# 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:** 191
**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:** [March 23, 2026, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3801 "2026-03-23T23:37:38Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > Of course the next one is coming up soon. No need to worry, John Titor’s got that covered. > **[John Titor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Titor)** > > John Titor and TimeTravel\_0 are pseudonyms used in communications and on internet forums between 1998 and 2001 by an individual claiming to be an American military time traveler from the year 2036. His posts discussed various aspects of time travel, and described future calamitous events, including a global nuclear war that he predicted would take place in 2015. > The story fascinated internet communities, but the increasing inaccuracy of the predictions and other inconsistencies led many to vi... > In his online postings, Titor claimed to be an American soldier from the year 2036, based in Tampa, Florida. He said that he was assigned to a governmental time-travel project, and that as part of the project he was sent back to 1975 to retrieve an IBM 5100 computer, which was needed to debug various legacy computer programs that existed in 2036 – a possible reference to the UNIX year 2038 problem. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3802 "2026-03-23T23:53:38Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > though it’ll probably work out for them about as well as when they tried it in 2020. Remind me again: How many people are currently in prison for the events of Jan 6 2020? ---
**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:** [March 23, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3803 "2026-03-23T23:56:34Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > How many people are currently in prison for the events of Jan 6 2020? What does that have to do with how successful they were? Also, you might want to fix that “2020” there before the edit window runs out. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3804 "2026-03-24T00:08:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > _Of course_ there’s going to be a terrorist attack. Or “terrorist” attack. It’s easy enough to [gin one up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliwice). ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3805 "2026-03-24T00:10:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > What does that have to do with how successful they were? When I was a kid, I tried to hit the moon by throwing a rock at it. And I didn’t even go to prison, let alone need to be pardoned to gain my freedom, so clearly I succeeded. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3806 "2026-03-24T00:14:49Z")
Senator Leghorn says Trump is the sole reason the DHS shutdown is still ongoing. > **[Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mhraaqw5hu2t)** > > Kennedy: "Democrats offered to open up everything but ICE. Ted and I said, 'Ok, let's accept,' then at the same time we'd offer a bill for reconciliation where we don't need any D votes. That way we're out of the shutdown and DHS is back open. Thune... ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3807 "2026-03-24T00:17:30Z")
Why TF do they bother asking him for permission… oh, right… Mike Johnson over in the House. Who’ll just kill it if Trump says to. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3808 "2026-03-24T00:32:15Z")
Well, there are all those ICE agents that could be sent to Iran. Yeah, they aren’t trained for infantry operations, but they weren’t trained for airport security either, so whatevs… ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3809 "2026-03-24T00:34:46Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Well, there are all those ICE agents that could be sent to Iran. Yeah, they aren’t trained for infantry operations, but they weren’t trained for airport security either, so whatevs You could take the entire infantry forces of the Army and Marines and add every single member of ICE and there STILL wouldn’t be enough personnel to deploy just one of them to every polling station in the country. I’m not sure you appreciate the scale of what’s being proposed here. You’d need the largest military that has ever been assembled since World War II. It’s not possible without a draft and years of mobilization. With the way our bureaucracy gets things done, the plot to use the military to subvert the 2026 elections should be ready somewhere around 2043. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3810 "2026-03-24T01:09:26Z")
I think Iran would be an excellent place to send them. No material impact on the US war effort there, no material harm to the Iranians, and they’d be slaughter to a Fascist thug man (or woman if any, but I doubt there are any). Win win win. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3811 "2026-03-24T01:13:37Z")
You’re _really_ not listening. Materially affect the turnout in a couple _hundred_ precincts nationwide, and fuck with the count in another thousand, and the election is a one-way bet. RW FTW! Surprise! That amount of skullduggery is so far _within_ the capability of the MAGA-inspired faction of the relevant state bureaucracies in the few affected states that I’d be far more surprised if it did not happen than if it did. Add in the Supremes with their RW Fascist thumb on the scale and, as a last ditch measure, appropriate mob violence when it’s time to seat the new Congress, and this is a fait accompli. Probably. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3812 "2026-03-24T01:26:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You’re _really_ not listening. Materially affect the turnout in a couple _hundred_ precincts nationwide, and fuck with the count in another thousand, and the election is a one-way bet. Maybe if this was going to be a close election. Right now all indicators are that there’s going to be a blue tsunami. Trump is historically unpopular, prices are up, the economy is in the shitter, and Congressional Republicans are retiring in droves (which STRONGLY indicates that they haven’t received the “don’t worry, we’re gonna fix the election so you stay in office forever” memo). The Republicans currently have a 3-seat majority in the House. The last time Trump faced a midterm, Democrats gained **41** seats. I can’t imagine that this election is going to be very different. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Add in the Supremes with their RW Fascist thumb on the scale The same Supremes who unanimously ruled AGAINST Trump when he tried this in 2020? > **[Texas v. Pennsylvania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_v._Pennsylvania)** > > Texas v. Pennsylvania, 592 U.S. \_\_\_ (2020), was a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the administration of the 2020 presidential election in four states in which Joe Biden defeated then-incumbent president Donald Trump. > Filed by Texas state attorney general Ken Paxton on December 8, 2020, under the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction, the lawsuit alleged that Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin violated the United States Constitution by changing election ... ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3813 "2026-03-24T01:37:46Z")
The same Supremes who recently ruled that it’s OK if the Post Office selectively destroys all mail-in ballots from blue areas. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3814 "2026-03-24T01:43:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The same Supremes who recently ruled that it’s OK if the Post Office selectively destroys all mail-in ballots from blue areas Except that that’s not what they ruled at all. They ruled that federal law protects the Post Office from being sued over misdelivered mail. > **[Court holds that U.S. Postal Service can’t be sued over intentionally...](https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/court-holds-that-u-s-postal-service-cant-be-sued-over-intentionally-misdelivered-mail/)** > > A divided Supreme Court sided with the federal government on Tuesday in U.S. Postal Service v. Konan, a dispute over mishandled mail. Writing for a 5-4 majority, Justice Clarence Thomas \[…\] But thanks for playing! I look forward to your admitting that you were wrong when Hakeem Jeffries is being sworn in as Speaker nine months from now. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3815 "2026-03-24T01:49:13Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > They ruled that federal law protects the Post Office from being sued over misdelivered mail. _Deliberately_ _Non-delivered_ mail, based on a carrier’s hatred of a particular customer’s race. This leads to the supposition that mail carries do not have to deliver mail ballots, based on their hatred of a particular zip code or… “democratyness” of a customer or customers. ETA I do still live in hope that the forces of good will overcome the forces of evil, as [Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tatterdemalion) wrote above. I just think we cannot forget that there ARE forces who will try to screw around with the election. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3816 "2026-03-24T01:52:55Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > This leads to the supposition that mail carries do not have to deliver mail ballots, based on their hatred of a particular zip code or… “democratyness” of a customer or customers. Do you have some evidence to support a claim that postal carriers, who are tenured union workers whose union has endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1976 and have never endorsed a Republican presidential candidate, have a desire (or capability, for that matter) to selectively discard Democratic votes on a scale that would effect the outcome of an election? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3817 "2026-03-24T01:56:38Z")
I’m not saying they would ALL do this. Or even most. It does not take all. But some are undoubtedly MAGA, no matter who their union endorses. ETA: It will not be the ONLY plan. Just another drip drip drip in certain areas to chip away at the vote. I hear you that (hopefully) a blue wave is in the offing. I HOPE you are right. But one needs to plan for what the assholes may potentially do, in order to block them. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3818 "2026-03-24T01:57:20Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I’m not saying they would ALL do this. Or even most. It does not take all. It would require deliberate fraud on a scale which has never before occurred in American history. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3819 "2026-03-24T03:17:37Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > deliberate fraud on a scale which has never before occurred in American history Look up this phrase and you’ll see the Orange Oaf’s picture. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/3820 "2026-03-24T03:31:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The same Supremes who recently ruled that it’s OK if the Post Office selectively destroys all mail-in ballots from blue areas And today said that late ballots (even if they’re postmarked in time) won’t be counted. How hard would it be for a postmaster to slow-walk ballots? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=190) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=192)