# 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:** 395
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7913 "2021-10-21T20:04:28Z")
These 2022 Republican campaign ads are deranged. This is somehow worse than Marjorie Taylor Greene’s. Fifteen years ago these would have been a brainchild of a Democrats aiming to mock Republicans in a parody. Now the parody is reality. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eXvnt_xhZmI/maxresdefault.jpg "GOP firebrand Michele Fiore enters Nevada governor's race") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXvnt_xhZmI) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/b2RdZRORfyY/maxresdefault.jpg "Marjorie Greene's Insane New Ad Is Shockingly Dumb") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2RdZRORfyY) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7914 "2021-10-21T20:27:27Z")
It’s also funny that Trump wouldn’t tell the truth of what his favorite color is (it’s gold, as we all know). The… ahem… ‘man’ is utterly incapable of telling the truth. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7915 "2021-10-21T20:39:19Z")
Congressman Jim Banks has been sending letters to federal agencies claiming to be the ranking member of the 1/6 committee, which he refused to join. > **[Liz Cheney humiliates fellow Republican as she calls him out for falsely...](https://www.alternet.org/2021/10/january-6-committee)** > > Although House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's select committee on the January 6 insurrection is dominated by Democrats, it includes two conservative Republican critics of former President Donald Trump: Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of... ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7916 "2021-10-21T20:46:27Z")
This is a crime right? Guess it doesn’t matter. It’s not like he would be charged. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7917 "2021-10-21T20:47:52Z")
Your summary and the accompanying headline are not borne out by the text of the letter. [![](https://i.ibb.co/M64Csgx/FCPu-JZEXo-AMKf9-Y.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/M64Csgx/FCPu-JZEXo-AMKf9-Y.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7918 "2021-10-21T20:58:52Z")
So, should the reply to this letter be something along the lines of “Your party has that information; ask Cheney and Kinzinger for your copy”? Plus, as I understand it, Banks (and Jim Jordan) are simply not members of the committee, rather than “not being allowed to fulfill” (their duties), as the Banks letter would imply. So he would have no standing to ask for this, if my understanding is correct. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7919 "2021-10-21T20:59:57Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “Medically invasive”? This is the part that really bothers me. The major reason for not letting people quiz everybody about their medical history is to protect people who might be discriminated against if their employers, or someone like that, found out they have a medical condition. But “being vaccinated” isn’t really a “medical condition”, and since the majority of people are vaccinated, you’d have to be an anti-vaxxer idiot to try to discriminate against them. Showing a card that says, “Yes, I’m vaccinated” really doesn’t give away any serious personal information, since it’s essentially the exact same information that applies to over a hundred million people in the US. It’s like complaining that everyone knows I have a “medical condition” where I have to eat, breathe and sleep. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7920 "2021-10-21T21:01:36Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > So, should the reply to this letter be something along the lines of “Your party has that information; ask Cheney and Kinzinger for your copy”? > > Plus, as I understand it, Banks (and Jim Jordan) are simply not members of the committee, rather than “not being allowed to fulfill” (their duties), as the Banks letter would imply. So he would have no standing to ask for this, if my understanding is correct. Well, that might make the part where he asks for the info problematic, but the way he phrases it the request comes solely because he is a member of the minority party and has a right to it. I do not know how accurate that is, but he does not misrepresent himself as the ranking member of the committee, which was the accusation. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7921 "2021-10-21T21:12:17Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I do not know how accurate that is, but he does not misrepresent himself as the ranking member of the committee, which was the accusation. Well… he kinda does. He identifies himself as having been appointed to “to serve as the Ranking Member of the Select Committee” but then says “yet, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to allow me to fulfill my duties as Ranking Member.” He implies he is a member of the committee, but states that Pelosi is keeping him from his duties - not that his appointment to the committee was vetoed by her, which would make him not a member. It’s a slight semantic point, but it is there. Of course, there is the plausible deniability in that, if he is not a member of the committee, he did not in black and white claim to be such. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7922 "2021-10-21T21:14:22Z")
Right: he says he was appointed, which he was, and then he says that Speaker Pelosi wouldn’t let him serve. That’s factual. There is no implication, IMO: he flat out says that he is not on the committee. In context, “refused to allow me to fulfill my duties” is the same as “would not allow me to serve on the committee”. I guess I can see how an uncharitable reading would think that implies he _is_ on the committee but not the ranking member, but that wasn’t my first thought when I read the letter, even after having that as my expectation. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7923 "2021-10-21T21:17:16Z")
Well to be fair, I would assume that the discrimination would be against those who are not vaccinated. This is definitely real thing at least technically since they are (with good reason) prohibited from engaging in certain activities that may be allowed for the vaccinated. Unvaccinated status could in some rare cases be a medical condition if you have a condition that would make it dangerous to get a vaccine. Being one of those people would really really suck because not only are you in danger of contracting the disease and dying, but you also are likely to get lumped in with the group of idiots who refuse to get vaccinated for ideological misinformation reasons many of whom will claim to have your condition in order to get out of having to get the vaccine. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7924 "2021-10-21T21:18:13Z")
I agree with Bo’s interpretation, and further, I see nothing wrong with his actual request. Let him see the committee info and findings. Who cares? The only thing that worries me is how badly the linked site spun the news. It felt like I was reading the Left version of OANN. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7925 "2021-10-21T21:43:11Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > …but he does not misrepresent himself as the ranking member of the committee, which was the accusation. Under the signature is his name, and “Ranking Member”. Sure seems like he is trying to claim that he holds that position. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7926 "2021-10-21T21:44:47Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > It’s fleas all the way down… [_Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,_ _And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum._ _And the great fleas themselves, in turn, have greater fleas to go on;_ _While these again have greater still, and greater still, and so on._](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siphonaptera_(poem)) ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7927 "2021-10-21T21:48:21Z")
🤦‍♂️ I completely missed that; you are correct and I withdraw my objection to the characterization. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7928 "2021-10-21T22:04:09Z")
As did I. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7929 "2021-10-21T22:19:53Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I guess I can see how an uncharitable reading would think that implies he _is_ on the committee but not the ranking member And I guess I can see how by past actions, the Republican party and its members have squandered any chance for a charitable reading. If people have to parse meaning like a lawyer with a hostile witness, that’s what you get. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7930 "2021-10-21T23:07:34Z")
Lauren Witzke’s Twitter account is banned, so I don’t know where she posted this. But she claims that she got covid from a vaccinated person, and no hospital would treat her with the quack medicines, but finally she found a quack doctor who prescribed her ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, and now she’s cured. [![](https://i.redd.it/g9xsdcgk7uu71.png) ](https://i.redd.it/g9xsdcgk7uu71.png) ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7931 "2021-10-21T23:09:39Z")
Who is Lauren Witzke? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140/7932 "2021-10-21T23:13:51Z")
> **[Lauren Witzke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Witzke)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Lauren Elena Witzke (born February 9, 1988) is an American far-right political activist known for her anti-LGBT views and promotion of QAnon. Witzke was the Republican nominee in the 2020 United States Senate election in Delaware, which she lost to incumbent Democrat Chris Coons. She is a former TV show host for TruNews. > Witzke was born on February 9, 1988, in Delmar, Delaware. She attended Goldey–Beacom College, where she earned a BBA in busin... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140.md?page=394) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-1/911140.md?page=396)