The Heritage Foundation is a far right-wing think tank funded by influential people who want to promote “free enterprise” and “free markets.” Founded during Nixon’s administration, its ability to churn out slanted “research” and fund like-minded organizations is quite powerful.

If you have not heard of the Heritage Foundation, then you have certainly felt its influence. Maybe you have heard of ALEC? Or the State Policy Network?

If you haven’t, then look them up. But here’s some info from SourceWatch:

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) describes itself as the largest “membership association of state legislators,” but over 98% of its revenue comes from sources other than legislative dues, primarily from corporations and corporate foundations.^[1] After the 2010 congressional midterm elections, ALEC boasted that “among those who won their elections, three of the four former state legislators newly-elected to the U.S. Senate are ALEC Alumni and 27 of the 42 former state legislators newly-elected to the U.S. House are ALEC Alumni.” (A full list of the Congressional freshmen who are ALEC alums can be found here.) ^[2]

ALEC’s agenda extends into almost all areas of law. Its bills undermine environmental regulations and deny climate change; support school privatization; undercut health care reform; defund unions and limit their political influence; restrain legislatures’ abilities to raise revenue through taxes; mandate strict election laws that disenfranchise voters; increase incarceration to benefit the private prison industry, among many other issues. ^[3]

ALEC is an “associate” member of the State Policy Network, a web of right-wing “think tanks” in every state across the country.^[4]

What ALEC is in quick and dirty terms is an ultra-conservative “bill-mill.” And there are many connections to North Carolina.

The State Policy Network is kind of a sister organization to ALEC that serves as an “umbrella” for ALEC aligned think tanks and institutions.

Again from SourceWatch:

The State Policy Network (SPN) is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of August 2020, SPN’s membership totals 162. Today’s SPN is the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party.

SPN describes itself as a network and service organization for the “state-based free market think tank movement,” and its stated mission is “to provide strategic assistance to independent research organizations devoted to discovering and developing market-oriented solutions to state and local public policy issues.”^[1] It was founded in November 1991^[2] and incorporated in March of 1992.^[3]

SPN groups operate as the policy, communications, and litigation arm of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), giving the cookie-cutter ALEC agenda a sheen of academic legitimacy and state-based support.

Let’s pull that last part out.

“SPN groups operate as the policy, communications, and litigation arm of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), giving the cookie-cutter ALEC agenda a sheen of academic legitimacy and state-based support.”

ALEC and SPN are arms of the Koch Brothers empire of influence.

The State Policy Network is rather big. It reaches into practically every state and links “individual” entities together. Oddly many of those entities are already linked.

Look at the directory and explore North Carolina for instance.

They all are linked to Art Pope, who need no introduction to North Carolinians.

The John Locke Foundation, Jesse Helms Center and Martin Center all are massively funded by Pope.

School choice, school privatization, and other actions that have weakened public schools in North Carolina are usually championed by Pope and his organizations.

The Heritage Foundation is part of the State Policy Network.

In fact, just this past month the Heritage Foundation gave the John Locke Foundation a “grant” to keep pushing the school choice measures that the NC General Assembly have been championing in a gerrymandered super-majority.

Now back to Project 2025.

It’s over 900 pages.

And it is a playbook for Trump’s second term if he is elected.

NPR has a great article on its scope and potential reach.

Even the BBC has a report on it.

And here are some snippets from the 920 document from Project 2025.

And maybe the best explanation of the scope of Project 2025 comes from John Oliver.

John Oliver on Project 2025 and a second Trump term.

I was going to clip this segment out into shorter sections but decided to keep it together because it's too important and, frankly, it should terrify you. pic.twitter.com/Kaqo07lurB

— Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) June 18, 2024

And just for added measure, here are some more tidbits being shared about Project 2025.