Project 2025 Democracy Is Born With Bloodshed And Toil, But Dies With A Thunderous Applause

"Democracy is not a spectator sport." - Marian Wright Edelman

"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson

"Democracy dies in darkness." - The Washington Post

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

"A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience." - John Dewey

"Democracy is fragile and must be protected. It requires constant care and effort from all of us." - Barack Obama

"The health of a democracy is measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens." - Alexis de Tocqueville

"Elections alone do not a democracy make." - Barack Obama

"A functioning democracy is fragile. It requires not just adherence to the law but to the spirit of the law." - Joe Biden

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." - Winston Churchill

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." - John Adams

"Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments." - Alexander Hamilton

"Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths." - James Madison

"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." - Benjamin Franklin

"An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one which should not only be founded on free principles but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others." - Thomas Jefferson

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." - Abraham Lincoln

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." - Alexis de Tocqueville

"Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal." - Aristotle

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism." - George Washington

Project 2025's Vision for Reshaping Federal Research and Civil Service

Research Driven by Conservative Principles

Project 2025 promotes the idea that taxpayer-funded research should align closely with national interests as defined by conservative values. This initiative suggests significantly reducing federal support for fields like climate science, reflecting the project's skepticism towards mainstream climate research and prioritizing other areas that fit its agenda.

Restructuring Federal Civil Service

Project 2025 seeks a dramatic restructuring of the federal civil service through the reclassification of thousands of federal positions, shifting them from apolitical roles to political appointees. This shift would facilitate the replacement of career civil servants with individuals more closely aligned with conservative ideologies, transforming the civil service into a body that directly supports the president's agenda. The project has even developed a personnel database and screening questionnaire aimed at ensuring ideological adherence among potential appointees.

The Return of Schedule F

Under Schedule F, an initiative from a 2020 executive order, tens of thousands of federal workers could be reassigned as political appointees, which allows the president to bypass traditional civil service protections. Although rescinded in 2021, Project 2025 proposes to reinstate this classification to enable rapid hiring and firing based on political loyalty, fundamentally altering the apolitical nature of the federal workforce.

Expanding American Representation in Federal Contracting

To ensure federal contracts serve American workers, Project 2025 includes a provision to require federal contractors to be at least 70% American citizens, with a goal of increasing this percentage to 95%. This shift emphasizes the project's focus on bolstering American labor within the contracting workforce.

Targeting Civil Servants Opposed to the Agenda

Project Sovereignty 2025, funded by a Heritage Foundation grant, aims to research and publicize the names of high-ranking federal civil servants deemed opposed to the conservative agenda. This initiative has drawn comparisons to the McCarthy-era practice of blacklisting individuals suspected of opposing certain ideologies, raising concerns about fairness and the impact on federal employees.

Concerns from Experts

While some experts agree that federal bureaucracy may need reform, others argue that the changes proposed under Project 2025 would destabilize government functionality. Political scientist Francis Fukuyama, among others, warns that Schedule F and the shift towards politically loyal civil servants could "dangerously undermine" the efficiency and objectivity of the federal government.

Conclusion

Project 2025's proposals would introduce a highly partisan direction to both federally funded research and the composition of the civil service. By aligning taxpayer-funded research with conservative principles, reclassifying civil servants, and establishing screening mechanisms, the project represents a significant shift in the relationship between government and public administration.