# 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:** 473
**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:** [December 21, 2024, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9441 "2024-12-21T23:20:00Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > A Republican Congresswoman from Texas hasn’t been seen in six months, and her staff have been covering for her absence. I hope no one has been casting her votes during that time. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9442 "2024-12-22T00:18:38Z")
The Annoying Orange is demanding that Panama give the Canal Zone back to the US. > **['We will demand that the Panama Canal be returned': Trump issues threat to...](https://www.rawstory.com/trump-panama-canal-threat/)** > > "We will demand that the Panama Canal be returned," Donald Trump declared over the weekend. > > Trump on Saturday took to his own social media site, Truth Social, to issue a threat to local Panama officials about the famous Panama Canal. > > "The Panama... ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9443 "2024-12-22T00:24:06Z")
A man, no plan, a canal… COVFEFE! ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9444 "2024-12-22T00:40:23Z")
He’s trying to show his independence from #PresidentMusk. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9445 "2024-12-22T01:08:44Z")
A man, concepts of a plan, a canal… Panama ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9446 "2024-12-22T01:11:52Z")
A person, a woman, a man, concepts of a plan, a camera, a canal, a TV… Panama. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9447 "2024-12-22T01:12:13Z")
Dear lord… ‘Canal? What we need is a Panama Xunnel, flooded with heavy water. Not regular water the good stuff! And we’ll move cargo in xubmarines!’ ~ Overlord Musk ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9448 "2024-12-22T01:53:21Z")
At first I was surprised he didn’t propose building a canal across the US. This is “Build the wall” + the hyperloop guy after all. But then I remembered that this would count as infrastructure. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9449 "2024-12-22T02:25:34Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I hope no one has been casting her votes during that time. No proxy votes in the rules of this 118th Congress, and I looked at a bunch of roll votes in the House site over the past months and she has basically been listed as “No Vote” for half a year. She is not the only member who has had a prolonged absence for health reasons, or who has continued to hold the seat while suffering a disabling condition, but the norm is to at the least make some sort of statement to the effect. As **Gyrate** put it > [@Gyrate](#): > > I’m sad for her but Jeebus H Crispy, people, don’t pull this shit. This left her constituents hanging for six months. Again, it is the usual thing for someone to finish out their term while suffering an incapacitating condition. Constituent services continue being delivered by staff while obviously legislative work as such does not happen, but still it’s not the same thing for an assistant legislative aide to call to follow up a case as when a Member of Congress calls. In 1980 Gladys Spellman, congresswoman from Maryland, went into a coma days before the election and was reelected in that condition. The _incoming_ House had to exercise its power to judge qualification of members and once it was clear that she could never be sworn in [declare the seat vacant](https://www.congress.gov/bill/97th-congress/house-resolution/80) . ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9450 "2024-12-22T02:34:42Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > In 1980 Gladys Spellman, congresswoman from Maryland, went into a coma days before the election and was reelected in that condition. Hell, Mel Carnahan was dead when he got elected to the Senate. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9451 "2024-12-22T02:52:33Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The Annoying Orange is demanding that Panama give the Canal Zone back to the US. Has he said what he plans to do if they don’t give it back? I’m reminded of an exchange from _Yes, Minister_: _[The President of Buranda plans a speech urging the Scots and Irish to fight against “British colonialism”.]_ **Hacker** : Humphrey, do you think it is a good idea to issue a statement? **Sir Humphrey** : Well, Minister, in practical terms we have the usual six options. One: do nothing. Two: issue a statement deploring the speech. Three: lodge an official protest. Four: cut off aid. Five: break off diplomatic relations. And six: declare war. **Hacker** : Which should be it? **Sir Humphrey** : Well, if we do nothing, that means we implicitly agree with the speech. If we issue a statement, we’ll just look foolish. If we lodge a protest, it’ll be ignored. We can’t cut off aid, because we don’t give them any. If we break off diplomatic relations, then we can’t negotiate the oil rig contracts. And if we declare war, it might just look as though we were over-reacting. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9452 "2024-12-22T03:06:23Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’m reminded of an exchange from _Yes, Minister_ Imagine if Sir Humphrey were Trump’s Chief of Staff and couldn’t be fired. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9453 "2024-12-22T03:12:17Z")
Humphrey was amoral and a career civil servant, but he was competent and occasionally correct. He’d be a step up from anybody Trump will choose for the job. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9454 "2024-12-22T03:43:42Z")
Humphrey was the ultimate conservative in the classical sense. His primary goal was to prevent any action that would upset the status quo. Although this would mean he would stymie any attempts at progress or reform, he is a major improvement over the burn it all down attitude of the MAGA faction. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9455 "2024-12-22T04:15:54Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > His primary goal was to prevent any action that would upset the status quo. IIRC, doesn’t he have a monologue in one episode where he tells Bernard about how he’s had to hold wildly contradictory positions at different points in his career, like being pro-death penalty under one PM and being anti-DP under another? He’s sort of a combination of the ultimate small-c conservative and the ultimate gun-for-hire, who will fight for whatever his boss tells him to so long as it doesn’t upset the applecart, and a master at making his boss THINK he’s getting what he wants when in reality nothing of the sort has happened. He and Trump would make almost as much of a comedically mismatched pair as he and Hacker did. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9456 "2024-12-22T05:50:08Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > She is one of the infamous group of eight Republicans who spent July 4th of 2018 ministering to Putin in Russia: So, how many floors does the memory care facility have? ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9457 "2024-12-22T06:37:53Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > IIRC, doesn’t he have a monologue in one episode where he tells Bernard about how he’s had to hold wildly contradictory positions at different points in his career,… Not quite; it’s more a defense of why he has held no positions at all. “Bernard, I have served eleven governments in the past thirty years. If I had believed in all their policies, I would have been passionately committed to keeping out of the Common Market, and passionately committed to going into it. I would have been utterly convinced of the rightness of nationalising steel. And of denationalising it and renationalising it. On capital punishment, I’d have been a fervent retentionist and an ardent abolishionist. I would’ve been a Keynesian and a Friedmanite, a grammar school preserver and destroyer, a nationalisation freak and a privatisation maniac; but above all, I would have been a stark, staring, raving schizophrenic.” ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9458 "2024-12-22T08:53:41Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > His primary goal was to prevent any action that would upset the status quo. Wasn’t that the main plot point of a movie set in British India, where a young British functionary is beholden to his Indian assistant? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2024, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9459 "2024-12-22T10:19:26Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The Annoying Orange is demanding that Panama give the Canal Zone back to the US. Clearly following his buddy Putin’s playbook of demanding Ukraine because that is going so well… oh, wait… ---
**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:** [December 22, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/9460 "2024-12-22T20:19:23Z")
> **[Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3ldvrjjwfis2n)** > > GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales: "It feels like Elon Musk is our Prime Minister ... a large part of that voice is a reflection of the voice of the people." [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588.md?page=472) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588.md?page=474)