# NEW Stupid Republican Idea of the Day (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 22, 2020, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140 "2020-06-22T07:01:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 242
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4838 "2021-05-04T14:17:46Z")
“Equal justice under the law”. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4839 "2021-05-05T03:23:39Z")
The CIA is running an ad looking for diverse employees. Republicans, in particular Ted Cruz, are outrage. Cruz said, "If you’re a Chinese communist, or an Iranian Mullah, or Kim Jong Un…would this scare you? We’ve come a long way from Jason Bourne." > ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4840 "2021-05-05T03:26:08Z")
Tennessee state legislator claims that the 3/5 compromise was designed to end slavery. After he finished speaking the other Republicans in the legislature gave him a standing ovation. > **[Tennessee legislator praises Three-Fifths Compromise on state House floor](https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/551773-tennessee-legislator-praises-3-5-compromise-on-state-house-floor/)** > > Tennessee state Rep. Justin Lafferty (R) on Tuesday argued that the Three-Fifths Compromise should be held up as a positive but “bitter” part of U.S. history when arguing for … ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4841 "2021-05-05T04:08:49Z")
Kevin McCarthy rents a room from a lobbyist. > **[McCarthy confirms living arrangements with Luntz after tip to Tucker Carlson](https://thehill.com/homenews/house/551660-mccarthy-confirms-living-arrangements-with-luntz-after-tip-to-tucker-carlson/)** > > House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) confirmed on Tuesday he rented a room from GOP pollster Frank Luntz during the coronavirus pandemic, news that was first reported by F… ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4842 "2021-05-05T05:17:04Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The CIA is running an ad looking for diverse employees. Republicans, in particular Ted Cruz, are outrage. Cruz said, "If you’re a Chinese communist, or an Iranian Mullah, or Kim Jong Un…would this scare you? > > We’ve come a long way from Jason Bourne." I never kept up with the Bourne franchise, but isn’t Jason Bourne the CIA assassin who went rogue and spent the next decade or so in a bloody vendetta with various subspecies of other CIA assassins to thwart their nefarious plots? Is Ted Cruz under the impression that that’s how the CIA leadership actually wants their agency to operate? In fact, does he believe that Jason Bourne is in any way representative of the norm of CIA agents? Has he spent all those years in Washington without realizing that the typical CIA agent is a data analyst sitting at a computer, who probably doesn’t know one end of a gun from the other? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4843 "2021-05-05T06:46:26Z")
“Ted Cruz” and “realizing” almost never need to be in the same sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4844 "2021-05-05T07:07:15Z")
I think Rafael only cares that Jason Bourne is a straight white male. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4845 "2021-05-05T11:16:59Z")
Also, has he forgotten that Kim Jong Un was exchanging love letters with his buddy Trump? Cruz is such a Jackass. I really don’t understand his wife being ok with him sucking the ass of Trump. Ugh ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4846 "2021-05-05T11:20:06Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I really don’t understand his wife being ok with him sucking the ass of Trump. - She shares his (urk) values. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4847 "2021-05-05T11:25:53Z")
I know, but damn! I mean Trump called her ugly, with side by side pictures, on twitter! That’s gotta be hard to swallow! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4848 "2021-05-05T11:35:34Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Kevin McCarthy rents a room from a lobbyist. Well, yeah, but as long as the guy doesn’t bring Kev cocoa in bed, read him a story, and tuck him in with his teddy every night, what’s the big deal? 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4849 "2021-05-05T11:56:58Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Tennessee state legislator claims that the 3/5 compromise was designed to end slavery. After he finished speaking the other Republicans in the legislature gave him a standing ovation. Reaction has been swift: > [@](#): > > Several historians weighed in after a clip of Lafferty’s address was shared widely online. > > Manisha Sinha, a historian who holds the Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut, told HuffPost in an email that Lafferty’s comments “are completely incorrect and would be discredited by any respectable historian or even a middle schooler who knows American history.” > > “It certainly was not an antislavery clause but a pro-slavery one that gave slavery extra protections and recognition in the U.S. Constitution, just like the fugitive slave clause that sought to implement Southern laws of slavery in the North,” Sinha said. > **[GOP State Lawmaker Slammed For Saying 3/5 Compromise Aimed To End Slavery](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tennessee-state-lawmaker-justin-lafferty-three-fifths-compromise_n_6091dec2e4b0b9042d97f49c)** > > Multiple historians noted that the Three-Fifths Compromise helped slaveholders achieve inordinate power and uphold the institutions of slavery. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4850 "2021-05-05T16:37:29Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Is Ted Cruz under the impression that that’s how the CIA leadership actually wants their agency to operate? In fact, does he believe that Jason Bourne is in any way representative of the norm of CIA agents? Has he spent all those years in Washington without realizing that the typical CIA agent is a data analyst sitting at a computer, who probably doesn’t know one end of a gun from the other? Does he perhaps not understand that Jason Bourne is a _fictional character_? A generation ago Dan Quayle embarrassed himself by criticizing Murphy Brown, but now Pubs seem just fine with holding up fictional characters as real-life role models. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4851 "2021-05-05T16:59:33Z")
They have lost touch with reality. And reality has lost touch with them. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4852 "2021-05-05T17:09:26Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > A generation ago Dan Quayle embarrassed himself by criticizing Murphy Brown At least Murphy Brown was styled as a real human being, with real human problems and real human solutions. Bourne is barely recognizable as a human, not only does Cruz reference the character, he wants our government agencies to operate as though they’re staffed with mind controlled killing machines. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4853 "2021-05-05T17:16:37Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I know, but damn! I mean Trump called her ugly, with side by side pictures, on twitter! That’s gotta be hard to swallow! She’s married to Ted Cruz, so I imagine she can put up with _a lot._ ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4854 "2021-05-05T17:19:01Z")
This goes to show how completely performative the Republican idea of governance has become. Apparently the primary purpose of the intelligence agencies is no longer gathering information or assessing threats. It’s pure intimidation, our adversaries are supposed to stop their bad acts because they’re intimidated by the idea of a “bad-ass” secret agent coming after them. Even if we have no idea what those bad acts are, because the agencies don’t do real work anymore. But if our enemies succeed in pulling off those bad acts, the Republicans will just blame the Democrats, so it’s a win-win for them ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4855 "2021-05-05T17:24:48Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > They have lost touch with reality. And reality has lost touch with them. Lost touch my ass. Reality has moved on and left no forwarding address. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4856 "2021-05-05T17:49:41Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The CIA is running an ad looking for diverse employees. Republicans, in particular Ted Cruz, are outrage. Cruz said, "If you’re a Chinese communist, or an Iranian Mullah, or Kim Jong Un…would this scare you? I know what **wouldn’t** be scary to potential enemies of the US: a spy agency made up entirely of straight white Christian men trying to be inconspicuous in places that aren’t. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/4857 "2021-05-05T18:03:00Z")
If your purpose in hiring for the CIA is to scare your enemies, you want “rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140.md?page=241) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140.md?page=243)