(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Leonard Leo & Project 2025 Is Coming for Your Rights! If You Don’t Believe it Ask its Organizers [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-12 Leonard Leo is on a phenomenal winning streak, so if you happen to spot him at a Las Vegas craps table, or making a bet at the Kentucky Derby, it might serve you well to follow his lead. However, as far as we know Leo, the relatively secretive right-winger who has more than billion dollars at his disposal, isn’t gambling on card games or horse races. Leo’s got bigger fish to fry: Building a country steeped in Christian nationalism. To that end, Leo is all in on the right’s all-encompassing anti-democratic Project 2025. Leo, a key figure in the conservative movement and a major influencer in reshaping the U.S. judiciary, plays a crucial role in promoting conservative candidates for judicial appointments. His efforts were instrumental in the selection of Supreme Court justices who contributed to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. With substantial financial backing, reportedly involving hundreds of millions of dollars, Leo has the resources to significantly influence the political landscape. If you’re not yet convinced that the organizers and the hundred or so conservative participating organizations in the Christian Nationalist Project 2025 are out to destroy democracy, you should take them at their word. And if you’re the type that follows the money, know that Leonard Leo and the Koch network’s money is all over the Project. Since coming out, Project 2025 (https://www.project2025.org/), has been discussed, but has it been dissected enough for the American people to understand the threat to democracy it imposes? As the Heritage Foundation noted in a 13-page pamphlet restating the goals of Project 2025, “Radical leftists are terrified … and they should be.” But more than “radical leftists” should be “terrified,” as democracy itself is at stake. “This initiative, spearheaded by the billion-dollar Shadow Network of Christian Nationalist organizations and their political allies we’ve been warning you about, is a substantial threat to church-state separation and the future of our democracy,” Americans United President and CEO Rachel Laser said in an April email to AU supporters. “And it’s a threat that not enough people are taking seriously. What is Project 2025? “Project 2025 offers a 900-page playbook [Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise] for restructuring the federal government in order to accomplish the policy goals of Christian Nationalists,” Laser wrote. “Rolling back the rights of LGBTQ+ people, ending marriage equality and even restricting divorce options, banning abortion and limiting reproductive health care, throwing up roadblocks to racial justice, eliminating the Department of Education and diverting public funds to private religious schools, and redefining religious freedom as a license to discriminate.” Church and State’s Liz Hayes provided a deep dive into the four-pound, 30 chapter book: “Each chapter, written by a different author, outlines a plan for restructuring a specific area of the federal government, from the Department of Defense (Chapter 4) to the Department of Education (Chapter 11) to the Department of Health and Human Services (Chapter 14) to the Department of Justice (Chapter 17) to the Federal Election Commission (Chapter 29)” (https://www.au.org/the-latest/church-and-state/articles/destroying-life-and-liberty-a-christian-nationalist-playbook-outlines-a-broad-scheme-to-overthrow-american-democracy-and-install-a-theocracy/?sourceid=&emci=630261b3-c21e-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&emdi=eabaff3b-d624-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&ceid=3706562#). The threats are abundant and cover all aspects of economic, social and political policy. Sierra, the magazine of the Sierra Club headlined its recent story on Project 2025: “Inside Trump’s Plan to Bulldoze American Climate Policy” (https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/inside-trump-s-plan-bulldoze-american-climate-policy). Capital B News headlined its story: “'Project 2025' and the Movement That Could Erode Black Equality.” Ms. Magazine’s story was headlined “Project 2025: The Right’s Dystopian Plan to Dismantle Civil Rights and What It Means for Women.” This is not a nuanced or even subtly disguised plan. The Heritage Foundation President Kevin D. Roberts writes in Project 2025’s introduction of their goal to begin “deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity (‘SOGI’), diversity, equity, and inclusion (‘DEI’), gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights … out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists.” Follow the money Leonard Leo and the Koch network have reportedly funneled millions into Project 2025. Research by Accountable.US, a nonprofit that exposes the special-interest groups and dark money influencing American politics, found that Leo’s and the Kochs’ networks have directed more than $50 million into organizations on Project 2025’s advisory board. “Leo, Koch and others should be held to account for propping up a policy platform that puts special interests over everyday Americans and poses an existential threat to our democracy,” Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk told NBC News. Leo's involvement with Project 2025 is an extension of his broader strategy to embed conservative values within the federal government. By funding and supporting this initiative, Leo aims to ensure the implementation of policies that reflect Christian Nationalist priorities. This initiative underscores Leo’s continued impact on American politics, leveraging vast financial resources to drive a conservative agenda that could redefine the nation's social, political, and economic fabric. 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