To the editor:

So, the top 10% own two-thirds of U.S. wealth. But how about when a wealthy person feels they have the right to use that money to control our government, our Supreme Court and our personal decisions? The last I knew, we were a democracy — not a capitalist dictatorship.

An April 3, 2024 New York Times column by Thomas Edsall reveals it’s not our imagination that there’s an undercurrent of wealth affecting our politics (and no it’s not Hollywood elites or the purported Democrat “Deep State”).

Edsall revealed that: “More than 100 conservative tax-exempt organizations have joined forces in support of Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda, forming a $2B-plus political machine.” That might not be a concern if it weren’t for the fact that these 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities claiming tax-exempt status (as churches or charity organizations do) are strictly forbidden to engage in political influencing or lobbying.

Contrary to ethics, Leonard Leo, co-chair of the 501(c)(3) Federalist Society, feels free to shower gifts on Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Alito. And for decades the 501(c)(3) Heritage Foundation, funded by the right-wing billionaire Koch family, has used its influence to infiltrate schools, the judicial system and politics with their proclaimed mission statement to “promote conservative public policy based on free enterprise, limited government and traditional American values.” Sounds political — and it is.

Not only is there evidence of The Heritage Foundation using seminars, colleges and media to convince voters of the now-debunked theory that the rich making unlimited money will benefit the little guy, they’ve now written Project 2025. It’s a 990-page instruction booklet that gives the Republican Party its marching orders. It’s a blueprint for taking over the government by deconstructing administrative departments, installing MAGA-loyalists in every position, eliminating corporate regulation, monopolizing the courts and reestablishing white male superiority in our country.

MAGA voters assume they’re voting for Trump. But Trump is just the GOP’s frontman stooge in this “deep state” scheme to raise anti-government resentment and defame Democrats. In reality, a vote for the Republican Party grants power to these behind-the-scenes elite right-wing/libertarian billionaires already disregarding rule-of-law and democratic principles.

It isn’t enough that these groups, claiming to be “non-partisan,” have convinced average wage-earners that they should be happy about excessive wealth at the top. But these anonymous billionaires also feel entitled to legislate our personal lives by dictating specific religious dogma, devaluing women’s autonomy and enforcing their definition of an ideal persona and an American family.

Thomas Edsall, “Trump’s Backers Are Determined Not To Blow It This Time,” New York Times, April 4, 2024.

Martha Hodges

Massena