Help us defend, pursue and preserve democracy!
This is a moment that will require each and every one of us to defeat the threat of authoritarianism and advance the vision and values of the American people, to unite our country around the promise of a democratic society and future. We must summon the courage of our ancestors, embrace the responsibility of our inheritance, and work like hell to lay the foundation for a new generation of leadership. We must work together to secure our democracy and light the path toward a freer and fairer world where we can all thrive.
We are not there yet, and we should take no moment for granted, especially in these turbulent and unprecedented times. For too long, we have allowed those in positions of power to dominate the narrative, control our institutions, divide us as a nation along political lines, and erode our faith in each other and our democracy while dismantling our institutions and taking away our freedoms and rights. This will be a time now marked by aspiration and hope, something we have all needed for a long time. Sadly, this will undoubtedly be a time mired by racist, sexist, and hate-filled rhetoric by those who will challenge the qualities of political candidates by disparaging personal characteristics rather than addressing the policies and proposals that represent two opposite visions of the future. One presents a future to strengthen and support the upward mobility of the middle class -the other is explicitly laid out in Project 2025 to weaken democratic institutions undermining civil liberties and freedoms. We can have healthy, constructive policy debates, but this kind of vitriol only serves to further tear apart the fabric of this nation by inciting fear, anger, rage, and violence, and our participation diminishes us all. At an individual level now is a time for deep personal reflection and calling on our better selves to reject these tactics and choose not to participate in behavior unbecoming of all of us. America needs an intervention and now is the time to demonstrate that we the people of this country are up to the task.
We must move together, unified as Americans and resolute that regardless of party, we still believe in democracy, to put hope above despair, center love, not hate and committed to doing the hard work to ensure a future that serves all of us! How we show up in times of trial are the ones that count the most.
Our best days lie ahead if we choose to rise to meet the challenges before us. There is too much at stake if we simply let the election play out. We must vote and turn out the vote—our lives and the existence of American democracy depend on it! We must confront misinformation and disinformation, reject hate and division. We must engage in meaningful and respectful dialogue across differences rooted in our shared core values and desires. We must stand up to those who say our brothers and sisters are our enemies to fuel their desires for power and personal gain at all our expense. Democracy is an ever-evolving practice. It is not a foregone conclusion or some utopian vision for the future. Only together will we get the world we need and the one we all deserve!
Our sister organization United Vision for Idaho has long been undertaking the work of building to a more united democratic world and provides a unique opportunity for this who are inspired to engage in this work. Check out www.uvidaho.org and find out more in the tab below.
Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 is a Blueprint for Authoritarianism. Implementing Project 2025 would fundamentally alter the fabric of our democracy, endangering the very principles that uphold our freedom and justice. By dismantling protections and programs that support economic stability, social safety nets, healthcare, civil rights, environmental sustainability, and public education, it threatens to harm millions of Americans, particularly those in vulnerable and marginalized communities. Additionally, by undermining the professionalism and impartiality of the civil service, it jeopardizes the functioning and integrity of democratic institutions. Understanding and addressing these threats is crucial for preserving democracy and ensuring the well-being of all citizens.
Transform the US Tax Code to Favor the Wealthy
• Make Permanent the Trump Tax Bill, Codify and Expand It
• Revamping the Tax Code to Favor Wealthy Individuals and Corporations
Weaken and Eliminate Workers' Rights and Weaken Economic Stability for Americans
• End or Reduce Overtime Pay Protections
• Cut Local Job-Creating Programs
• Weaken Labor Protections and Standards
• Deregulate Safe Working Conditions
• Control and Manipulate the Transparency of Economic Data
• Restrict Worker Union Activities
• Privatize Government Services
• Impose Tax Cuts Favoring Wealthy Individuals and Corporations
• Eliminate Minimum Wage Increases
Limit and End Social Safety Programs for Americans
• Restrict of Access to Food Assistance Programs
• Eliminate the Head Start Program
• Limit Veterans' Disability Benefits
• Remove Safety Nets for Farmers
• Eliminate Funding for Public Transportation Projects
• Reduce Social Security Benefits
• Increasing the Retirement Age
• Limit Unemployment Insurance
• Cut Medicaid Funding
• Eliminate Affordable Housing Programs
• Ending Child Labor Laws
• Eliminating the Independence of Public Agencies
Repeal Healthcare and Reproductive Rights for Americans
• Erosion of Protections for Americans with Preexisting Health Conditions
• Repeal Medicare Drug Price Negotiation
• Impose a National Abortion Ban
• Limit Access to Contraception
• Restrict or Ban on Medical Abortions
• Privatize Medicare Plans
• Open Access to Personal Information
• Defund Planned Parenthood
• Reverse Medicaid Expansions
• Eliminate The Affordable Care Act
Roll Back and Civil Rights and Equality Gains for Americans
• Rollback Civil Rights Protections
• Increase Discrimination in Adoption and Foster Care
• Undermine Gender Equity Initiatives
• Weaken Environmental Justice Protections
• Restrict LGBTQ+ Rights
• Limit Voting Rights
• End Mail-in Voting
• Require Birth Certificates or Passports to Register
• Eliminate Affirmative Action
• Increase Surveillance of Marginalized Communities
• Weaken Hate Crime Legislation
• Ending Public Funding for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Reverse and Eliminate Environmental Gains
• Halt Actions to Combat the Climate Crisis
• Weaken the EPA's Authority
• Disband NOAA
• Expand of Offshore Drilling
• Shift Climate Funds to State Regulators
• Reduce Clean Energy Initiatives
• Roll Back Climate Change Regulations
• Eliminate the Clean Water Act
• Remove Protections for Endangered Species
Transform Public Education
• Eliminate the Department of Education
• Limit, Segregate and Relegate Public Education for Wealthy Americans
• Mandate Military Entrance Exams for Public School Students
• Reduce Federal Student Loan Programs
• Rescind Protections for LGBTQ+ Students
• Tie Ideological Alignment to Funding for Education Programs
• Federal Oversight of State Education Curriculums
• Loosen Data Collection Requirements for Charter Schools
• Cut Funding for Public Schools
• Promote School Vouchers
• Eliminate Federal Grants for Education
• Impose Ideological Curriculum Standards
Concentrate Power to the Executive Branch
• Reinstate Schedule F Executive Order to Consolidating Power in the Presidency
• Deconstruct, Defund and End Agencies that Don’t Favor Corporations
• Relocate of Federal Agencies
• Impose Ideologically Biased Civil Service Tests
• Politicize Security Clearances
• Limit Government's Ability to Deliver for People
• Reduce Transparency in Government Operations
• Loyalty Tests for Federal Employees
• Flood Civil Service with Political Loyalists
National Security and Law Enforcement Directed at US Citizens
• Politicize the Department of Justice
• Increase Use of Surveillance on Citizens
• Deploy the military to end Political Protest
• Militarize Domestic Law Enforcement
• Expand Detention Centers for Immigrants
• Eliminate of Sanctuary Policies
• Dramatically Increase Deportations and Border Enforcement
• Restrict Asylum and Refugee Protections to Impossible Standards
• Direct Executive Control Over the Military for Domestic Orders
• Monitoring Citizens
• Domestic and International Travel Restrictions
• Jailing and Imprisoning Dissenters
• Censorship and Punishment for Citizen Dissent
• Erode Judicial Independence with Judges Loyal to the Executive Branch
Establish a National Religion
• Codify Christianity as the National Religion
• Impose Religious-Based Policies on Education and Healthcare
Establish a National Media
• Restrictions on the Freedom of the Press
• Concentrate and Nationalize Media
• Impose Penalties for Journalists through Enhanced Control, Regulation, and Policing
• Ending funding for Public Broadcasting
International Relations and Treaties
• Promoting Nationalistic and Isolationist Foreign Policies
• Reconfigure International Treaties and Relationships to Favor U.S. Interests
• Limit Participation in International Organizations
• Promote Sovereignty over Multilateral Agreements
Immigration
• Mass Deportations and Restrictions on Immigration Enforcement
• Establishing a Merit-Based Immigration System
• Elimination of Pathways to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants
• Drastic Reductions in Asylum Seekers' Protections
• Raising the Standards for Asylum Claims to Nearly Unattainable Levels
We’re at the forefront of the battle for a just, equitable, and democratic society. The challenges we face today—democratic backsliding, the rise of authoritarianism, deepening polarization, and the failure to secure our most aspirational goals—underscore the urgent need to reinforce the fundamental pillars of our democracy. These pillars are not merely theoretical constructs; they form the bedrock upon which we can build a thriving, inclusive, and resilient nation. (See: Democracy Road Map)
The United States stands at a precipice as the judiciary, once a bulwark of democracy and a critical check on executive and legislative power, is being transformed into an instrument of political will.
The framers of the Constitution designed the judiciary as an independent arbiter to balance the powers of the other branches of government. However, recent rulings by the Supreme Court and lower courts, dominated by judges with political allegiances have begun to dismantle these checks and balances. These rulings are systematically undermining the regulatory frameworks that protect civil liberties, public health, and environmental standards (Brennan Center for Justice, 2022).
All IdahoSenate and House Republicans in casting votes against the landmark bill titled the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
Idaho’s senators and representatives released statements in support of the Dobbs decision, over ruling Roe vs. Wade
Our work is not about establishment politics. We advocate a bold agenda for systemic change and hold all elected officials and those seeking office accountable to an agenda of the people, not a party platform that has increasingly ceased to meet the needs of the majority of Americans.
Our belief is that long-term change happens when people across the spectrum of our diversity meet each other where we are to find our shared values, needs and interests, to rise above partisan politics to work together to build a majority people powered movement that rejects authoritarianism and ready to fight for and build a durable democracy together shoulder-to-shoulder.
We stand up to powerful interests, articulate economic and social injustices, and bring pressure to bear on those elected officials to hold them to account. Together, we must protect, preserve and advance civil rights.
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