# 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:** 273
**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:** [August 17, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5441 "2026-08-17T14:34:15Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Do you mean fuck little boys and lose to the Persians? Well, actually… so far we only know about one of those that Hegseth has accomplished. (Losing to the Persians, that is) ---
**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:** [August 17, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5442 "2026-08-17T14:39:20Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > and lose to the Persians? But before that, needed the help of the grandparents of those particular Persians to defeat the Athenians, because they couldn’t manage even that much on their own. These clowns learn their history from movies, not from actual history ---
**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:** [August 17, 2026, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5443 "2026-08-17T14:52:41Z")
The Spartans knew everything there was to know about war, except how to win one. They were great fighters, but fighting was all they knew, and winning a war requires that one stop fighting, which was outside of their wheelhouse. Now, when you got Athens and Sparta on the same side of a war, then they were a real force to be reckoned with, with Sparta to do the fighting and Athens to do the winning. Because by gods, the Athenians were really good at winning. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5444 "2026-08-17T15:33:16Z")
History from movies, inded! _Molon labe_. I see that on trucks of guns rights owners. I laugh. “You really want me to try? How’d that work out for Leonidas?” ---
**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:** [August 17, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5445 "2026-08-17T17:39:46Z")
[Your proposal is acceptable.](https://youtu.be/cpuPN3bT3Xw) ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5446 "2026-08-17T18:25:09Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Do you mean fuck little boys and lose to the Persians? You might say they lost to everyone from the Athenians to the Zoroastrians, ---
**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:** [August 17, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5447 "2026-08-17T18:41:41Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > These clowns learn their history from movies, not from actual history _300_ melted the brains of an entire generation. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2026, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5448 "2026-08-18T17:32:13Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I’m worried about this - they’re banging the “don’t mutilate minor’s” drum to cover up the anti-abortion main thrust of the amendment. And of course reassignment surgery on minors is vanishingly rare. The only times I’ve heard of “reassignment surgery” being done on a minor, outside one unfortunate incident in Canada post-botched circumcision, the patient in question has been someone intersex. Which while that can still be controversial is a slightly different collection of issues because potential medical issues along with the psycho-social aspects. Yes, this is very much an anti-abortion reproductive control measure wrapped in anti-trans policy. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2026, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5449 "2026-08-19T00:19:55Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Court restrains Florida Congressturd from stalking his former girlfriend. UPDATE: He lost his primary. [https://19thnews.org/2026/08/cory-mills-florida-primary-election/](https://19thnews.org/2026/08/cory-mills-florida-primary-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:** [August 19, 2026, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5450 "2026-08-19T05:03:44Z")
At tonight’s Senate debate, Darlene Graham was asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security concerns for the US. Her answer might be the biggest fumble by a South Carolinian woman since Miss SC 2007 babbled about maps for 30 seconds. > **[Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mtfqqmd5en2s)** > > Darlene Graham just bumbled through one of the worst responses to a question during a political debate you'll ever see ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5451 "2026-08-19T05:59:53Z")
I see she’s already playing the Lindsey card, in a most blatant manor. I wonder if that’s how the rest of her responses will be for the rest of her career. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5452 "2026-08-19T10:26:29Z")
I’m wondering if this comment is meant to read like Bennett Brauer. > I’m not one of these “polished politicians” who “knows things” or “has a position” on “issues” and whatnot. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/AdkkTV3pIa0/maxresdefault.jpg "Chris Farley As Bennett Brauer - Saturday Night Live") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdkkTV3pIa0&t=27) ---
**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:** [August 19, 2026, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5453 "2026-08-19T10:47:29Z")
Honestly, it probably would’ve gone better for her if she just said “President Trump hasn’t told me what to say about that yet”. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5454 "2026-08-19T11:50:29Z")
We appear to have some [possible] voter, and tax, fraud by Wisconsin’s 31st district senate republican (shocking, I know) candidate, Michelle Skinner. > **[Wisconsin Democrats sue to boot Republican from key state Senate race](https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-democrats-sue-republican-michele-magadance-skinner-senate-race)** > > Wisconsin Democrats are suing to kick a Republican off the ballot in a state Senate race that could be key in determining which party controls the chamber. [https://www.wispolitics.com/2026/state-senate-democratic-committee-in-the-news-magadance-skinner-faces-lawsuit-to-remove-name-from-november-ballot/](https://www.wispolitics.com/2026/state-senate-democratic-committee-in-the-news-magadance-skinner-faces-lawsuit-to-remove-name-from-november-ballot/) [Voting record of Wisconsin Senate candidate draws scrutiny](https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/14/voting-record-of-wisconsin-senate-candidate-draws-scrutiny-michele-magadance-skinner/91250488007/) (might be paywalled) Pulling quotes from those articles: She’s claiming two ‘primary’ residences. > [The lawsuit] claims Skinner isn’t a resident of Wisconsin because she splits her time between her home near Eau Claire [Wisconsin] and another in Dawsonville, Georgia, both of which were listed as primary residences in 2025. Skinner’s reply is that you just don’t understand her situation: > “I understand that there is confusion around my marriage,” said Skinner. “My husband is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and disabled combat veteran, he is a Georgia resident and maintains a home there. We are a blended family, and like many married couples today, our circumstances don’t fit neatly into one little box. My husband has longstanding ties and a residence in Georgia. I have longstanding ties and my residence here in Wisconsin.” Lot of unnecessary qualifiers in there. Her husband’s Army status doesn’t play into this. Also, IIRC, Trump doesn’t like disabled vets, so there’s that. The short version is that her husband claims a primary residence in Georgia and she claims a primary residence in Wisconsin, and therefore, according to her, she’s eligible to be on the ballot. However, because of a tax credit her husband took for their GA home, it makes that same GA home her primary residence as well > _“The lawsuit claims Skinner’s husband claimed a 100% homestead property tax exemption on that home last year. To claim that exemption under Georgia state code, the applicant must have a permanent home in the state and must be either unmarried, widowed, divorced, or married and living with their spouse. **The lawsuit argues applying for the exemption requires Skinner to therefore be a Georgia resident, and ineligible for office in Wisconsin.** ”_ She claims an “independent CPA” found nothing illegal, the lawsuit suggests otherwise: > The suit claims Skinner received a Wisconsin Lottery tax credit in 2025, while her husband claimed a Georgia homestead property exemption for the 2025 tax year. It claims under Georgia law, the married couples cannot claim multiple exemptions even if the homes are listed under each spouse’s name. I’m assuming the “independent CPA” only reviewed her and/or her husband’s GA returns but didn’t see the WI returns. As far as voter fraud, I’m not sure how that’ll play out yet. She seems to be hopping back and forth voting in different states. > Online voting records show that Skinner voted absentee in Wisconsin in the Nov. 3, 2020, general election. Then, just 15 days later, she registered to vote in Georgia using the address of her family’s four bedroom lake house in the town of Dawsonville. > Records show Skinner voted on Jan. 5, 2021, in Georgia’s high-stakes federal runoff election. > Skinner then voted in Wisconsin the following year, in the April 5, 2022 spring election I’m WAGing that, without the tax issues, the voting in two states probably wouldn’t be an issue as long as she was actually a primary resident for the requisite length of time before casting her vote. I think the issue is going to be that she potentially didn’t realize she and her husband, due to the tax credits they took, can’t each claim a different primary residence. IOW, her taxes make her a GA resident and she therefore can’t vote, or run for office, in Wisconsin. And, not that it needs to be said, but: > “MAGA Republicans in Wisconsin would be foaming at the mouth if this had been a Democrat but are stunningly silent when it’s one of their own.” ---
**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:** [August 20, 2026, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5455 "2026-08-20T01:42:52Z")
Usually when the military is trying to get servicemembers to re-enlist, they might offer things like a cash bonus, or student loan payoffs, or a transfer to a more desirable duty station. But those kind of things are woke and not what the Big Buff Smooth Sweaty Ball Dangling Manly Men’s Men in Pete Hegseth’s army deserve, so in exchange for another four years of your life, they’re offering (checks notes) four days off to play GTA 6 when it releases. > **[US Army battalion reportedly offers troops days off to play GTA 6 if they...](https://www.dexerto.com/gta/us-army-battalion-reportedly-offers-troops-days-off-to-play-gta-6-if-they-re-enlist-3399447/)** > > A US Army battalion is reportedly offering troops four days off to play Grand Theft Auto 6 as a bonus incentive to re-enlist. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2026, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5456 "2026-08-20T03:02:12Z")
While their sergeant major marches up and down the square? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5457 "2026-08-20T13:34:42Z")
"I’m sorry, we can’t pull any strikes on Iran for the next week. Half our troops including the most experienced team members are all on leave to play GTA6. We’ll get back to fighting soon. Oh, China just invaded Taiwan and Russia nuked Ukraine? Call us back next week." ---
**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:** [August 20, 2026, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5458 "2026-08-20T13:40:12Z")
I don’t care if they get 4 days off to play GTA6. Everybody needs some sort of hobby to blow off steam. I do care this sounds more like a stunt to show the brass they’re “thinking outside the box” rather than a meaningful way to deal with retention. Of course, they probably don’t have permission to use the methods that we already know work - pay them more and treat them better. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5459 "2026-08-20T13:56:22Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > I don’t care if they get 4 days off to play GTA6. Do you have to play that violent game on your days off? How about a book by a pool? ---
**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:** [August 20, 2026, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/5460 "2026-08-20T14:10:39Z")
You forget that’s the sort of mentality the Heg _wants_ from his troops. Big Buff Smooth Clean-Cut Sweaty Manly “Lethal” Brutes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=272) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=274)