August 7, 2024
Page 9
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o piNioN
Project 2025: The Blueprint for America’s Democratic Demise
By Congresswoman
Frederica S. Wilson
Trump is “America’s Hitler.”
Those aren’t my words.
They’re the words of Donald
Trump’s running mate, Sen.
J.D. Vance. That’s what he
and many others used to say
about Trump before they suc-
cumbed to his influence. Now,
they’re proclaiming their loy-
alty by bowing down and kiss-
ing the ring of an insurrection
inciter, a racist, a sex preda-
tor, a twice-impeached, four-
time indicted, now convicted
felon, and former disgrace of
a President.
Recently, the Republicans
held their national conven-
tion. Despite the delusional
and deranged policies Trump
has been shoving down our
throats, he was met with thun-
derous applause.
Let me paint a picture of a
second Trump term, accord-
ing to MAGA Republicans and
Trump’s closest cronies.
Journalist and historian Anne
Applebaum aptly noted, “Often,
for autocrats, the second time
in power is worst.” That’s a
Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24)
chillingly accurate description
of what we’d face with Trump,
especially with the tyrannical
policies in Project 2025.
If you haven’t heard, Project
2025 is a 920-page blueprint for
a second Trump term, straight
out of a dystopian novel. It’s
packed with the horrifying poli-
cies MAGA Republicans dream
of imposing.
It’s the MAGA Republicans’
plan to take control of this
country and our lives.
It demolishes checks and
balances, tramples personal
liberties, and outlines a Trump
power grab ripped from a dicta-
tor’s playbook.
Trump wants to fire up to
1 million people in the feder-
al government and replace
them with a bunch of extreme
MAGA
Republicans
who
would do Trump’s bidding in-
stead of the American people
and the Constitution.
And let’s talk about your
wallet because you can forget
about that with Project 2025.
MAGA Republicans want to
increase taxes on the middle
class, gut social security for
young Americans, slash Medi-
care, let employers stop paying
overtime, and more.
They also aim to obliterate
the Department of Education
and eliminate the Head Start
program. As a former Head
Start educator and school
principal, I find this vile
and inexcusable.
Project 2025 also wants
students in public high
schools to take a military en-
trance exam in an effort to
draft them into the military.
However, it leaves private
school kids untouched.
The cherry on top? They’re
hell-bent on banning abortion
and restricting access to birth
control and Plan B. As some-
one who knew life before Roe
v. Wade and almost died from
a stillbirth, we simply cannot
go back.
Now, Trump knows this
plan is insane and unpopu-
lar, and has recently tried to
distance himself from Proj-
ect 2025, claiming he knows
nothing about it.
But Project 2025 is crawl-
ing with former Trump offi-
cials and cabinet members.
All MAGA Republicans are
trying to do now is lie about
Project 2025 so they can win
the election and begin to im-
plement this draconian plan—
just like authoritarians in other
countries did when trying to
grab onto power. But we cannot
ignore their true vile intentions.
So, what’s next?
Trump used his first term to
destroy the guardrails of de-
mocracy, stack the courts with
loyalists, and make the truth
seem like “fake news.”
So, while our democracy
survived a first Trump term, it
won’t survive a second one.
Don’t take my word for it.
Trump said he will become “a
dictator on day one.” This isn’t
just a scare tactic by Demo-
crats; it’s simply what Trump
has already told us will happen
if he wins. So, believe him when
he says he’ll be a dictator.
There is simply too much
at stake to focus on anything
other than the choice we have
in this election: democracy
or dictatorship.
I’m choosing democracy
every day.
Big Service Changes
On August 25, we’ll have new bus lines.
Learn more at trimet.org/servicechange
or call 503-238-7433 (RIDE).