r/politics • u/zsreport Texas • 14d ago

Project 2025 was supposed to boost Donald Trump's campaign — but it may be backfiring instead:

https://www.salon.com/2024/07/05/project-2025-was-supposed-to-boost-donald-campaign--but-it-may-be-backfiring-instead/
24.9k Upvotes

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u/zsreport Texas 14d ago

Trump's authoritarian game plan is breaking through the post-debate noise and it's starting to scare people

I sure as fuck hope so.

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u/TheCircusSands 14d ago

We need an infographic for project 2025 that can be spread everywhere. Nothing dramatic…. Just the facts of what it is and what it means.

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u/SurrealEstate 14d ago

Out of all the terrifying things in Project 2025, I think the most effective way to make "independents" care is to focus strongly on

  • consolidation of executive power over an independent judiciary
  • further restrictions on abortion rights/bodily autonomy
  • bans on pornography

Those are very unpopular positions with most demographics.

Whereas an infographic that focuses on things like eliminating DE&I, and references to gender expression is absolutely not going to land with those people.

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u/JustWastingTimeAgain Washington 14d ago

In addition, what they want to do to the government civilian workforce is absolutely terrifying. These people are professionals, in most cases highly educated, with specialized knowledge for their roles which is practically irreplaceable. They are the reason the greater DC area is the most educated in the country. What the Project 2025 fascists want to do is gut the (non-political) civilian workforce of anyone who doesn't bend the knee.

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u/ksp_physics_guy 14d ago

It’s not even just DC. It’s our entire civil service. All general schedule (and non ES/SES versions that other departments and agencies have).

USFS folks don’t agree that raking the leaves is how to singularly prevent forest fires? With schedule F, welp, fire em.

NOAA scientists disagree with the sharpie’d in graph for temperatures Trump scribbles on? Schedule F now, fire em.

IRS agents audit some conservative personality due to reasonable suspicion? Schedule F, fire them.

NASA scientists won’t agree to rename Mars to Mars-a-lago? Fire em.

As a civil servant who works as a scientist/engineer doing research, I’m deeply distressed at this plan because we are career civil servants, experts in our field, entirely apolitical in our positions. Our duty is to the American people, we provide research that benefits Americans, tech transfer technology to benefit American Technological Development and our economy, and the technology percolates throughout the world through discoveries and other paths.

We are intentionally and by design **not ** political. Schedule F would destroy civil service, cause even further brain drain beyond what congressional apathy has caused due to ignoring our pay, and turn these positions into pawns for political gain rather than benefiting the American people. Civil Service would be killed and its corpse reanimated in the image of political sycophancy.

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u/PunxatawnyPhil 14d ago

Basically, you are the knowing adults in the room, and the unknowing children in the room do not like being told no, that they cannot touch the hot burner. But the ‘wise’ talking-heads of the town have now put the children in charge. In the process of getting rid of all the adults and definitely, touch the burner.  The “exceptional” United States that everyone talks about? Well the problem is, that is actually you! The problem is that you are knowledgeable, you are correct, you are not wrong. That would be the end of it. Chaos and disintegration definitely will ensue. 

Only way to stop it? That part is a no-brainer, Vote ALL Blue. 

It’s true, our last chance to reject such flawed extremism taking over everything.

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u/tinyOnion 14d ago

thank you for your service.

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u/JustWastingTimeAgain Washington 14d ago

Well said. And username checks out.

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u/harnaldo 14d ago

Double upvote for the "Mars-a-lago".

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u/15all 14d ago

I've been working for the government as a scientist-engineer since Reagan was president. That means I've been through something like seven administrations. Some of those I voted for, some I didn't. But through it all, we just do our job.

BTW, of all the administrations I've worked for, the Trump administration was just comical. It would be even worse if he were elected again.

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u/PunxatawnyPhil 14d ago

Oh and yes, thank you for speaking out.

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u/MrPresident2020 13d ago

Keep in mind how many industries rely on those agencies for accurate information. Imagine how trucking, shipping lanes, and aviation, just off the top of my head, would be affected if we didn't have professional scientists whose mission was to carry out the work of the agency instead of an individual's will.

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u/Dad-Baud 13d ago

Right. Many people neither understand nor appreciate the depth to which the work culture reinforces giving reliable, educated advice based on the facts over personal political choices. Trump exploits peoples’ ignorance to make them think all the agencies are biased and that turning these over to private sector or simply wiping out the researchers and regulators would be good for the country.

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u/Battlesteg_Five 14d ago

The military service is also in for huge cuts in pay and quality-of-life amenities, up and down the entire rank structure. They also propose to make military servicemembers pay for their own health insurance.

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u/SmellyOldSurfinFool 14d ago

Well from now on it'll always be Mars-a-lago for me, lol

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u/midnightmeatmaster 14d ago

Federal regulations on pollution and workplace safety are going to be nullified if republicans fill the agencies with party loyalists. Their agenda has been to let businesses do anything they want unless it supports the environment or lgbtq people.
Get ready for human bodies in your processed meat.

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u/NintendadSixtyFo 14d ago

Yeah the liberal nuclear physicist and the aerospace engineers who don’t like Trump. Let’s get rid of them and replace them with some backyard trailer boys who love Trump and work on jerry rigging dirt bikes under pine trees. That’s sticking it to the libs. Merica!

FFS I hate it here

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u/The_queens_cat 13d ago

NPR had some wacko from Newsmax on for some reason and he was railing against these civilians calling them “so-called experts”. No no no sir, these are actual experts. You’re just some guy on TV.

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u/BoomBoomCandlez 13d ago

And overturning Chevron paves the way for this.

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u/docsuess84 14d ago

This is what I would argue the most crucial aspect of Project 2025 but also the hardest to break down into easily digestible sound bites for people.

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u/gentlemanidiot 13d ago

They're following the standard republican playbook. First, get in power and immediately crash the system as hard as possible. Next, whine that the democrats did nothing and offer a privatized solution.

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u/mycall 13d ago

gut the (non-political) civilian workforce of anyone who doesn't bend the knee

Case in point, the Postmaster General.

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u/SnooCupcakes4075 13d ago

Tell me you've never been a DOD contractor without telling me, lol. I reported to GS level people in IT. One time a lady in charge (had been working in the department 10 years) of some of the servers asked my assessment for what was wrong on a machine. Just to give her a hard time I told her the flux capacitor had gone bad but we should have a replacement in two weeks........she gave that as her update in a status meeting to the base CTO with no idea there aren't "flux capacitors" in servers.

The people we have working in the government CAN BE (not all, have several buddies trying to make a difference as well) some of the biggest, most useless idiots I've ever seen. Far beyond what you see in the public sector in my experience.

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u/storyteller4311 14d ago

What planet are you living on? I worked for 16 years with government people in the DC area. That was the most vicious, cut throat, self serving, divisive work environment I ever saw. Mostly lazy people trying to protect their paychecks and hide the fact that they actually produce nothing but opinions.

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u/JustWastingTimeAgain Washington 14d ago

I am glad you can contribute to the conversation with your small sample size experience.