FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Contact: Denzel McCampbell, denzel@progressmichigan.org, 313-400-0298
Mackinac Center Contributed to Dangerous Project 2025 Policy Platform
Michigan conservative think tank aided in writing the fascist playbook
MICHIGAN – The Michigan-based right-wing think tank, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, is listed as having contributed to The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a policy agenda outlining their bleak vision for our future.
The connection between the Mackinac Center and The Heritage Foundation is no secret. The Mackinac Center is part of the Koch-funded State Policy Network and receives funding from a variety of conservative and corporate sources, including the DeVos family. They champion right-wing causes in Michigan on behalf of the wealthy and large corporations such as climate change denial and the privatization of education. They were also instrumental in passing the recently-repealed, anti-worker right-to-work law.
“Project 2025 poses numerous threats to our freedoms and fundamental human rights,” said Sam Inglot, executive director of Progress Michigan. “It’s no surprise that the Mackinac Center is involved with Project 2025. We’ve watched them fight for decades for these same anti-worker, anti-freedom, anti-equality policies designed to usher in fascism and satisfy their wealthy and corporate overlords.
“Just like they are chipping away at our freedom to decide if and when we want kids, they plan to dictate our futures for us according to a Christian and white nationalist agenda,” Inglot continued. “Their plan includes taking over our schools, attacking protections for LGBTQ+ and Black and brown Americans, and sacrificing our right to a livable planet to make rich oil corporations richer. We must come together to fight for a future where we all have freedom over our healthcare decisions and everyone, including LGBTQ+ Americans, immigrants, people of color, and people with different religious beliefs will all be treated equally.
“Over the years, the Mackinac Center’s approach to public relations has been to cast itself as a reasonable, nonpartisan group that’s only concerned about fiscal responsibility, but signing on to the Project 2025 agenda is a mask-off moment. And now, the Mackinac Center has revealed what they truly are—a far-right asset that is willing to throw their weight behind an extremist agenda with no regard for the vulnerable people who will become collateral damage in their fight to protect corporations and the wealthy. It’s time for all of us—public officials, the media, and the public—to recognize that.”
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