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Speaking of Project 2025, a group called Stop the Coup 2025 has analyzed the nearly 900 page Project 2025, and in a scathing 15 page report, shows how the Project uses rhetoric as a "hidden in plain sight" propaganda tool to serve the next Conservative President.

The over-arching principle the authors forewarn is an "Us vs. Them" mindset. A must-read, specially if you're one of "Them." (Are you CERTAIN you're not??)

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https://www.stopthecoup2025.org/unpacking-the-propaganda

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David, I am going to send this link to everyone I know. I have read parts of the Project 2025 and it enraged me. I feel they wrote this manifesto because it id they who are fearful. They saw the writing on the wall when Obama was elected and then reelected. The R’s had to manufacture hate and fear towards us for our choices of sexuality, the partners we want to be with which meant stepping out from our white race and engaging with other races. They saw the statistics that the decline of births was a real thing. They saw that we despise big business, big oil, and big pharma, which is their lifeblood. These pages are written by mostly white men who feel threatened. I am happy to see Stop The Coup fight back.

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The big thing they hated about Obama: he was a Black man. Everything else is just disguising the core racism.

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True, it’s what the “tea party was all about.”

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No, Swbv & Jeri, we risk missing much more ubiquitous forces at work if we think it is simply racism. It is about the same issues we have seen operate in America since its founding which HCR so ably maps out with her LFAA, especially those issues regarding protecting the lands, forests, sea and very air we breathe. It is about protecting us and our natural assets from the entrepreneurs of Capitalism. They are useful, but only if we have strong enough laws to bind what seems their ever-insatiable grasping for more.

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Racism and greed go hand in hand, do they not. After all, it's less for me if you get a smattering. And if I can make a buck from, well anything, what's wrong with that. It lacks any hint of humanity, that's what.

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I agree, Jeri. It's part of being able to turn especially poorer whites against their own economic well being. I may be poor, but I have status merely by being white.

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John, this ubiquitous force is founded on and in racism. Yeah, the more more more for me and none for anyone else is at its absolute foundation racist in nature and intent; viewing the Indigenous population as "savages" is the start of it all.

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Good morning, Ally. I've been enjoying the Smeckle-free comments for awhile now. However, I was thinking, I've not seen anything from Mike S in upper NY for a very long time, and nothing from Sandy Lewis either. Do you recall seeing anything from either of them recently? I miss their comments.

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Ally, and since they were savages, then they were merely part of the fauna and could be killed or removed....a nation built on slavery and genocide.

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Racism, like religious zealotry, is only a tool to divide people who have more in common economically than they realize. They get too busy hating each other over nothing to think about the substantial power they could wield united. It's a strategy founded maybe in greed, but I think it's greed for power more than money, although money tags along.

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And, it is a war on females by the MAGA Taliban. Check out this article in the Washington Post: https://wapo.st/3U9fgNa

There is the certainty that the MAGA Taliban would want to implement the Comstock Act.

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100 percent agree John. I have repeated and repeated in this space and others, that we are up against a coalition that finds unity in the old glue of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" , funded by leaders - big money leaders of the U.S. chamber of commerce crowd and religious fanatics.

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Yes, Swbv, it was pure racism. They were so outraged that a Black man won.

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And Mitch McConnell, betraying his Alabama and Kentucky roots, proudly waived the Stars and Bars when he opined that he wanted to make Obama a one term president and denied him a Justice nomination in direct violation of his "rules" about proximity to elections.

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That snake! That bastard…freezes and unfreezes, just in time to promote the dicktator! I’d like to cryogenic his ass until the planet is no more!

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LOL tell us how you feel Marlene!

Seriously, though, IMHO, it has always seemed to be about more than race. Race was right up there, of course, but perhaps it serves as one of several unifying red flags with which to feed the base today. Billionaires, adhering to a Koch-infused agenda, are circling their horses. Back in 1980 David Koch ran as VP on the Clark ticket as a Libertarian:

"The Clark–Koch ticket proposed to abolish Social Security, the Federal Reserve Board, welfare, minimum-wage laws, corporate taxes, all price supports and subsidies for agriculture and business, and U.S. Federal agencies including the SEC, EPA, ICC, FTC, OSHA, FBI, CIA, and DOE.[1][15] Their platform proposed privatizing all transportation and inland waterways. The ticket received 921,128 votes, 1% of the total nationwide vote,. (Courtesy of WIKI. )

This once extreme platform appears to have been spit polished and made more attractive to the republicans with each election. Sadly, support is no longer at a mere 1%! "Wealth protective" ideas are neatly imbedded today's Republican Party.

I've read that the Libertarian platform was viewed as ridiculously extreme even for the Republican Party at the time. Today the overarching goal (as awful as the red meat of racism is, was and always will be) appears to be the attainment of unfettered financial and political power with the free exercise that power both at home and internationally.

Mind you, I was infuriated at the breakdown of decorum and respect with Obama's inauguration and presidency. But as awful as the racism was (and is) it sure looks (to me) to be only one part of the plan. Money and power is at the top of the pyramid. Everything IMHO speaks to a drive for unfettered freedom for the privileged few, along with "shut up and put up" for the many. Do I sound too simplistic or too extreme in my thinking?? To me, it seems that their idea of "democracy" is that it is merely the window dressing for Fourth of July Parades.

Professor Richardson has suggested that the kernel of these ideas can be traced to the Civil War. Deep hatred of the intrusion of government on the means of production, coupled with a conviction about their right to retain that wealth (and power) across generations, has germinated in today's republican platform and, clearly, in Project 2025. Racism was a tool, their tool. Money, their money, was at the core of the impulse. I cant help but wonder if an autocrat today would, in the end, actually give these republicans what they seek, especially a particular NYC cunning, opportunistic and dangerous autocrat.

But perhaps I am merely splitting hairs. Houston, we have a problem!! In the end, the summary analysis of Project 25 is a critical and welcome document which we should all read carefully and share. Best to you!

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I don't know anything about McConnell's racism, although his marriage to an Asian woman would seem to mitigate against it. Either way, I believe his comment about Obama and blockage of Garland had much more to do with his lust for conservative power than anything else. Probably didn't hurt that Obama is half black and Garland is all Jewish.

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You're absolutely right, Karen. People are deeply inconsistent.

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People can speak out against things like racism, yet practice it. There is a Senator? Congressman? who was anti LBGT, yet he went to his gay son's wedding. Caitlin Jenner has come out against trans people. What?

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I don't think this is specifically about racism, though racism is certainly a big part of the unholy stew.

The drive behind this is Big Money (i.e. oligarchy and the endless accumulation of wealth). To get that, they need to get rid of the "nonsense" about the "rights" of the poor, and that applies to every last one of us apart from the wealth-elites (or wannabes). It's like cream (fat) rising to the top. The top layer of trillionaires looks down on the billionaires as "milky," and those in turn look down on the "millionaires" as "watery." Anyone below that is "dirty water." Any "rights" that the lower classes think they should have are of no consequence, and apply only if those rights don't get in the way.

Racism factors in because it represents voting factions that can be influenced through their tribal hatred/contempt for black people, and that represents power to legislate for increased oligarchy. I don't think the oligarchs generally buy into racism -- some may -- but they do buy into the power to swing elections. And right now, the Republican Party is fully aligned with oligarchy, and a large block of Republican voters are racist, so they exploit racism.

Racism won't win elections on its own. So there are other dead and disgusting things floating in the stew. Sexism. Rape culture. Anti-government militia movements. Big-money Evangelicalism, and other religious blocs, like the ultra-conservative single-issue Catholic vote.

The core is oligarchy and class based on wealth.

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Greed and power

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Good idea. It's time groups like Stop the Coup 2025 got more press.

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David, I came across them awhile back and have forwarded their site to friends & family. My latest thought is to print one of their downloads https://www.stopthecoup2025.org/downloads and print copies to put on local bulletin boards—my little town has a community BB, as do several of the local markets in nearby towns—might catch someone’s eye and prompt them to learn more. Hopefully folks here will spread the info about them!!

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Better make sure they don't think the local bulletin boards are there to enshrine them.

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They should air a piece about it on 60 Minutes!

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"Stop the Coup. Stop the Steal." Stop Project 2025.

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It is a threat like they haven’t felt in decades. They don’t realize that it’s not a threat but a promise to their progeny and to their country. Sad that hatred for their fellow humans and greed for their prosperity “colors” their hearts. Maybe it doesn’t color them; maybe it just shows the rot.

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Sheds light on the rot, actually.

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Yes, it's the rot.

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more than I ever knew

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Exactly, Marlene. They've never got over Obama.

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And so they destroyed Hillary Clinton, who they hated even more than Obama. She was a woman. Now they're working to end voting rights for women, along with their health care. The Nazis at least gave their women health care and lots of food for producing Aryan babies. So Republicans are even worse. Coming soon: your local concentration camp. Built just for you.

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Remembering those "debates", it still seems impossible. It WAS impossible, if there hadn't been subterranean currents at work that we didn't yet know about. What a dreadful moment that was.

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The memory of those debates still makes my skin crawl🤬.

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And the memory is indelible. Do you remember their behaviour afterwards? She sprang down from the stage and mingled with the happy crowd. All smiles and chatter. He loitered for a few minutes near the offstage exit, and then left.

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If only live and let live was the prevailing mentality things might be different.

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Apr 8Edited

Sounds worthy David - thanks. Some of it must be about 'revealing the grift' via facts in evidence, without being an angry belligerent scold. Folks of a certain persuasion have been hoodwinked over quite a period of time. *before I retire I highly recommended this primer > https://www.vox.com/policy/24122252/trump-sneakers-bible-truth-social-grift-scam-conservatives-history

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I think the powers that rule my erstwhile Party realize that the Reaganist jig is up and are trying grab as much as they can while they can.

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Please take your party back. I am a JFK Democrat - Peace Corps and all that - and firmly believe we need a balance. Ike would hate what his party has become, starting with Nixon. Rational, caring conservatives, unite!

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I was the only conservative and Republican in my Peace Corps group.

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I’ve met a few over the years!

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Where/When?

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Mexico 2010-13

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I read somewhere that he knew Nixon had a black heart and didn’t want him for VP in ‘56. Rational, caring conservatives- oxymoron?? The ones I would have staked my life on, not so much. Such a heart breaker…

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They could start with Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney. I don’t agree wiih some of their ideas, but they are decent human beings.

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Amazing since Liz was raised by the cretin from hell, I wonder if he has any regrets about his role in our horror. In the 80's, I read several conservative oped writers . No more.

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Kelly, I appreciate your open-mindedness. ✌️

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They have a discernable bottom anyway.

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I agree with Truman. The only good Republicans are pushing up daisies.

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A few years ago I made a meme that boldly said THE ONLY GOOD REPUBLICAN IS A DEAD REPUBLICAN, clarified that I referred to Dwight Eisenhower.

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Very accurate, Ron!

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You're missing the forest for the trees. A few scattered fair-minded Republicans are powerless against the forces that run the conservative (an oxymoron if there ever was one) movement. Those who have the power, and those who do their bidding in congress and in the courts, are fascists. Always have been.

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Yup, "Get the most for yourself you can then run!" is their motto. See HCR's reports of Texas AG Paxton! Sadly, it's probably also true of "our own" Senator Menendez.

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I'm rooting for Andy Kim! New Jersey deserves much better than Menendez.

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I say I am a conservative and a former Republican. That is say: I am conservative by temperament and used to be Republican. I am not what one would call a "conservative Republican" with all of the ideological baggage that entails. By Republican standards these days, I am a moderate and essentially pragmatic (i.e., a R.I.N.O.). Now it is 1:05 p.m. here in Annapolis, and, according the N.A.S.A. Administrator Nelson, R.I.N.O.s will be going nuts in the next two hours. 😉

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Another thing in common: Annapolis, a town I’ve spent a fair amount of time in. My older daughter is a USNA grad.

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You must be proud of her. My Dad really wanted me to go and had one or two Representatives ready to nominate me. I would have none of it. Even though I wish I had attended, my teens were such that I would not have lasted a year. Great school and I found most U.S. Naval Academy graduates to be interesting and not arrogant.

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We are indeed. She’s a Captain in the Reserve now and is thinking of retiring.

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Right on D4N! Whatever the orange menace is, however racist he may be, he is at the core a narcissist decked out as money-grubbing grifter which he has been his whole life. All the rest of the venom you see him spew is based on that foundation.

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Seems right

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D4N, thanks for this link—can’t wait to dive into the book.

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Thank you David.

Great link, worth sharing across many platforms.

"Stop the Coup 2025" has posted a number of worthwhile reports.

Here's their homepage.

https://www.stopthecoup2025.org/

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Rhyming with Germany in the 1930s. I once thought better of the Heritage Foundation. But they've sold their souls to the devil.

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I never thought better of them. A friend told me years ago what they were all about.

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Front and center among tyranny’s trademark tactics is instilling hatred to divide citizens and destroy civic unity. Thanks to you for the link and to HCR for adding our national parks and monuments - symbols of unity all - on the list of what’s at stake. As for Chief Justice Roberts, he was rewarded with the role for his many appearances before our highest court representing corporate interests, not the People, not civic unity and definitely not the environmental well-being of the Nation.

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Thank you David for the information on stop the coup!!I also have read Project 2025 and it’s very very frightening!!

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They say it all out loud.

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Thanks for providing this link.I just subscribed to their newsletter.

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David, thank you so much for this link. The paper does such a masterful job of pulling back the curtain to show the people operating the bells and whistles.

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Hi David--many thanks for this. I've heard of Project 2025 and this response but this is the first time I've really stopped to pay close attention to both. I've made a copy of the response and am sending it to friends who will use it in their various ways to confront the mess we're in. I just wanted you to know that your message here has extended itself to reach a far wider good, and for that I thank you. Regards.

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I and many others appreciate that. Keep the messaging out there!

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just a more detailed and expanded Lewis Powell Memo and the aim of the Convention of the States to remove constitutional protections we enjoy today in favor of what the might is right crew wants.

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Thank You! We need to help people realize what is happening with groups like the Project 2025 and the now disabled No Labels Party.

We cannot rely on the media to give the facts. The media insisted on calling the No Labels Party "centrist" when in fact it was a dark money trojan horse designed to help trump get elected. Thank goodness enough people (The Lincoln Project) fought to expose No Labels. We can do this with Project 2025.

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Since Joe Lieberman has died, the “No Labels” is now DOA, thankfully. Just little Bobby, Jr. is campaigning his bullshit rhetoric.

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It might be bullshit but he could still do some damage.

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He could, yes, but hopefully the damage he does will be to Trump!

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What a terrific and informative website! Thank you for sharing the link.

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Thanks for this, David! I actually bought a copy of Project 2025, but it weighs a ton, and is somewhat daunting. This precis will be easier to digest.

Also signed up for their newsletter.

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Well, bless you, Cheryl for buying it! I would not allow that garbage in my house, much less near me!

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Ive read Project 2025. Nothing less than the fate of our nation is at stake.

If you haven't got the time (or stomach) to read its 900 pages, I've started a series of posts covering it. Each post covers a chapter and is comprised of excerpts taken from the plan. No comments form me. The excerpts speak for themselves. Find them at Polytricks.

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Thank you David, I am anxious to read this and I did not know how to find it.

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Thanks, got it up on the computer. Good to see a number of the authors I have read over the last 6 years referenced.

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