Whether you’ve heard of Project 2025 already or not, allow me to lay it out for you: A coalition of politically conservative organizations both for- and not-for-profit have written an extensive 180-day plan of action for an unnamed conservative president replacing Biden in the next election. A “playbook” detailing the needs, wants, and dreams of the organizations includes bootcamps for future candidates without prior office experience. Essentially, a School of Politics to put young conservatives in elected positions at all levels of government. It would almost be an intriguing innovation, if it hadn’t already been dreamed up by two very different (but very much pre-existing) organizations: Camp Oak Hallows of Central Texas (“COH”), and the Shiny Happy People documentary subjects The Institute of Basic Life Principles (“IBLP”).
The Institute of Basic Life Principles
Founded by Bill Gothard in 1961, the IBLP is a publisher of Christ-centric teachings asserting that God’s Word is sufficient for “every area of life,” including all academic learning and aspects of adulthood. From 1984-2021, their home education collection, the Advanced Training Institute, was the frontline IBLP program. The Duggar family uses this curriculum in their show 19 Kids and Counting (TLC, 2008 to 2015).
Students and graduates of the Institute may have gone onto residency in the IBLP’s Ministry Centers, working in Academies or Embassies on discipleship “missions.” These jobs carry them into the age of majority – and voting eligibility – often without ever testing for typical educational understanding. Though the ATI is out of print now, the ALERT Academy of paramilitary and like-combat readiness persists. Members of the US armed forces disagree that ALERT at all compares to actual prescribed training and preparedness. The IBLP has made deliberate efforts, and has succeeded, to install adherents into government, including Jim Bob Duggar (1999-2003.) In 2015, IBLP HQ relocated to Big Sandy, Texas from Chicago. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry is a prominent endorsing voice of IBLP, as is Mike Huckabee. Pat Robertson of ACLJ and Jim Bob Duggar endorsed Huckabee for President in 2007.
How the Church Influences the State
Christian-focused education is fully baked-in to Project 2025. Alabama Policy Institute Fellow Chief Justice Drayton Nabers, J.D. taught a course on Christian Ethics at Samford University. Alliance Defending Freedom’s history of representing Christians in religion-based Supreme Court cases includes the fraudulent case of a Colorado graphic designer refusing to build a website for a gay man. The case was upheld by SCOTUS even though the man in question is not gay, and did not know his information was involved in the suit at all. Over and over again, through Project 2025’s Advisory Board list of champions, there are repeating names, faces, and places.
Patrick Henry College is both a coalition member, and alma mater of Alex and Brett Harris (ministry leaders of The Rebelution) raised in Christian homeschooling by their father Gregg Harris, director of The Noble Institute. Patrick Henry College’s founder and Chancellor Emeritus Mike Farris became President and CEO of the Alliance Defending Freedom in 2017. Noble Institute is endorsed by HSLDA, also founded by Mike Farris. PHC Board member James Leininger is founder of Texas Public Policy Foundation, and an IBLP advisory board alumnus.
Politicelebrities
Dr Ben Carson founded American Cornerstone Institute in 2021, and also serves on the Advisory Board of The American Conservative with Oren Cass of American Compass, and Senator Jeff Sessions. American Compass’s Chief of Staff Emily Davis worked full-time for The Heritage Foundation, the Project 2025 spearheads.
Liberty University has “been 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 1971,” per their own LinkedIn page description. Liberty collaborated in 2019 with Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA (Project 2025 coalition member) to launch the “Standing for Freedom Center” and hosted Mike Huckabee.
Similarly, Hillsdale College and its president Larry P Arnn make repeat appearances in the Project 2025 roll call. Arnn is a trustee of the Heritage Foundation, and member of the Council for National Policy, a “secret society” of America’s top conservatives and right-wing influencers. One simple Wikipedia browse reveals a very familiar list of names.
Ties to White Nationalism and Nazism
America First Legal consists of President Stephen Miller and Vice President Gene Hamilton. Both worked for Jeff Sessions before joining the Trump Administration. Miller worked with Alt-Right Nazi Richard B Spencer on the National Policy Institute, sponsored by the Pioneer Fund. Pioneer Fund also supported white supremacist-eugenicist Roger Pearson, a regular contributor to The Heritage Foundation publications. Jeff Sessions’ alleged involvement in collusion with Russian government officials took place at a Heritage Foundation event in 2016. National Policy Institute founder and white nationalist William Regnery II was an active member of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Western supremacist Alfred Regnery remains on the Board of Trustees for ISI.
American Moment shares staff with several other listed Advisory Board coalition members. Alexa Walker is Director of Communications for The Heritage Foundation and on the Board of Advisors for American Moment. Personnel Manager Sarah Calvis was Project Manager for The Heritage Foundation on Project 2025 itself. Terry Schilling is also president of American Principles Project, and employs Chris Madden, Liberty University alumnus.
The CNP features members Michael Farris of Alliance Defending Freedom, Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA and the Liberty University collaboration, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Edwin Feulner of both The Heritage Foundation and ISI, and Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association. Together, they comprise the bulk weight of Project 2025, and its published work, Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise.
It All Comes Back to This
Typically, major party platform releases come just in time for voters in a federal election. It can be difficult to back a candidate in the Primaries, operating solely on their verbal campaigning, rather than their party’s hard copy. Yet, smaller party candidates running independent campaigns waste no time in releasing platforms. They must, if they’re ever going to compete in the massive arena of the American public attention span. Any decent student knows argument must be based on sources, so voters in discussion must have sources to base their candidate opinions on. Without major party influence, Third Party candidates are lost in the noise. In fact, even Ballotpedia excludes Independent announcements from their Timeline.
The Coin Flip
Drastically contrasting the IBLP, also Texas-based 501c3 Camp Oak Hallows (founded 2015) serves the explicit purpose of encouraging students to draw their own conclusions on their academic needs and interests. Rather than offering specific beliefs to memorize and abide by, students list their individualized goals for learning and utilize the COH library as just one stockpile at their disposal. The non-profit actively invites faith-based groups in on resource development.
In terms of 2024 and the government, COH’s Civic Academy is seeking politically interested young people to form clubs and networks of discussion and debate for a greater understanding of candidates, their intentions, and their parties. This begins with the earliest platform documents released, and progresses to “main party” platforms later in the election cycle. Each of these philosophies entered Texas at the same time, but without the endorsement and attention of any particular political influencers, non-partisan COH falls behind Project 2025 in public awareness.
But like, how could it not, right? We’re not talking about a formidable new association of folks coming together for a single cause project, we’re talking about an ol’ boys club in the making since Reagan. This is not their first collaboration, and it won’t be their last.
