# 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:** 241
**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:** [June 16, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4801 "2026-06-16T23:07:55Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > A promise that ‘_Support me and you will get yummy food_… I’m still waiting for that taco truck on my corner. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4802 "2026-06-16T23:14:40Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > waiting for that taco truck on my corner Alas, that was if _Hillary_ got elected. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4803 "2026-06-16T23:22:11Z")
I’m still waiting for that, too. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2026, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4804 "2026-06-16T23:26:10Z")
I’m starting to think RFK Jr. doesn’t actually know what autism is. > **[FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/factpostnews.bsky.social/post/3mogrcs53wc2g)** > > RFK Jr: Kids with autism will never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date. > > \[contains quote post or other embedded content\] ---
**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:** [June 16, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4805 "2026-06-16T23:39:14Z")
“I’m starting to think RFK Jr. doesn’t actually know what \_\_\_\_\_\_ is.” Just fill in the blank. 😆 ---
**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:** [June 16, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4806 "2026-06-16T23:56:55Z")
> [@](#): > > RFK Jr: Kids with autism will never hold a job. They’ll never play baseball. They don’t wear sweaters. They’re not good dancers. They don’t play drums. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4807 "2026-06-17T00:42:53Z")
And they’re roly-poly. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4808 "2026-06-17T01:22:41Z")
Cue Randy Newman: 🎵 Autistic people got no reason…🎵 ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4809 "2026-06-17T02:18:46Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > A promise that ‘_Support me and you will get yummy food and plenty of young attractive sex partners and free transportation and a mansion to live in_’ is no doubt only a few weeks away. No pony? Fuck that. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4810 "2026-06-17T02:43:34Z")
All they know is mcdonald’s charge they phone, twerk, be bisexual, eat hot chip & lie. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4811 "2026-06-17T07:41:21Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > They don’t wear sweaters. They’re not good dancers. They don’t play drums. I understood that reference. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4812 "2026-06-17T07:54:31Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I understood that reference. I figured some people would. Every once in a while I manage to slip a cultural reference through unnoticed. There was one last week, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4813 "2026-06-17T11:32:20Z")
They’ll never teach second grad. No, wait, I have a niece who is doing that. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4814 "2026-06-17T12:07:12Z")
I was supervsior over a lab job that required attention to detail and tended to be tedious. It also required a college degree. Some of my best employees were on the spectrum-they knew what they needed to do and made sure it was done exactly according to the rules. They were great and I’d hire them back in a minute. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4815 "2026-06-17T12:12:34Z")
Not that’s it any less dehumanizing, but that speech took place in April 2025. After the backlash, RFK’s office walked it back (a little) by claiming that he was referring to the small subset of people with very profound autism. I remember because one of my Trumper “friends” on Facebook responded by saying something like, “Yeah, I used to have a boyfriend who was autistic, and there was all sorts of stuff he couldn’t do!” She didn’t like the replies of “Well, if he was your boyfriend, he must have at least been able to go out on dates, right?” ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4816 "2026-06-17T16:35:08Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I understood that reference. I didn’t. Thank goodness for google. Now I have that song stuck in my head. i hate you all. > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > All they know is mcdonald’s charge they phone, twerk, be bisexual, eat hot chip & lie. I didn’t know my meme there, either. I am old. but I try! ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4817 "2026-06-17T18:36:32Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > At this point I wouldn’t be surpised if Trump just said that any dead people from this would be losers for dieing. It was president Obiden’s fault for letting all those commies have guns, as if they were normal god-fearing Americans, or something! ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4818 "2026-06-17T19:29:19Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I figured some people would. As I read it, a high-pitched voice in my heads was chanting, “Whale heads, whale heads…” ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4819 "2026-06-17T19:37:20Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > No pony? Fuck that. Donald would have liked to promise ponies, but he was overruled by the fossil fuel industry. (Can’t have people traveling around on pony-back!) > [@MrAtoz](#): > > RFK’s office walked it back (a little) by claiming that he was referring to the small subset of people with very profound autism. Of course RFK Jr. intended to terrify people about autism in general, _ **not** _ just in severe cases. If you don’t terrify people, you can’t use their fears to make a fortune by manipulating the market. (As in ‘Tylenol causes autism.’) (A lot of Trumpian horror comes from the weirdness of his acolytes and minions----but a _huge_ proportion of it reliably comes from their universal greed for cash.) ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/4820 "2026-06-17T20:42:31Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > Some of my best employees were on the spectrum-they knew what they needed to do and made sure it was done exactly according to the rules. During the Manhattan Project, at the [Y-12 electromagmetic separation plant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Engineer_Works#Y-12_electromagnetic_separation_plant) in Oak Ridge, although not on the spectrum, the local high-school girls hired as operators famously outperformed Berkeley scientists. > [Tennessee Eastman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Eastman "Tennessee Eastman") was hired to manage Y-12 on the usual [cost-plus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost-plus_contract "Cost-plus contract") fixed fee basis, with a fee of $22,500 per month plus $7,500 per racetrack for the first seven racetracks and $4,000 per additional racetrack.[[59]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Engineer_Works#cite_note-FOOTNOTEJones1985140-59) The calutrons were initially operated by scientists from Berkeley to remove bugs and achieve a reasonable operating rate. They were then turned over to trained Tennessee Eastman operators who had only a high school education. Nichols compared unit production data and pointed out to Lawrence that the young “hillbilly” girl operators, known as [Calutron Girls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calutron_Girls "Calutron Girls"), were outperforming his doctorate-level scientists. They agreed to a production race and Lawrence lost, a morale boost for the Tennessee Eastman workers and supervisors. The girls were “trained like soldiers not to reason why”, while “the scientists could not refrain from time-consuming investigation of the cause of even minor fluctuations of the dials”.[[60]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Engineer_Works#cite_note-FOOTNOTENichols1987131-60) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=240) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=242)