# NEW Stupid Republican Idea of the Day (Part 4) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 22, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678 "2025-02-22T21:08:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 166
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3301 "2026-02-18T01:33:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > After all, the gold star of Nazi fame was a mark of the other, the folks to be first shunned, then captured, then exterminated. Conversely, the (mistakenly assumed universal) gold star of Real ID identifies the good guys. The real citizens really entitled to really vote. The ones ICE won’t round up and ~~deport~~ execute. If anything, you’d put yellow stars on immigrants to make sure they can’t vote. Until you come up with an excuse to deport them. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3302 "2026-02-18T01:55:17Z")
Yeah, it’s hard to see this as anything but an assumption that it works the same way in other states. Over here, dumbasses on social media are posting ID pictures with arrows pointed at the yellow star (Texas also has them) saying that’s all you would need to vote. Only to have those with more patience than me explain with links to government sites that RealID doesn’t serve as proof of citizenship. Because, you know….they don’t. You don’t have to be a citizen to get one. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2026, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3303 "2026-02-18T02:00:14Z")
Well, if the stars aren’t going to work what about some kind of, oh I don’t know, maybe a tattoo? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3304 "2026-02-18T02:04:38Z")
I propose an implanted chip. Perhaps one of Bill Gates’ companies could make them. 😁 🤪 Hmm. I wonder. It just occurred to me that the same crazy bastards who hate vaccination are also terrified of implanted chips. Is RFK’s actual objection to vaccines that they’re clandestine chip delivery vehicles? Not that he’d say that in public, but to the degree his miswired and misfiring mind still works, is that what he thinks in the privacy of his own “thoughts”, and I use that term loosely. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3305 "2026-02-18T02:28:48Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Only to have those with more patience than me explain with links to government sites that RealID doesn’t serve as proof of citizenship. Because, you know….they don’t. You don’t have to be a citizen to get one. Wait, I thought that was the whole point of it. What is RealID for, then? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3306 "2026-02-18T02:32:50Z")
Officially, it’s meant to ensure that the name and face on your ID are really provably traceable back to some birth certificate or immigration document or something. Which sorta kinda indirectly filters out the undocumented aliens, but not exactly. It was an effort to standardize how diligent state level drivers license / ID bureaus are when issuing what amounts to the _de facto_ national base ID card. Almost certainly some folks in the Feds were hoping this was the thin edge of the wedge leading to national federal IDs for everyone. The real purpose was simply to harass people who aren’t middle class. Like most political compromises (remember those?) what they did doesn’t really square with what they were trying to do. It’s also not obvious there was any freal reason to try to do anything at all. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3307 "2026-02-18T02:54:40Z")
Leaving undocumented aliens aside, legal resident aliens (who aren’t eligible to vote in federal elections) can and probably should get RealIDs. Whatever anybody’s take on the existence of a national level ID, if you’re going to have one, might as well include people who are legally present in the US, even if (or especially if, to some folks) they aren’t citizens. But of course, for the ‘Murica loving fucknuggets, I’d give a snowball a better chance in the fiery pit of Mount Doom than the chance they’ve thought about these issues or had a thought requiring anything even vaguely resembling nuance And, just in case, from the [TSA website](https://www.tsa.gov/realid/realid-faqs): > Noncitizens lawfully admitted for permanent or temporary residence, noncitizens with conditional permanent resident status, noncitizens with an approved application for asylum, and noncitizens who have entered the United States as refugees are eligible for a full-term REAL ID license or identification card. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3308 "2026-02-18T03:23:45Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Not all of them. My WA EDL, which is a Real ID, has a flag on it instead. Oregon has a white star in a black circle. California has a white star on a golden bear. Only five states have Enhanced Driver’s Licenses, all on or near the Canadian border, since they allow for easier border crossings. My older Minnesota EDL had only a flag, along with the words ENHANCED LICENSE. When I renewed it last year, they added the gold star (and kept the flag and EDL wording). I think they anticipated confusion with RealIDs so they simply got ahead of it with the star. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2026, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3309 "2026-02-18T05:16:56Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > If he gets 20-30 cents for the $20 he spent on a book that he gave away, it doesn’t sound like that great of a money-making scheme, if that’s what the goal is here. But the $20 comes from his loyal suckers, not him, so it’s basically free money to him. People like this never have a problem with destroying 99% of the value of something owned by someone else, if that last 1% ends up in their pocket. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3310 "2026-02-18T05:48:15Z")
> [@dougrb](#): > > He’s buying his own book and handing them out. I hope, at least, he gets a “staff discount” on the book. I would actually take one or two, and the recycling can would receive them unread. Just to be spiteful. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2026, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3311 "2026-02-18T06:28:22Z")
> “We are reviewing the ruling and weighing our options,” a spokesperson for the FTC said. "The Chamber of Commerce is a left-wing, open borders supporting activist group.” [https://www.reuters.com/world/us-court-blocks-expanded-merger-disclosure-rule-2026-02-13/](https://www.reuters.com/world/us-court-blocks-expanded-merger-disclosure-rule-2026-02-13/) ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3312 "2026-02-18T07:41:46Z")
I’m not a big follower of mediocre pop, but I did read this sentence on an article I came across… > [@](#): > > Nick Fuentes and Andrew Tate at a Miami nightclub, where they chanted along to the Ye song “Heil Hitler.” Kanye West, do you realize you are a Black man? This song title might not be a good idea, and those two proto-fascists are going to be putting you first into the gas chamber. > **[The only ‘maxxing’/‘mogging’ explainer you need](https://www.morningbrew.com/stories/2026/02/17/maxxing-mogging-explainer-clavicular)** > > If you've heard this jargon recently, it's probably because of Clavicular, an influencer who's popular in right-wing circles. I hope, for humanity, that this is satire. But in my heart, I know it is not. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2026, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3313 "2026-02-18T11:34:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Officially, it’s meant to ensure that the name and face on your ID are really provably traceable back to some birth certificate or immigration document or something. Which sorta kinda indirectly filters out the undocumented aliens, but not exactly. It was an effort to standardize how diligent state level drivers license / ID bureaus are when issuing what amounts to the _de facto_ national base ID card The de-facto bit is important there: strictly, the DL historically only certified that the person identifying themselves as This Guy/Gal passed their driving test in this state. It was “the market” that turned it into the go-to ID document. A law making it now require hard evidence that This Guy/Gal really _is_ This Guy/Gal and is lawfully here was tied on to boarding flights or access to federal facilities, because otherwise the Fed Govt did not really have the authority to just command it of the DMVs to do so, and as he said, America had been the land of “OMG!!! NOT A UNIVERSAL NATIONAL I.D.!!! THAT’S YOUR-PAPERS-PLEASE TYRANNY!!!” ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3314 "2026-02-18T13:17:09Z")
That last sentence, however, is now perfectly acceptable — yea, laudable — as long as it’s applied to people who don’t look like _us_, in places that aren’t _here_. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3315 "2026-02-18T15:42:26Z")
You guys might as well issue a national ID. You already have all of the downsides of one, with none of the benefits. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3316 "2026-02-18T15:46:44Z")
Yep. Welcome to government by ignorant fantasy. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3317 "2026-02-18T15:46:48Z")
How I wish for a national ID. But thanks to… whoever… we have 50+ different ID structures that were designed to manage the safe use of automobiles, but are instead asked to provide ID services for the nation. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3318 "2026-02-18T16:15:04Z")
Yeah one consistent objection all along (even on threads here in recent memory) has been that if it existed, then OF COURSE we ALL _ **must** _ have it on us to present _on demand_ at any time or place for any reason or no reason, under penalty of law. Never understood how the one proceeded necessarily from the other. I’ll leave to the reader how well that has been standing up. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3319 "2026-02-18T16:43:55Z")
Yup, and now we have the dystopian version of it, instead, where our would be fascist enablers believe we should all of course present such non-existent papers on demand, not even realizing they themselves don’t have them ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3320 "2026-02-18T18:41:16Z")
Eh. ICE shows no sign of bothering to ask for papers. They just attack. If you did have papers on your person, they’d be likely to disappear right along with you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=165) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=167)