(Note:  Much of what follows is a summary of the Project 2025 document.  This summary was provided by ChatGPT, the AI tool.  Below are the key strategies and actions proposed in the document.  The comments in parentheses/italics express my opinion as well as my concerns with the document.)

 

The “Mandate for Leadership” is a comprehensive policy blueprint for reshaping the federal government. Its strategies aim to create a more efficient, decentralized, and market-oriented federal government while prioritizing national security, economic growth, and individual freedoms. It is intended to be a roadmap for implementing conservative principles across various areas within the government.  (This statement certainly sounds good in theory; but the manner in which these ideas are implemented is what is most important.  In addition, the document clearly states that it is all about implementing conservative principles.  To my mind, this posture is fundamentally wrong.  Putting forth a conservative agenda or a liberal agenda in a country as diverse and polarized as we currently are only serves to polarize people more and to increase our government’s dysfunctionality.  A balanced approach to leadership and a whole-hearted respect for compromise is the more intelligent way forward.  The “My way or the highway” approach to governing has proven time and again to be a failure.)

1. Restructuring the Federal Government

• Decentralization: Reduce the size and scope of federal agencies by delegating more power to state and local governments. This approach aims to enhance efficiency and responsiveness to local needs.  (Again, this generally sounds good in theory.  But bear in mind that not all needs are local needs.  Some needs are national in nature and require a national focus.  For example, national defense, war on poverty, war on drugs, national border issues, environmental issues, Medicare and Social Security, and many others.  Without a national focus on these and other issues, inconsistencies among the states would likely yield many opportunities for abuse by bad actors.)
• Streamlining Bureaucracy: Eliminate redundant programs and offices within federal agencies to reduce unnecessary expenditures and improve operational efficiency.  (This sounds good, but what programs and offices do they plan to cut?  I am sure a conservative would want to cut very different programs/offices from what a liberal would want.  True national leadership must consider both sides of the equation.)
• Privatization: Transfer certain government functions to the private sector where feasible, which will lead to better service delivery.  (This is a red flag for me.  Privatization has a legitimate place in some national arenas, such as building spacecraft and other tangible equipment and devices.  But remember, the private sector is driven by making a profit; and profit should not be the guiding light when considering human services.  I’m all for efficiency; but for human services, it should be quality first, and profit secondarily.)

2. Economic and Fiscal Policies

• Tax Reform: Lower tax rates, eliminate loopholes, and broaden the tax base.  (Most people would agree with this sentiment, and I do as well.  But what concerns me is what Donald Trump, a conservative, did in this regard during his term as President.  He gave big businesses a significant and permanent tax cut, while giving the general population a tax cut that was structured to fade away in a few years – not very even-handed in my mind.  And since at least 140 contributors and editors of the document, “Mandate for Leadership,” came from Trump’s previous administration, I suspect that their ideas on Tax Reform are very different from mine.)
• Spending Cuts: Significantly reduce federal spending, particularly in entitlement programs. Reform Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to ensure their long-term sustainability.  (This is a huge red flag for me.  Everyone wants to reduce federal spending and ensure the long-term sustainability of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  But if “long-term sustainability” means providing benefits that support only a small fraction of what is necessary for our senior citizens to live with some level of dignity, then this plan may look good on paper but is meaningless in the real world.)
• Regulatory Relief: Roll back regulations that are burdensome to businesses.  (Whether the regulations are burdensome to business or not is irrelevant.  What is relevant is whether or not the regulations have valid reasons for existing.  Again, a conservative and a liberal will likely have different views.  We need to re-learn the art of compromise.)

3. National Security and Defense

• Military Modernization: Increase investment in defense capabilities, including modernizing the military’s equipment and technology to address emerging threats.  (I have no problem with this in theory.  However, if the intent is to grow the number of our nuclear armaments, which are already more than adequate to annihilate the world many times over, then this recommendation is completely misguided.  It will result in an ongoing arms race not seen since the 1960s, and will greatly increase the prospect of nuclear war.  If, however, the intent is to refresh or replace armaments that are technologically obsolete, than that would make sense.  My only caution is that as we work to control our annual budget, the available money has to be allocated in a reasonable way.)
• Defense Budget: Reallocate resources to areas that directly contribute to national security.  (I have no problem with this.)
• Border Security: Secure the nation’s borders through enhanced infrastructure, technology, and personnel. This includes building barriers, increasing border patrol agents, and utilizing advanced surveillance methods.  (I have no problem with this, but I do have a caveat.  We need to improve and streamline our ability to vet legitimate immigrants who wish to come to the U.S.  Some funding needs to be allocated in this area.  Immigrants have been and can continue to be significant assets to the robustness of our nation.)

4. Healthcare Reform

• Market-Based Solutions: Move toward a more market-oriented healthcare system and reduce regulatory barriers for providers.  (This sounds like privatization to me.  And as I noted earlier, the private sector is driven by making a profit; and profit should not be the guiding light when considering human services.  As working individuals, we have all seen how the private sector deals with healthcare services:  Costs to the consumer increase well above inflation year after year, and benefits diminish, as do the available options.)
• Medicare and Medicaid Reforms: Overhaul these programs to reduce costs and improve efficiency. This might include introducing private sector involvement in these programs.  (See my comments immediately above.  In addition, I will add that Medicare Part C [a private sector run program] appears to be working well for now.  But I believe that if Original Medicare goes away and Medicare Part C is the only choice available, then costs to the consumer will actually increase dramatically over time and benefits will decrease, as has been the case for those who use the private sector for their medical needs in their working lives.)

5. Energy Independence

• Energy Production: Expand domestic energy production, including oil, natural gas, and coal, to reduce reliance on foreign energy sources. Lift restrictions on energy exploration and production.  (I’m all for reducing our reliance on foreign energy sources, but this policy is short-sighted, if not outwardly misguided.  The world’s nations largely recognize that we are pushing the climate change envelope, and that to ignore this fact is to court significant life-disrupting events.  We can certainly use our domestic fossil fuel sources; but they should be used not as the answer to our ever-increasing energy needs, but rather as a bridge to buy us time until we can make other energy options commercially viable.)
• Regulatory Reform: Reduce regulations that hinder energy development.  (In the context of energy production as defined above, I would suggest that the majority of these regulations are in place for sound real-world reasons.  However, if the intent here is to streamline regulations that may hinder alternative sources for energy development, then I would agree.)

6. Education Reform

• School Choice: Expand school choice options, including charter schools, vouchers, and tax credits, to give parents more control over their children’s education.  (Choice is always good to have, so long as those choices are of equal value.  If vouchers and tax credits give parents the equal ability to send their children either to public schools or private schools at their option, then I’m fine with this.  However, if the intent here is to save the government money by significantly down-grading or eliminating public schools and leaving parents no choice but to spend extra money to send their children to private schools, then this strategy is both heartless and deceitful.  Let us remember that our future is our children, and that if this strategy results in disenfranchising a large segment of our population, we as a nation will be much worse for it.  It would be far better to invest in making our public education system the envy of the world rather than reducing it to third-world status.)
• Local Control: Return control of education to state and local governments, since they are better positioned to address the unique needs of their communities.  (Education in the U.S. has always been under the control of state and local governments.  The only time it is not is when various standard tests are administered to determine baseline competencies.  I’m not a great fan of standardized tests, especially when they are tied to funding.  But I do recognize their value as students progress from their local schools and communities to the larger world of colleges and universities.  Clearly, students who are narrowly taught and not exposed to a broader range of thoughts and ideas are at a disadvantage when entering the world at large.  The best strategy is to teach students how to think independently, analyze all viable options, and formulate their thoughts based on sound evidence and justification.  If we can do that, then it doesn’t really matter what they are exposed to.)
• Curriculum Reform: Focus on core academic subjects and eliminate politically driven curricula.  (I have to admit that I’m not really sure what is meant by “politically driven curricula.”  Regardless, my previous comment above still holds.)

7. Judicial and Legal Reforms

• Judicial Appointments: Stress the importance of appointing judges who adhere to a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Ensure judicial nominees are committed to originalism and textualism.  (The Constitution is a superb document and I have the utmost respect for it.  But it was never meant to be a rigid doctrine.  If it were, our forefathers would have never envisioned the use of Amendments.  There are actually very few, if any, documents that should be viewed as unchangeable.  Consider the Old Testament of the Bible, for example.  If I were to follow it with no variation, I would be able to possess slaves, both male and female, so long as they were purchased from neighboring nations, perhaps from Mexico or Canada in my case [Leviticus 25:44].  Or I could sell my daughter into slavery [Exodus 21:7], or kill my neighbor for working on the Sabbath [Exodus 35:2].  In today’s world, these are not enlightened activities.)
• Legal Reforms: Limit the power of administrative agencies and reduce litigation costs to prevent regulatory overreach and ensure more efficient legal processes.  (This sounds like a cost-containment measure coupled with an intent to remove independence from various administrative agencies.  It is potentially dangerous, since removing independence could turn into a power grab by a President who wants to control everything in his or her domain.)

8. Foreign Policy

• America First: Establish a foreign policy that prioritizes American interests by reassessing international agreements and organizations to ensure they benefit the United States.  (This is all well and good; but note that any agreement is meant to benefit both parties.  If either party doesn’t perceive a benefit for their nation, there is no agreement.  Basically, mutual cooperation and fairness is the order of the day.)
• Strengthening Alliances: Reinforce relationships with key allies while demanding greater contributions from them for shared defense efforts.  (I agree with this, so long as each nation’s contribution is commensurate with their ability to pay.  As with the agreements cited above, alliances support all nations’ mutual needs.  In other words, the U.S. needs the other nations in the alliance for strategic reasons as much as they need us.)
• Trade Policies: Promote fair trade practices and renegotiate trade deals to protect American jobs and industries.  (I agree with this, but with the caveat that we live in a global economy whether we like it or not.  Total isolationism would put us at a distinct disadvantage.)

9. Social Policies

• Family and Community: Emphasize the importance of traditional family structures and community-based support systems.  (I’m all for community-based support systems, and I certainly support traditional family structures.  However, the reality is that some families simply can’t maintain a traditional structure.  Divorces and premature deaths disrupt a traditional family structure.  Also, not everyone fits into a traditional structure – orphans, for example.  In addition, perhaps a woman has never found a suitable mate but still wants a family and is willing to raise a family on her own?  Or suppose two members of the same sex want to raise a family of their own?  Does the Bible not teach us that God loves us all?  If we are being humane, we should realize that the guiding factor here should not be the family structure, but rather the level of love that each family holds for its members.  And community-based support systems should include all these various permutations of the family structure.)
• Welfare Reform: Implement work requirements and other measures to reduce dependency on welfare programs to encourage self-sufficiency and personal responsibility.  (In principle, I agree with this.  I don’t like parasites and freeloaders any more than anyone else.  But we must realize that if someone is diligently looking for work and simply can’t find a job, he or she should not be cut off with no lifeline.  The challenge is to verify that the individual is diligently looking for a job.  That is not easily done without ample resources, but it is necessary to ensure fairness to all parties.)

10. Environmental Policies

• Balanced Approach: Revise or repeal environmental regulations that are too restrictive on industry and development.  (This is a major red flag for me.  As mentioned previously under the section, “Energy Independence,” the majority of these regulations are in place for sound real-world reasons.  It is roundly understood by the vast majority of nations that the unrestricted use of fossil fuels as well as other human activities is having a dangerous impact on the earth’s climate, and that ignoring this fact will cause ever-increasing, life-disrupting events.)
• Conservation: Support conservation efforts that are community-driven and involve public-private partnerships to manage and protect natural resources.  (This recommendation is essentially passing the buck to the lowest level.  It will yield inconsistent results across the map of our nation, since some communities may be more environmentally conscience than others, and other competing priorities as well as funding constraints will temper any dedicated conservation effort.  Conservation is a national, if not global, issue.  Pushing the effort to the local level is simply ignoring the need.)