# 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:** 206
**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:** [April 21, 2026, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4101 "2026-04-21T23:21:12Z")
It’s all a witch hunt… Patel hasn’t done anything wrong and it’s all a conspiracy against him by left-wing haters and enemies of this fine country! > **[Left-wing group chases proof of Kash Patel's alleged 'excessive drinking' as...](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/left-wing-group-chases-proof-kash-patels-alleged-excessive-drinking-dems-eye-fbi-directors-ouster)** > > Democracy Forward filed a 16-page FOIA request seeking records on FBI Director Kash Patel's alleged conduct detailed in a recent Atlantic article. At least if you’re an idiot who thinks Fox News has actual news. From that article: > When asked about Patel’s future as the top dog at the FBI, Republican strategist Mark Bednar, who has worked for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and current Transportation Secretary and former Congressman Sean Duffy, was more supportive of his tenure, arguing the FBI has seen [positive change since Patel took](https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mike-davis-kash-patel-restoring-fbi-despite-constant-attacks) charge. > > “In the years leading up to President Trump being elected to his second term, the American people had [lost confidence in the FBI](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-has-long-been-accused-politicization-ahead-dem-concern-over-kash-patel-nomination) as an institution. Kash Patel is part of President Trump’s goal of revitalizing the agency and executing on the “Make America Safe Again” agenda,” Bednar told Fox News Digital. At the moment, Republicans are circling the wagons. We’ll see how long that lasts. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4102 "2026-04-22T00:04:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > When I took AP US History in 11th grade, in 2000-2001, it was a big deal that it was the first year the curriculum was going to include Watergate. At my school, we covered Watergate in 9th-grade World History - in 1973–1974, as it was happening. Everybody in class had a subscription to Newsweek. There was the memorable [cover cartoon](https://museumofportablesound.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/laocoon-newsweek.jpg) of Nixon as Laocoön and Rose Mary Woods, tangled in serpents that were the White House tapes. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2026, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4103 "2026-04-22T02:54:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > John “Leghorn” Kennedy says he hasn’t read the report about Kash Patel’s drinking problem because the Atlantic has a paywall. After this remark I wonder how many gift links to the article his office received, I bet it’s in the hundreds. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4104 "2026-04-22T14:03:23Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > At my school, we covered Watergate in 9th-grade World History - in 1973–1974, as it was happening. Everybody in class had a subscription to Newsweek. There was the memorable [cover cartoon](https://museumofportablesound.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/laocoon-newsweek.jpg) of Nixon as Laocoön and Rose Mary Woods, tangled in serpents that were the White House tapes. That cover came out when I was five years old. It’s so odd to me that momentous events were happening while I was alive that I was oblivious to. The first president I was aware of was Ford. When I took U.S. history a decade later, we only got as far as WWII. But I did become a regular reader of _Newsweek_ until the print edition folded. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4105 "2026-04-22T19:25:51Z")
Congressman Clay Fuller (R-GA) claims that the state of Georgia is named after George Washington and that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tampered with his hotel room AC. > **[MTG’s replacement sparks debate after claiming Georgia named for George...](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/clay-fuller-georgia-george-washington-b2962796.html?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=politics)** > > Representative Clay Fuller won a special election in Georgia to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from Congress amid a feud with President Donald Trump ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4106 "2026-04-22T20:15:35Z")
I don’t think you’d have to be among the very stupidest people in the world to make that mistake, although if you knew Georgia was named thusly in 1732 it might give you pause. His claim that Washington “quite literally invented freedom”, however, is one for the Dumbshit Hall of Fame. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2026, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4107 "2026-04-22T20:24:04Z")
If the average American didn’t know, I wouldn’t fault them. That’s not especially relevant for most people. I had to think about it myself for a hot second before remembering the colony was founded long before Washington was a well known public figure. Or, rather, I had to think about who it was actually named after. But if you represent Georgia in Congress, grew up in Georgia, was educated in Georgia, and yet don’t know basic facts that are part of the required curriculum for Georgia middle schoolers, you can’t be very bright, either. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4108 "2026-04-22T21:28:15Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > His claim that Washington “quite literally invented freedom”, however, is one for the Dumbshit Hall of Fame. If so, George Washington’s invention wasn’t _quite_ ready for prime time, given that it wasn’t extended to some who worked for him. Perhaps it was still in beta testing? ---
**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:** [April 22, 2026, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4109 "2026-04-22T22:06:54Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Perhaps it was still in beta testing? “Product not available for all ethnicities.” ---
**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:** [April 22, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4110 "2026-04-22T23:10:00Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > I had to think about it myself for a hot second before remembering the colony was founded long before Washington was a well known public figure. Or, rather, I had to think about who it was actually named after. You didn’t realize that every state between Delaware and Florida was named after a British monarch? ---
**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:** [April 22, 2026, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4111 "2026-04-22T23:12:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You didn’t realize that every state between Delaware and Florida was named after a British monarch? There were like 4 Georges in quick succession. It’s not immediately obvious which one it would have been. Though the 3rd and 4th ones were unlikely for being much too young ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4112 "2026-04-23T00:51:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You didn’t realize that every state between Delaware and Florida was named after a British monarch? …or her personal life: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xT2ScOwezL8/maxresdefault.jpg "Virginia - Explorers Naming Places") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT2ScOwezL8) ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4113 "2026-04-23T01:18:32Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > “Product not available for all ethnicities.” “Product available only in duty-free shops in pre-Revolutionary War airports. Foreign taxes may apply” ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4114 "2026-04-23T15:30:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > If so, George Washington’s invention wasn’t _quite_ ready for prime time, given that it wasn’t extended to some who worked for him. Perhaps it was still in beta testing? A phased rollout is pretty common and helps manage risk and ensure stability. Releasing a feature to a small percentage of users initially allows monitoring its impact and performance closely. For example, switching from driving on the right to driving on the left would be a huge, unpredictable project if done all at once. Instead you could phase it in: say, start with just trucks and busses… . ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4115 "2026-04-23T15:39:02Z")
Or you could make the change all at once, as did [Sweden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H). [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Kungsgatan_1967.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Kungsgatan_1967.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4116 "2026-04-23T16:00:15Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > For example, switching from driving on the right to driving on the left would be a huge, unpredictable project if done all at once. Instead you could phase it in: say, start with just trucks and busses No, no, switch it along with daylight savings time, with the simple mnemonic “spring to the right, fall to the left”. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4117 "2026-04-23T17:08:59Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > “spring to the right, fall to the left” Like driving on the side of a mountain! ---
**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:** [April 23, 2026, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4118 "2026-04-23T20:38:03Z")
Congressman Tom Kean (R-NJ) has not voted or been seen in public for over a month and is not answering his phone. > **[New Jersey Republican Disappears For Month — And No One Knows Where He Is](https://ijr.com/new-jersey-republican-disappears-for-month-and-no-one-knows-where-he-is/)** > > Republican New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who represents a highly competitive district Democrats are targeting in the midterms, has ---
**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:** [April 23, 2026, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4119 "2026-04-23T20:45:33Z")
I’m sure he’ll show up eventually… [![](https://nightmarenostalgia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/weekend-at-bernies-2.png) ](https://nightmarenostalgia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/weekend-at-bernies-2.png) ---
**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:** [April 23, 2026, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4120 "2026-04-23T22:25:40Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > John “Leghorn” Kennedy says he hasn’t read the report about Kash Patel’s drinking problem because the Atlantic has a paywall. Of course he successfully changed the topic from ‘_what do you think of Patel’s drinking problem?_’ to ‘_why can’t you come up with the Atlantic’s paywall price if you’re worth $20,000,000?_’ _ **That’s** _ the kind of success highly prized in the halls of Congress. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=205) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=207)