Skip to main content

Visit Project Liberal Foundation

Donate

Author: Joshua Eakle

  • Statement on El Salvador Camps

    Tariff-induced economic chaos has dominated headlines, but there’s an even more consequential story that’s being overlooked. 

    On Sunday night, President Trump said he’d love to send American citizens to El Salvador’s concentration camps—at the same time his own administration argues in court they have no authority over these facilities. This is obviously absurd, given that the US is paying El Salvador to hold these prisoners, but speaks to the lengths the Trump administration is willing to go to avoid legal accountability.l 

    These moves are obviously unconstitutional, and demonstrate the president’s willingness to pervert the rule of law and our justice system. 

    The president’s illegal attempts to arbitrarily detain people should worry us all. Don’t forget, he calls anyone who doesn’t support him criminals, the enemy within, etc.

    Americans need to wake up.

  • Statement on Zelenskyy-Trump Meeting

    The overwhelming support for Ukraine yesterday and today from courageous and principled leaders—both foreign and domestic—has been heartening. Ukraine’s fight is not just against an invader; it is a battle against dictatorship, tyranny, and a brutal war characterized by numerous crimes against civilians. Moreover, Ukraine faces a regime that has orchestrated a widespread campaign of misinformation and disinformation—a calculated cognitive attack—targeting both its own people and much of the West.

    As Ukrainians fight to reclaim their occupied lands, our responsibility, while less personally perilous, is equally critical: we must free our own understanding from the grip of Russian disinformation. We cannot allow ourselves to become so detached from reality, so morally unmoored, that we inadvertently enable the authoritarian conquest and subjugation of a free and democratic ally.

    Project Liberal remains steadfast in its commitment to defending liberal values wherever they are under threat. We will continue to organize and empower those who share our vision of a free and democratic world.

  • The Execution of Marcellus Williams Highlights the Urgent Need for Death Penalty Reform

    Liberalism anchors itself in the foundational recognition of the core dignity of every human being. Respect for humanity sits at the very heart of the liberal proposition. Therefore, there is no greater affront to that proposition than the callous casting aside of a human life. The justifications for such an act should be few and the bar high.

    That the state should have the power to take life in the administration of justice is highly problematic in the best of circumstances. That it should exercise that power capriciously defies the concept of justice itself.

    The execution last night of Marcellus Williams by the state of Missouri over the objections of not only his counsel and supporters but also prosecutors and the family of his alleged victim is a miscarriage of justice.

    As liberals, we value our institutions and the role that they play in shaping a free and democratic society. We value the rule of law – the concept that justice be applied equally and fairly to all. When justice is blind to prejudice and ego, our institutions are strengthened. When it is blind instead to its own flaws and mistakes and the suffering they inflict, our institutions are eroded.

    If we value our liberal democracy, if we value rule of law, if we value our shared humanity, then it is incumbent upon us to demand a justice that is restorative, healing, and fair. A state that will kill out of vengeance, or pride, or shame at botched trial procedures they do not want to revisit is a state that must not be granted that power at all.

  • Alleged Russian Funding of Illiberal Political Voices Underscores the Need for a Concerted Effort to Support Liberal Democracy

    The developing story that Tenet Media, home to some of the farthest-reaching illiberal voices in US political discourse, have allegedly been substantially funded by the Russian state propaganda apparatus is deeply troubling.

    There is perhaps no greater opponent of liberal values today than Vladimir Putin’s Russia. If the Department of Justice’s indictment is true, Russia is engaged in a concerted effort to undermine and attack liberal democracy through the funding of illiberal voices such as Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, and others.

    It is a cliche to say that America’s enemies hate us for our freedom. It is perhaps both less trite and more accurate to say that they hate us for our openness, our pluralism, and our willingness to welcome and engage with the world. These liberal values, which have undergirded our liberal democratic system since its founding, are the core of the American identity and a threat to the rule of autocrats everywhere.

    Is it a wonder then, that the foreign enemies of our liberal democracy are funding and promoting a domestic politics antithetical to those values – a politics of xenophobia, isolation, and identitarian grievance?

    If there was any doubt how acute the need for a concerted and unified effort in defense of our liberal values and the liberal democracy that those values thrive within, that doubt should now be gone. If there was any question as to whether illiberal values could be made compatible with the American project, it should now be laid to rest.

    Foreign governments will fund voices that seek to tear America apart, but only we can boost the voices that seek to bring us together and strengthen us in our values. Let all of us who prize those values join together in that effort.

    Join Project Liberal today and let’s build together, from America’s grassroots, something far stronger than illiberal foreign dictators like Putin can break.

  • Project Liberal Calls for the Release of Ksenia Karelina and Stands Against Russian Aggression

    Project Liberal Calls for the Release of Ksenia Karelina and Stands Against Russian Aggression

    It is imperative that those who value freedom and justice unite in opposition to illiberal regimes and in defense of liberal democracy around the globe.

    Russian courts today handed down a 12-year prison sentence to Russian-American Ksenia Karelina for a $50 charitable donation made in support of Ukraine in 2022.   Opponents of liberalism at home and abroad often idolize illiberal regimes like those of Putin, Orban, and Maduro.  They project onto those foreign strongmen a singularity of purpose that they wrongly assume aligns with their core values and beliefs – beliefs they hope a domestic strongman will come to power and similarly impose.

    What the enemies of liberal democracy here in the United States so often take for granted, as so many do, are the very protections afforded them by the liberal values they seek to overturn.  Values like the freedom of conscience to support causes of one’s choice, the market freedom to do so financially, the freedom of movement to travel without arbitrary detention, the security in one’s person and property against arbitrary seizure and search.

    The foul injustice in the treatment of Ksenia Karelina, the violation of her natural rights, and now the grave injustice of her sentence bring these differences between illiberal authoritarian regimes like Putin’s Russia and the liberalism of the democratic world into sharp contrast.

    We hope that, in light of Karelina’s US citizenship, the full force of diplomatic efforts will be mobilized to secure her prompt return.  Russian citizens in similar positions, however, can expect no such relief from the deprivation of justice.  The only permanent remedy is the wholesale end to Putin’s authoritarian regime.

    It is imperative that those of us who value our freedoms and the freedoms of others reject and oppose threats to liberal democracy at every turn.  The largest such threat at this moment is unambiguously Russia’s invasion and crimes against the people of Ukraine.

    Just two days ago, Ukraine received another 4.2 billion euros from the liberal democracies of Europe, who continue to rally support for its defense.  As this statement is being drafted, Ukraine has announced its full control over the city of Sudzha.  These latest efforts have also purportedly resulted in significant numbers of Russian troops redeploying out of Ukraine.

    Public and private support for Ukraine from the United States does not place American lives in harm’s way, nor does it represent a unilateral effort to police the world.  America, with its support, is participating in a broad coalition of liberal democracies aiding Ukraine in its defense against authoritarian invasion and the alleviation of a humanitarian crisis.  It is noble, it is just, and it should continue until the threat to liberal democracy presented by Russia’s invasion has ceased.

  • The Liberalism Scorecard

    The Liberalism Scorecard

    Our political system sucks right now.

    Right now, across the world, there’s a political realignment happening. It presents the biggest opportunity liberals have seen in half a century.

    In this moment, liberals have the opportunity to lead the conversation and form a lasting coalition that can act as bulwark against authoritarianism for a generation.

    First, let me elaborate on this “realignment…”

    You’ve seen it online. The far right and the far left are converging. There’s a growing “illiberal alliance” that’s forming across the globe. You don’t have to go far nowadays to see both the radical left and far right praising Putin, justifying terrorism, or pushing to elect Trump (for admittedly diverse reasons).

    And this is all playing out in the context of the 2024 election. Both of these fringes are lining up behind Donald Trump: a convicted felon who’s taken concrete steps to stop the peaceful transfer of power… a man who seeks to dismantle America’s liberal institutions.

    Probably the most prolific political pollster of our time, Nate Silver, recently raised the red flag about the Democrat’s weakening coalition.

    In this article, he made the case that our political identities do not fit on a straight line. He echoed F.A. Hayek’s “Why I’m Not A Conservative” essay, calling for Americans to reclaim the “liberal” label by putting it in a clear juxtaposition against socialism and conservatism.

    And he said the time to do this is right now.

    It’s important to see the big picture…

    The Republican Party is transforming. Educated voters — including many former Haley supporters and Reagan Republicans — are leaving the party in droves. With these departures, the GOP has fully transformed into a fringe group of low information authoritarian voters obsessed with revenge.

    And the Tea Party movement has totally collapsed. All remaining Tea Party politicians have embraced MAGA authoritarianism. FreedomWorks recently voted to dissolve, citing the GOP pushing them away from their values. The Libertarian Party also recently invited Trump and RFK Jr. to keynote their convention.

    And yet, liberals, those who embrace the political philosophy centered around individual rights, equality, the rule of law, democracy, and free-market economics — the philosophy that created the most prosperous, free, and powerful society in human history — find themselves divided, spread across multiple parties and political identities with little electoral power.

    Extremists continue to dominate our discourse. This has to change before time runs out.

    We cannot cede electoral politics to the extremists and authoritarians.

    Here’s why you should be hopeful: with so many abandoning their values or leaving the electoral space, there is an opening in the market for an organization like ours.

    But it’s important to understand, the growth potential is not on the right. It’s on the center, center-left. As of today, 71% of Gen Z and 75% of Millennials identify as either “liberal” or “moderate.”

    Hiddentribes.us put out a study on the coalitions that make up US politics today. If the US was a multiparty system, it would look like this. This study proved that at least 41% of the electorate strongly embrace liberal values and can be united around a pro-liberty message delivered appropriately.

    The goal of this effort is threefold:

    This is more than just a simple ranking on politicians’ votes — it seeks to define their alignment with the values that built America. The way we’ll do this is by looking at more than just a candidate’s votes or policy proposals. The framework takes into account both policy and rhetoric, seeking to understand their broad commitment to liberal values.

    The final output is their liberalism score.

    This score is calculated by answering key philosophical questions that underpin liberal thought. These are broken into three axis and answer the following questions:

    Democracy

    Social

    Fiscal

    Be advised, the final framework is still under development but will be fully transparent when it’s released.

    Once the rating system is complete, we will boost and defend viable liberal candidates in primaries and general elections from authoritarian opponents regardless of party.

    Understand that we’re a mission-driven organization… that’s unique in the world of Super PACs. We do not have a billionaire backer or special interest funding us.

    However, in order to make this real, we need to quickly hire staff to begin research efforts and support our electoral work before the general election in November.

    Right now, we’re sitting at $1,500 in monthly recurring small-dollar commitments from members. It’s a good start, but we need at least $10,000 in recurring commitments before we can start hiring staff.

    Overall, we expect the entire effort to cost roughly $250,000.

    Will you chip in $10, $50, $100, or $1000 now to make this a reality?

    We recognize that this is an ambitious effort but it’s existential.

    We either build a movement to defend the values that made America great, or we risk them being lost forever.

    Remain optimistic. We can do this.

  • It’s Time to Reclaim the Word “Liberal”

    It’s Time to Reclaim the Word “Liberal”

    In an age marked by erupting hatred and high levels of polarization, many Americans are in search of an off-ramp and a return to rationality and civility in our politics. We believe that there’s a beacon of hope still flickering from the past: liberalism.

    We write to you today as representatives of Project Liberal, a new organization that intends to reclaim not just the word “liberal,” but the values it embodies. We aim to return these ideas to the mainstream, making them as vital to our discourse as they were during the 18th century.

    For many in the United States, the word “liberal” triggers an onslaught of mixed emotions and polarized connotations. Yet, if we trace the term back to its roots, we discover a set of ideas that has continuously championed individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, free movement, and free enterprise for centuries.

    “If we trace liberalism back to its roots, we discover a set of ideas that has continuously championed individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, free movement, and free enterprise for centuries.”

    These roots still exist today, looking at the definition, “relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.” 

    The liberal tradition, born from the fervor of the Enlightenment, is a testament to our shared pursuit of freedom, autonomy, and respect for the individual. It dismisses coercion, instead embracing consent, cooperation, and shared understanding as the pillars of social order.

    As described by renowned economist Diedre McCloskey, “The agenda of modern liberalism, ranged against tyranny and poverty, is achieving human flourishing in the way it has always been achieved. Let my people go. Let ordinary people have a go. Stop pushing people around.”

    “The agenda of modern liberalism, ranged against tyranny and poverty, is achieving human flourishing in the way it has always been achieved. Let my people go. Let ordinary people have a go. Stop pushing people around.”

    The impact of the liberal tradition reverberates through the fabric of modern society. The strides we have made in human rights and scientific innovation owe much to the liberal ethos. It is this same ethos that fosters open discourse, encourages a rigorous exchange of ideas, and shields our freedom of expression.

    However, it seems that our society is currently experiencing a crisis of amnesia.

    The term “liberal” and its fundamental democratic principles – transparency, fairness, accountability, and the safeguarding of rights – are being sidelined in favor of populist slogans and quick fixes. We argue that it’s not the term “liberal” that needs discarding, but rather its misrepresentation that needs rectifying.

    In the Appendix to Liberalism, economist Ludvig von Mises wrote eloquently against abandoning the ideology’s name due to unfavorable sentiment. “Precisely because the word ‘liberal’ has a bad connotation…, liberalism must stick to it. One may not make the way to liberal thinking easier for anyone, for what is of importance is not that men declare themselves liberals, but that they become liberals and think and act as liberals.”

    “Precisely because the word ‘liberal’ has a bad connotation…, liberalism must stick to it. One may not make the way to liberal thinking easier for anyone, for what is of importance is not that men declare themselves liberals, but that they become liberals and think and act as liberals.”

    The word “liberal,” if reclaimed and rightly understood, can serve as a bridge among diverse groups, fostering unity in our increasingly fragmented society and building a potential movement that can stand the test of time. The fundamental principles of liberalism are antidotes to an era rife with reactionary ideas, hatred, and propaganda.

    As we look forward, reclaiming “liberal” is not just a semantic exercise. It reaffirms our commitment to the values it stands for: freedom, justice, equality, and progress. There is potency and potential of embracing the term “liberal”, with it we can conceive new solutions for modern challenges.  Project Liberal’s mission is not merely a reclamation of a word but a rejuvenation of a legacy that has championed humanity by defending every individual.

    “As we look forward, reclaiming ‘liberal’ is not just a semantic exercise. It reaffirms our commitment to the values it stands for: freedom, justice, equality, and progress.”

    We, therefore, invite you to join us in our journey to restore the word “liberal” and the principles it embodies to their rightful place in our political discourse. By doing so, we believe we can spark a movement towards a brighter, freer future, invigorating our shared commitment to creating a society where every individual thrives.

    We invite you to reclaim the word “liberal” and join us in this critical endeavor. It’s time to dispel the darkness of division and light up the path of unity, led by the beacon of true liberalism