The Maine right has its own Project 2025 and it’s a doozy

Remember the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, their 2024 wish list for a new Republican administration?

Russ Vought, now Trump’s OMB Director who Susan Collins voted for, was heavily involved in drafting it.

Project 2025 has guided what Vought, Trump and congressional Republicans have been doing. That includes big tax cuts for the rich, slashing climate and diversity programs, decimating scientific research, shifting power to the executive branch, cutting health care, etc.

This group used to be called the Maine Heritage Policy Center. Besides putting out professional looking publications and lobbying legislators, MPI funds the vitriolic Maine Wire, known for its frequently misleading, xenophobic material.

As Andy O’Brien explained:

MPI is part of the State Policy Network, a massive web of tax-exempt right- wing “think tanks” in all 50 states. According to the Center for Media and Democracy, the bulk of its funding comes from DonorsTrust, a dark money group that conceals the identity of its donors. Mother Jones magazine has called DonorsTrust the dark-money ATM of the conservative movement.”

MPI’s leader used to work for national Republicans as a communications professional, including for Susan Collins, and now has a radio show he uses to spread GOP and conservative messages.

You can review MPI’s Policy Blueprint directly, but its basic parameters won’t surprise anyone familiar with national conservative policy proposals.

Like trickle-down economics? It’s front and center.

Oppose tackling climate change? That’s covered too.

Favor cuts to health care, education, and nutrition funding? It’s all included.

Want to weaken labor unions, cut job training, and expand local law enforcement cooperation with ICE? So do they.

• Education: Cut the Department of Education and eliminate all state funding for adult education.

• Environment: Reduce water quality funding, promote and expand open pit mining, repeal Maine’s emissions goals, and end or reduce support for wind and solar energy.

• Family Leave: Repeal Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

• Food programs: Eliminate free universal school meals and the Statewide Hunger Relief Program and Fund to Address Food Insecurity.

• Health Care: Repeal or reduce Medicaid expansion, cut MaineCare.

• Higher Education: Eliminate free community college.

• Housing: Eliminate the Housing Opportunity Program.

• Immigration: Mandate local police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement (ICE).

• Labor Rights: Freeze the minimum wage and pass an anti-union “right-to-work” law.

• Law Enforcement: Cut Consolidated Emergency Communications and Capitol Police.

• Taxes: Reduce and phase out the personal income tax (starting with repealing the 2% surcharge on single-filer income over $1 million) and abolish the state corporate income tax.

• Trade: Cut funding for international commerce initiatives.

• Veterans’ Services: Reduce funding for state veterans’ programs.

• Workforce: Eliminate job training for TANF recipients, cut workforce research.

All of this, we’re told, would contribute to our freedom, opportunity and prosperity.

In fact, this agenda cuts off help for Mainers seeking education and job training, removes assistance for local businesses trying to export goods and services, shifts tax burdens onto local property owners, and cuts health coverage for 86,000 Mainers.1

To make implementation seamless, the MPI plan arrives with dozens of pre-written, turn-key bills lawmakers can introduce directly.

There’s quite a lot in the plan I haven’t covered and I hope you take a look for yourself.

I don’t think most Mainers support this agenda, but it’s great to see it all spelled out so we can discuss it.

What do you think?