Trump Iowa Win Called a 'Stark Reminder' of Threat He Poses to Democracy
by Jake Johnson
January 16, 2024
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Former President Donald Trump's victory in Iowa's Republican presidential caucuses on Monday should serve as a "stark reminder" of the threat he poses to U.S. democracy, progressive campaigners said after the GOP frontrunner finished 30 percentage points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the party's first primary contest of 2024.
That's a record margin for a contested Iowa Republican caucus, far surpassing Bob Dole's 13-percentage-point win in 1988, according to The Associated Press, which called the low-turnout race for Trump just 30 minutes after caucus doors opened.
Sean Eldridge, president and founder of Stand Up America, said in a statement that the former president's win is another clear indication that "the 2024 election will be a referendum on the future of our democracy."
Further extract:
Some of the Trump team's planning for a second term can be seen in the work of Project 2025, a coalition of right-wing advocacy organizations whose stated purpose is to "pave the way for an effective conservative administration."
As Rotimi Adeoye reported for The Daily Beast on Sunday, "Project 2025's goal is to recruit thousands of conservatives to Washington, D.C. to replace the existing government workers they believe are part of the 'deep state' to enact their radical Republican agenda."
Read more of the
Common Dreams article here:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trum ... caucuses
From the
Daily Beast article cited above:
Their proposed agenda is comprehensive, advocating for the privatization of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the weakening of protections against foreign election interference, a reduction in visas for international students, and, notably, the dismantling of federal abortion protections. This encompasses aggressive measures such as restricting access to contraception, leveraging the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for heightened “abortion surveillance” and data collection, and revoking a Department of Defense policy prohibiting abortion travel funding.
Concerning the call to weaken protections against foreign election interference, Project 2025 suggests ending the involvement of the United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) to strengthen U.S. election protection against foreign interference. USCYBERCOM is one of the branches of the United States Department of Defense (DOD), it’s our nation’s first line of defense in cyberspace. Project 2025 believes that the Department of Defense is being used as a tool for political purposes. One of the many flaws in Project 2025’s strategy lies in its disregard for the genuine threat of foreign interference in American elections.
In 2020, Iranian hackers breached a municipal government reporting system that publishes election results. Thankfully, they were thwarted by the USCYBERCOM team. The Iranian hackers were still able to obtain confidential voter data, deploying misleading emails to spread misinformation and manipulate election results. By dismissing the threats from the 2020 election, Project 2025’s election plan jeopardizes our democracy and undermines the legitimacy of election results.
Read more of the
Daily Beast article here:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/right-wi ... cond-term
Don't mourn, organize.
-Joe Hill
