By Carol Lucas
I consider myself to be a moderate liberal. I have stated before that I voted many times for Republicans when I lived in Pennsylvania, the most notable being John Heinz, who tragically died in a plane crash.
Yes, I am a registered Democrat who had no compunction about crossing party lines. That was, of course when the Republican party was sane, reasonable, and not engulfed in the flames of totalitarian rule.
I often ask myself how this happened so quickly, but then I snap back to the reality that this encroachment was not quick but rather came about in the fashion of a slowly dripping faucet. That faucet became full-on when No. 47 was re-elected. One need only familiarize himself or herself with Project 2025 to realize that this was not an overnight creation.
Much has been written about this document, so I am not about to regurgitate what is easily accessible online. Very simply, it is a 900-page manual for reorganizing the entire federal government, agency by agency, to serve a conservative agenda. It is often referred to as “Mandate for Leadership.”
But first, just a bit of background. In 2022 The Heritage Foundation authored Project 2025 which is simply a road map for how to replace the rule of law with right-wing ideals. Additionally, Heritage Foundation’s President, Kevin Roberts worked on 47’s transition team in 2016. He has described his organization’s role as “institutionalizing Trumpism.” Roberts was one of the principle advocates for overturning the 2020 election to keep Donald Trump in office after he lost the election.
What follows are just a few important bullet points of this document, knowing most of my dear readers (as well of those who have no desire to fall into that group) are well-aware of these.
. Gutting abortion rights and subsequently the facilities that provide them.
. Mass deportations — originally of criminals; now it doesn’t matter.
. Unleashing undue force on protesters; must I include L.A., D.C., Chicago?
. Limit voting access; no more mail-in ballots?
. Controlling education: banning of books; Harvard and other universities.
. Censoring critical discussion in the classroom, specifically race and gender.
Reread what I have stated above, and then ask yourself, “Don’t we have a Constitution that lays this out for us? Don’t we have a “Bill of Rights?” And the answer to both is, “Of course we do.” But apparently those in the Heritage Foundation find those documents inefficient, outmoded, and unworthy of retention.
Let’s be clear. There are many “authentic,” honest-to-God, real conservatives out there who see what is happening. But they must speak up.
You know who they are; Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are great examples. It appears now that the combined efforts of Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rho Khanna (D-CA) represent what might have been unthinkable just a month ago — working across the aisle.
However, the Republican party, as I knew it, is almost dead, having been captured and nearly suffocated by MAGA puppets who are deftly handled by those espousing Project 2025.
In “1984,” at my suggestion, the dystopian novel by the same name was put into the English curriculum. It was still there when I retired from teaching in 1997. I believe it should still be taught, perhaps now more than ever. Those banning books will disagree, I’m sure, but I digress.
You may or may not have read it, but I believe it is worth a quick review. Very simply put, the psychological, technological, physical, and social dangers of totalitarianism, which is political authority, shape human thought. This is accomplished through “doublethink,” the ability to hold two contradictory ideas in one’s mind and believe them both to be true.
Sound familiar?
There is “Newspeak,” the official language of the totalitarian state of Oceania, designed to restrict thought and eliminate political dissent by reducing vocabulary, removing unorthodox meanings from words, and making it impossible to conceive of rebellious ideas.
Fox Entertainment, perhaps?
Posters of “Big Brother” are located throughout London, and we learn there is constant surveillance of the people.
There is so much more I could include about this prophetic book, but my teaching days are long since over. If you have never read Orwell’s book, I urge you to do so. If you have, rereading it may shed some light on what we now face.
I will leave you with part of the message Liz Cheney recently sent to all Democrats, urging them to “take off the gloves.” My interpretation.
She begins admonishing us by saying, “I need more from you.”
I wish I had space to include her entire treatise. Instead I will provide a few of her salient points and let you consider them.
1. Form an independent, civilian-powered investigative coalition. I’m talking experts. Veterans. Whistle blowers. Journalists. Watchdog orgs. Deputize the resistance. Build a real-time archive of corruption, overreach, and executive abuse. Make it public. Make it unshakable.
2. Join the International Criminal Court. Call their bluff. You cannot control what the other side does. But you can control your own integrity.
3. Fund state-level resistance infrastructure. Don’t just send postcards. Send resources. Channel DNC funds into rapid-response teams, legal defense coalitions, sanctuary networks, and digital security training. If the federal government is hijacked, build power underneath it. If the laws become tools of oppression, help people resist them legally, locally, and boldly. This is not campaign season — this is an authoritarian purge.
4. Leverage international media and watchdogs. Stop hoping U.S. cable news will wake up. They’re too busy playing both sides of fascism. Feed the real stories to BBC, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Reuters, Der Spiegel — hell, leak them to anonymous dropboxes if you have to. Make what’s happening in America a global scandal.
This from a die-hard conservative, the real deal.
Cheney concludes with this: The clock is ticking and deportation buses are idling. I echo that sentiment.
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
