HenryBriggsColumn

There has been a lot said about Project 2025, a 920 page handbook from the conservative Heritage Foundation.

In 2022, Trump said: “This is a great group and they’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save America.”

Two years later, in the debate with Harris, he said “I have nothing to do with Project 2025. I have not read it. I don’t want to read it, purposely. I’m not going to read it.” 

140 of the experts who worked on Project 2025 came from the Trump Administration, some very high up.  

Project 2025 has four stated goals:

1) dismantle the administrative state 

2) restore the family as the center piece of American life

3) defend the nation’s sovereignty and borders 

4) secure God-given individual rights to live freely

I’ll write about the other three in upcoming columns, but the first one, “Dismantle the administrative state” piqued my curiosity. I didn’t even know what an “administrative state” was. 

A little research showed that the administrative state is all those government departments whose names are familiar, but whose work is too dense for most of us to understand: The Department of Defense, The Justice Department, the Department of Interior, The Department of Education, and so on. There are 15 in all. The Administrative State is, it turns out, most of the government.

Back when the country started there were around 3.9 million people and no departments.  Apparently Washington, Jefferson, and the others didn’t feel they needed them. 

Then, in 1887, with the US population nearing 63 million, President Grover Cleveland decided the country was getting too big to handle alone. So, his administration created the first department, The Interstate Commerce Commission.

The Administrative State is not new.

In 1946, population now 141.4 million, President Harry Truman formalized and expanded the administrative state with the Administrative Procedure Act, which set procedures for Executive Branch Agencies to follow when making rules. 

As with any big, politically run democratic organization, the administrative state is not very efficient.  Think what happens when you try to argue with the IRS, get anything through Congress, or just change your voting district.

In fact, democracy has never been efficient.  Books and movies have been written about just that, especially comedies (Wag the Dog, The Candidate, Dave).

Winston Churchill, who led England through the terrifying days of WWII, famously said, “…democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…”

The most efficient form of government is a dictatorship. No waste there, at least in the opinion of the dictator. Of course, no form of  government is scarier or more brutal. We all know that Hitler killed 6 million Jews, but few know he killed 7 million others, too. Over 20 million Russians are estimated to have died under Stalin, and over 45 million under Mao Zedong.

Which brings us back to Project 2025 and the Administrative State.

Project 2025 proposes making the government more efficient by shrinking it. They want to eliminate the Department of Education, privatize the National Weather Service, the Transportation Security Administration, the National Flood Insurance Program and others, overhaul The Department of Justice, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Affairs, and dismantle the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Maybe the biggest change to the Administrative State is the “Unitary Executive Theory” which proposes that the entire federal bureaucracy (aministrative state) be controlled by the Executive Branch, in other words, the President. 

Today, government employees can’t get fired except for cause. So employees have worked during and through assorted administrations. That’s kept a rudder under the boat no matter which party was at the helm. 

Consider, instead, huge groups of government employees fired because of their political affiliation and replaced by workers loyal to the President. Experience, gone. Acquired knowledge and skills, gone. Institutional history, gone.

For the next four years, consider something scarier: these loyalists making rules that allow the President to radically change the government… including rules for electing a President.

Which may be what Trump considered when Sean Hannity of Fox News asked him about becoming a dictator,  “No, no, no … other than Day 1.” 

Which may be why, when Trump recently implored Evangelicals to vote, he said, “And again, Christians, get out and vote just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what? It’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore…”

Before you really get scared, remember Trump denied any involvement with Project 2025. Personally, I believe him.

OK, kidding…

Did I mention that the most efficient form of government is a dictatorship?

(Remember: you vote alone, your vote is private, no one has to know who you voted for.)

Pundits across the spectrum have been complementing Harris for baiting Trump in last Tuesday’s debate. 

Fair enough; she did bait him. Yes, that got him angry.  And, yes, his anger pushed him into inane and ludicrous responses.

But it was her responses to Trump’s bullying and bloviating that defined the night. She gave him bemused smiles, the kind a parent gives a six year old who wants to drive the car. She raised her eyebrows and chuckled at his “Haitians eat dogs and cats” line. She rolled her eyes at his claim of winning the 2020 election.  

By 20 minutes into the debate, Trump was full bore into his macho mode: piling lie onto lie, ignoring the moderators fact checks, and blowing past his time limits. 

Through it all, Harris stayed calm. After each of his outburst, she efficiently skewered his arguments and then poked his macho, the most memorable poke inviting people to a Trump rally so they can see the crowd leave early out of boredom.

Where Hillary Clinton reacted to Trump’s bullying with nervousness, Harris reacted with patient amusement. Where Biden reacted with “C’mon Man!”, Harris just laughed. 

Then, in the time honored way of dealing with bullies,  she punched him in the nose. She told him world leaders were laughing at him. She told him military leaders called him a “disgrace”. She called him “weak”. She noted he inherited a fortune, then declared bankruptcy 6 times. And then she  reminded everyone that he was fired by 81 million voters. 

In response, Trump insisted his rallies had more people than Harris’, immigrants have destroyed the fabric of the country, inflation is the worst we’ve ever had, and bragged about overturning Roe v Wade and winning the 2020 election…same old, same old. He was irritated, red in the face, clearly flummoxed.

Trump left the stage immediately after the debate without so much as a glance at Harris or the moderators. Where did he go? To the cuddling arms of his Fox family:  Bret Baier, Jesse Watters, and his favorite Uncle, Sean Hannity.

There is nobody more alone than a bully who’s lost his macho.

It was a master class, not in baiting, not in fact checking (it was refreshing seeing reporters actually correct him in real time), and not in succinctly worded arguments, although all of that happened. No, it was a master class on exposing Trump as an insecure child who aspires to  be a macho bully.

It’s a unique strategy, perfect for this campaign: a mature, intelligent woman draining the macho from a school yard bully.

I looked up this morning and it is the end of August! Unbelievable!  

One minute I’m relaxing, just lounging in the sun and thinking… about thinking… or a trip to somewhere to visit someone… or something,… the bathing suit is still new… the grass is still summer green…the sunburn is just beginning to turn to tan…

And then I look up… AND!…only days until work, traffic jams, short days, slush, and flu, covid, RSV vaccinations!

What any North Easterner, especially a retiree, knows is: the only way to extend August beyond 31 days is to move to Florida.

Which is what this savvy retiree did 10 years ago. In Florida, you don’t have to worry about winter, because winter in Florida is like the best of summer at the Jersey shore.

And you don’t have to worry about leaving your adult kids, because …Duh! Blue skies and pearly white beaches! You won’t be able to keep them away! 

I found a warm, friendly Florida community. The people who sold me my house moved all of two houses away. They threw a neighborhood pizza party to introduce me to the neighborhood and I continued it as an almost monthly ritual. 

Another neighbor, a congenial Conservative, and I would meet for dinner once every week or so and talk politics, with respect and even humor. We discussed policies, not personalities. And we agreed on basic issues more often than not.

And there was Cowboy Susan, a member of Mensa who was licensed to hunt alligators, a 100 ton boat captain who had climbed Mt. Everest, a Karate expert who fundraised for large charities as well as single, aging neighbors. 

The pizzas were great; the sense of community was greater.  and the kids visited…well, once or twice.

Then Trump hit the state like a hurricane on steroids. We still had the pizza parties, but conversations were reduced to golf, fishing, tourist traffic, and… golf, fishing, tourist traffic,..

Then the pandemic hit. No more visits from my kids. No more trips up north to see them.Then Governor DeSantis got into a snit with Disney over comments Disney employees made about him. Then came the banning of books (thousands and counting). Then came the rewriting of history to avoid making white students sad.  

As the 2020 election neared, “Woke” became an all purpose insult. The few Biden signs in the community were plowed over by teenagers in a golf cart. 

That’s when I began to wonder: Did perfect Florida weather justify living in a state that picked fights with one of its biggest money-makers, banned books, and rewrote American history? 

I lived in a 1922 house that had survived multiple hurricanes, but would I survive continually rising insurance costs? 

On the other hand…winter suntans were still cool, pizza parties were still fun, Mr. Congeniality and Cowboy Susan were still one-of-a kind friends. And there were always those blue skies and pearly white beaches… 

But why didn’t the kids visit more often, once the pandemic ended?

And that’s when it occurred to me: They had lives of their own up North. They were too busy. 

By the end of August this year, I had sold the 1922 house and returned north. Why? I tell people it was living in a DeSanitized state, but that is only partially true.

 A few thoughts.

We go back a long way. I knew you when the DC – Wilmington Amtrak had brand new rail cars, when you had plenty of hair and were a 29 year old Senate candidate.

I know you’ve been really busy lately, what with Ukraine and Israel, and China and Russia, and… TRUMP! –  OMG!  

Anyway, I thought I would write to tell you what a great job you’ve done and how proud I am of what you’ve accomplished.  For a guy as old as you and I are, really, really impressive!

But I’m writing to ask you to,….  Um, now don’t get upset with me… to step back, to ….. Ummm step aside,…. to Ummmmmmm…. step out of the fast lane and enjoy what’s left ——- 

—-Wait! CBS just interrupted golf!  What? You’re stepping down?…Yes! You’re stepping down!! Holy Moley!! Way to go, Joe!

Now we can go after Trump for being too old

Oh! And! …being a narcissist, dictator, felon, crook, liar… Wow! So many faults, so little time!

I know you’re busy talking to reporters and everyone, but  in honor of our years, another thought.

Even though you had the delegates to win the primary, now that you’re out, they can vote for anyone. And you know Democrats have a reputation for being cats in a corral, which is always a problem for the corral boss. And I know you recommend Kamala in part because you’ve worked with her for 4 years and taught her so much. And I know it will be easier to re-assign your money to her campaign than any other Democrat. 

But the presidential candidate isn’t legally chosen until the convention, some three weeks from now.

So why not endorse her, but also encourage her to campaign for the job just the way you’ve been doing?  Let her go all around the country making speeches, holding rallies and having the Obamas, the Clintons, the Bidens, and anyone else go with her? And encourage others – from Governor Newsom of CA to Whitmer to Kelly, to Shapiro and so on – to campaign against her if they want. Or for her! That way nobody (yes, that nobody) can claim it was a “rigged” primary. 

And! The party will be unified going into the election (I know, it’s hard to imagine with Democrats, but hey! Why not?)

And! On the way she and the others can take pot shots at Trump and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.

And! Imagine the excitement at the Convention compared to programmed week of boring speeches that was planned if you’d stayed in the race.

And! Think about those donors who have been holding onto their wallets like grannies at a bake sale, because, as much as they admired your record, they weren’t sure you could do it again. Now, imagine their exuberance over some fresh young faces!  

Sincerely, 

Henry

***************

Dear Donald,

A few thoughts. 

You’re screwed!

Sincerely,

Henry

No one likes the idea of assassinating a President. No one. Anyone who lived through JFK, RFK will never forget. Anyone who lived through the attempted assassination of Reagan will never forget. Anyone who lived through the attempt on Trump will never forget. These weren’t just attempts to kill someone; they were attacks on democracy, civility, our culture.

This attempt on Trump, while thankfully a failure, is also filled with ironies.

20 year old Thomas Matthew Crooks used an AR-15 style rifle in attempting to assassinate the leader of the Republican party. This is the same Party that sees red when anyone attempts to control or reduce the sale or use of guns, wrapping themselves in the Second Amendment.

Which says: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Republicans, the NRA, etc… like to focus on the second half, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Before the last few decades, most Americans felt the first half, “a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,” referred to the people in the “militia” bearing arms. 

The irony? Maybe if Republicans hadn’t pushed guns so hard and blocked any attempts to reduce their number or power, Crooks wouldn’t have had the AR-15 style rifle. Maybe the guy rarely mentioned in the news, whom Cooks did assassinate that day – husband, father, and firefighter Corey Comperatore – would still be a husband, father, and firefighter. 

The Supreme Court recently ruled that “the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts.”  

The ruling was in response to Trump’s actions resulting from the 2020 Election. Assassination used to be illegal in this country. It still is…for everyone but the President. Animal Farm – “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” – is no longer fiction.

The irony? This ruling came out just a few days before someone tried to assassinate Trump.

Biden had just started using Trump’s technique of insulting his adversary. He called Trump a “con man”, a “felon”  and a “liar” just days before Crooks pulled the trigger. This following Trump’s decades of hurling personal insults at anyone and everyone who… well, anyone and everyone.

For example:  “will destroy the State,” “Very dishonest,” “disgrace”, “a major security risk”, “Crazy,” “A joke!” “rigged,” “RIGGED,” “totally rigged!” “a Terrorist Organization,”  “SCUM,”  “Anarchists, Thugs & Agitators,” “Corrupt,” “Wacko group,” “gutless Radical Left Wack Jobs,” “Dummy”, “Drug infested”, “Vermin,” “Crooked as can be.” 

And let’s not forget his favorite:  “Fake!, Fake!!, Fake!!!” – anything and everything.

The Irony? Until a few days before Crook’s shot, Biden was old school civil, courteous, even to Trump. And now he’s the one – not Trump – asking people to be civil, to tone down rhetoric in an effort to prevent further assassination attempts.

Crooks failed. But the ironies? They’re alive and thriving.