# NEW Stupid Republican Idea of the Day (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 4, 2023, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588 "2023-07-04T21:42:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 261
**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:** [May 13, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5201 "2024-05-13T17:08:43Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > …and that’s the kind of thing he considers to be a “joke”? A sociopath like this should never be anywhere close to the levers of power in government. Particularly in light of what happened to George Floyd, which is probably his intended subtext. But on a disappointing note, was what he did actually technically illegal? He didn’t pay for goods and services with the money, he probably didn’t tell his victims that it was real money, he simply handed it to a person on the street, and let them draw their own conclusions. So he may not be guilty of misrepresenting the money as real. I don’t know if there is a law against fooling someone in the hopes that they commit an illegal act, (there probably should be) but I doubt that counterfeiting law covers what he did. ---
**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 13, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5202 "2024-05-13T17:32:05Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > But on a disappointing note, was what he did actually technically illegal? [https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-law-federal/counterfeit-money.html](https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-law-federal/counterfeit-money.html) > Counterfeiting money or other securities is typically charged as a federal crime, meaning offenders are subject to prosecution under federal law. The [United States Code](https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-18-crimes-and-criminal-procedure/18-usc-sect-25.html) makes forgery and counterfeiting currency serious criminal offenses. Under federal law, for example, the maximum punishment for those found guilty of altering, creating, **knowingly passing** or otherwise participating in counterfeiting 20 years in federal prison. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5203 "2024-05-13T20:18:52Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > knowingly passing I have a feeling that in law, “knowingly passing” implies that the person handing over the bill is doing so in order to pay for something. In other words, if you give someone a counterfeit bill as a gift, you’re not guilty of “knowingly passing.” John McEntee is guilty of being a flaming arsehole, of course. In today’s right wing, that wins him acclaim and rewards. (But no arrest.) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5204 "2024-05-13T20:35:27Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I have a feeling that in law, “knowingly passing” implies that the person handing over the bill is doing so in order to pay for something. I don’t think it’s the spending part, I think it’s knowing that it’s fake but treating it as real. So if you give your friend a real-looking fake bill and tell them it’s fake money, you’re probably in the clear. Making a real-looking fake bill, putting it in a birthday card and hoping they get caught trying to spend it, illegal. I found [this](https://casetext.com/statute/united-states-code/title-18-crimes-and-criminal-procedure/part-i-crimes/chapter-25-counterfeiting-and-forgery/section-479-uttering-counterfeit-foreign-obligations-or-securities): > Whoever, within the United States, knowingly and with intent to defraud, utters, passes, or puts off, in payment or negotiation, any false, forged… They do list “in payment” which would cover your scenario, but also utters, passes or puts off which would, I think, all be in reference to distributing the fake money in ways other than spending it. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5205 "2024-05-13T20:48:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I don’t think it’s the spending part, I think it’s knowing that it’s fake but treating it as real. So if you give your friend a real-looking fake bill and tell them it’s fake money, you’re probably in the clear. Making a real-looking fake bill, putting it in a birthday card and hoping they get caught trying to spend it, illegal. I think it’s simply a matter of intentionally putting counterfeit bills into circulation. It’s not just a matter of ripping people off - the very existence of counterfeit bills debases the currency and reduces faith in the government. The damage they do goes far beyond some individuals losing money. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5206 "2024-05-13T21:33:08Z")
If he was just a normal Republican and tried to overturn an election, he’d be fine. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5207 "2024-05-14T00:52:52Z")
God, Republicans are just shitty fucking people. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5208 "2024-05-14T02:00:25Z")
Andy Biggs (Q-AZ) would like everyone to know that he’s DEFINITELY not about to be indicted on multiple felony charges. [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNf_vluXIAAAuVL?format=jpg&name=medium) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNf_vluXIAAAuVL?format=jpg&name=medium) ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5209 "2024-05-14T02:08:14Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I wish he’d get arrested for something. He’s a nasty shit. Every time a Trump minion gets arrested, an angel gets his wings. > [@](#): > > The average American commits three felonies a day. So, what’s the figure when you adjust for Andy Biggs personally wrecking the curve? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5210 "2024-05-14T02:30:47Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Andy Biggs (Q-AZ) My idiot congressman. And embarrassment. He thinks the average is so high because of the crowd he runs with. 93 felony indictments alone by that one guy. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5211 "2024-05-14T04:52:52Z")
I have no credential to offer except my well-deserved reputation as a prescriptivist, but in my lexicon, transmitting a counterfeit bill with the goal of completing a monetary transaction is _tendering_; all that is necessary for it to be _passing_ is for the currency to _pass_ from one holder to another. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5212 "2024-05-14T05:01:47Z")
I don’t Xit, myself, but if I did, my response would be something along the lines of _the average Republican politician makes up twelve bogus statistics per hour,_ ‘Cos if I’ve got 240 characters, I’m not gonna waste my time on “Cite?” And then I’d end with #It\_Is\_A\_Sin\_To\_Vote\_For\_A\_Republican ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5213 "2024-05-14T06:26:19Z")
Id love to know which felonies he thinks we’re most commonly committing, because I can’t come up with any felonies I’ve committed. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2024, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5214 "2024-05-14T06:42:09Z")
For the record he is quoting the title of this book > **[Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent: Harvey Silverglate, Alan...](https://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies-Day-Target-Innocent/dp/1594035229)** > > Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent \[Harvey Silverglate, Alan M. Dershowitz\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent Its a common go to reference for those complaining about regulations. I haven’t read it so I can’t comment on whether its any good, but its got a forward by Alan Dershowitz so probably not. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5215 "2024-05-14T07:19:17Z")
I’m with you. The intent, obviously and according to the words of the passer (A), is for the recipient (B) to believe the offered bill is legitimate and that B then passes it to someone else (C) who recognizes it for the counterfeit is and calls the cops to arrest B. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5216 "2024-05-14T10:21:12Z")
They’re the worst kinds of felonies. The double-secret felonies. Best you should hire a lawyer to follow you around and provide real-time guidance. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5217 "2024-05-14T12:03:12Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I have no credential to offer except my well-deserved reputation as a prescriptivist, but in my lexicon, transmitting a counterfeit bill with the goal of completing a monetary transaction is _tendering_; all that is necessary for it to be _passing_ is for the currency to _pass_ from one holder to another. You don’t even have to get nitpicky/prescriptivist about it. The law specifically mentions both knowingly using counterfeit money to buy things as well as just handing it off to someone or otherwise getting it into circulation. > Whoever, within the United States, knowingly and with intent to defraud, utters, passes, or puts off, in payment or negotiation, any false, forged… I didn’t look beyond this, but I assume there’s another part of the law that covers (knowingly) possessing it as well. At least possessing it in a way to suggest you plan to use it (ie in your wallet). ---
**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 14, 2024, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5218 "2024-05-14T13:57:15Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > as well as just handing it off to someone Yep. I’d say “passing in negotiation” would cover what he’s done. He’s getting the homeless people to leave him alone by giving them a fake $5 bill. That seems like a sufficient quid-pro-quo to count as “negotiating”, and it’s clearly “passing” if it changes hands. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5219 "2024-05-14T14:33:19Z")
So, let’s start the back peddling now. - I didn’t really do that - It was a joke. (Not that funny now that the SS want a word with you, is it) And Rodger Stone claiming that the Rio concert was a Trump rally. - It was a joke, you have no sense of humor. No, we just know what a bunch of lying assholes you are. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/5220 "2024-05-14T18:15:41Z")
Several here have made good arguments on the side of ‘giving a counterfeit bill to a homeless person DOES fit the crime definition.’ Even so, I’d be interested to hear from any of the lawyers among us on this topic. > [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Its a common go to reference for those complaining about regulations. I haven’t read it so I can’t comment on whether its any good, but its got a forward by Alan Dershowitz so probably not. Why not? I’m sure he was wearing underwear when he wrote it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588.md?page=260) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588.md?page=262)