July 21 was a beautiful day at my place and I spent it with a crowd of mushroom hunters, gathering chanterelles. Floating into the house on my private cloud of endorphins, I found my husband sitting in front of the TV with a huge grin on his face. “You haven’t been around the media today, right?” he said.
“Nope. I’ve been in the woods,” I said and began to launch into a dissertation on all the fun I’d had.
But his grin told me that he’d had even more fun, so he took off with the moment ...”It happened,” he said, grinning even bigger … “You know … IT ...” and after a few guesses I figured it out.
“IT” meant Joe Biden had dropped out of the presidential race. His beautiful VEEP Kamala Harris is taking his place.
OMG. This is huge. This is history. And maybe your household was thrown into the same joyous tizzy as mine. Some 888,000 folks, in fact, donated in the first 24 hours after the announcement, smashing records for previous donations. And the love has continued, with many of the donors being first-timers for ActBlue, the Democratic fundraisers. We hope that candidates for down-ballot races are getting a similar bump.
Now it’s time for a reality check. Even though our energy and commitment are off the charts, we live in the same neighborhoods as before the announcement. Despite our excitement, Republicans haven’t thrown in the towel. The TV ads confirm that some candidates are proudly “endorsed by Donald Trump,” while others “stand with Trump” and the neighbors are vocal. In the Missouri governor primary “endorsed by Trump” faces off with “stands with Trump” and we’ll see who comes out best. The poor mailman is weighed down with glossy flyers.
If Trump wins, who loses? Check out Project 2025, the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. Yes, the document’s 900 pages long but you don’t have to read it all. Google it and read the parts that interest you—education, for example, or agriculture.
I worry about the independent media. According to Project 2025, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will be on the chopping clock, beheaded in the name of fighting the deficit. Funds for NPR, PBS and community broadcasters will be cut.
A section called “Corporation for Public Broadcasting” reveals that “all Republican Presidents have recognized that public funding of domestic broadcasts is a mistake,” then explains the steps needed to cripple the organization.
Same goes for funds for education, the arts, humanities. Here is the statement on education: “every parent should have the option to direct his or her child’s share of education funding through an education savings account (ESA), funded overwhelmingly by state and local taxpayers, which would empower parents to choose a set of education options …” (p. 319). In other words, taxes will be diverted to Christian schools or other private educational groups. Bye-bye, neighborhood schools.
Likewise, the nation’s environmental, minority and women’s organizations will be in trouble if they depend in any way on government money. And, let’s face it, they do. Talk to the board members of your favorite group to find out if they’re concerned.
The website is pretty easy to get around, and you can concentrate on the areas of your greatest interest. Their four main “pillars” for success “pave the way for an effective conservative Administration” and they’re open about their plans: “Our goal is to assemble an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared conservatives to go to work on Day One to deconstruct the Administrative State.”
There’s plenty of food for thought in the section on agriculture, which proclaims that USDA will change its mission and remove trade barriers “based on the importance of sound science, personal freedom, private property, the rule of law, and service to all Americans.” Many of the ideas in this section are good, IMHO. First to go will be the federal sugar program which Project 2025 sees as keeping the cost of sugar high. My view is that sugar is too darn cheap. It’s in everything and it’s highly addictive and mostly unnecessary. Because of the cheap and ubiquitous use of sugar, America has become a nation of diabetics with 11.6% of us carrying the disease, according to the National Diabetes Association.
Many of the other recommendations in Project 2025 would slash subsidies for farmers, which makes it hilarious that so many of my neighbors think Trump economics will be good for them. Personally, I’m OK with those cuts but you may disagree. The last farm bills have been big handouts for the biggest industrial farms that produce soybeans for hog confinements and corn for ethanol plants. I’d like to see more food for my neighbors.
Whatever you think, dear reader, wise folks like us need to do our research and be vigilant. Work for Kamala but prepare for Trump.
Margot Ford McMillen farms near Fulton, Mo., and co-hosts “Farm and Fiddle” on sustainable ag issues on KOPN 89.5 FM in Columbia, Mo. Her latest book is “The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History.” Email: margotmcmillen@gmail.com.
From The Progressive Populist, September 1, 2024
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