 partner floats repealing the 22nd Amendment and allowing Trump to serve a third term
The American Conservative, a right-wing blog and Project 2025 partner, published an article 💥advocating to repeal the 22nd Amendment💥 so that Donald Trump would be able to serve a #third#term.
The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, limits a president to serving two terms. It was adopted after former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to a third and fourth term amid public concerns about a “long-term president.”
An article headlined “Trump 2028” published in The American Conservative advocates for the amendment’s repeal so that Trump could be eligible to serve a third term should he win the 2024 election.
The American Conservative is a partner of #Project2025, the conservative movement’s comprehensive transition plan for the next Republican presidency. Project 2025
— organized and led by The Heritage Foundation, a leading right-wing think tank
— is a policy and staffing initiative that threatens to weaken democracy, significantly roll back civil rights, and exacerbate climate change, among other issues.
#Peter#Tonguette, a contributing writer to the Washington Examiner who also regularly writes for The American Conservative, dubiously argues in his piece that the drafters of the 22nd Amendment could not have anticipated a president who would serve nonconsecutive terms, a possibility that he argues is a reflection of Trump’s supposedly unique popularity.
(Polls show that the majority of Americans have an unfavorable view of the former president.)
He says voters should not be “denied the freedom” to elect him to a third term.
(“No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned … It has become clear that this appointment undermines that goal.”)
Funny — the journalists who spoke up said McDaniel’s departure was required to
🔸preserve their journalistic mission and the network’s credibility,
🔸not out of any need for “alignment.”
We can only hope that NBC and other news organizations take away something more than “don’t hire a MAGA mouthpiece”
A few ideas:
• Create a #mission#statement that affirms your goals are telling the #truth and defending #democracy, which protects the First Amendment — not fake balance. • #Stop#pretending four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump and his movement are presenting #alternative “#policies” as a normal party would. They are fighting for an alternate system: authoritarianism. • Politicians’ outright #lies must be identified, not just labeled as their “response” or “position.” • Instead of obsessing over #polls, devote extensive coverage to #analyzing the Heritage Foundation’s “#Project2025” and Trump’s #fascist#agenda. Feature #historians and political #scientists during news segments (not only on panels) to put Trump’s views and statements in context. • #Don’t excerpt a few words from a Trump rally or speech, dub it an “argument” and #ignore his mental short-circuits and #deteriorating#intellect.
Mike Johnson says if #Trump wins and Republicans expand their House majority and take the Senate, he has already spoken with Trump about making “big radical changes,”“aggressive changes” to the govt in first 100 days.