# Stupid liberal idea of the day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 20, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086 "2011-04-20T15:35:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 335
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6681 "2018-01-10T19:47:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Everything. The tests would be written by academics who are evenly Democrats and Republicans. Or even just by academics who are overwhelmingly Democrats. Doesn’t really matter, since the test scores would almost certainly be irrelevant in a general election. It’s the primary process where they would make a difference. “Gee, I was really excited about Senator Smith, but Senator Jones is so much more knowledgeable and they agree on most issues anyway.” The main purpose would be to weed out empty suits with charisma or biography but no brains from the primary process. That…that makes sense. It would actually make things much easier for Republicans to choose the bumbling idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6682 "2018-01-10T20:40:01Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Everything. The tests would be written by academics who are evenly Democrats and Republicans. Or even just by academics who are overwhelmingly Democrats. Doesn’t really matter, since the test scores would almost certainly be irrelevant in a general election. It’s the primary process where they would make a difference. “Gee, I was really excited about Senator Smith, but Senator Jones is so much more knowledgeable and they agree on most issues anyway.” The main purpose would be to weed out empty suits with charisma or biography but no brains from the primary process. I think that’s what debates are for. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6683 "2018-01-10T20:41:14Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I think that’s what debates are for. Didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Ted\_Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Ted\_Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ted_Striker)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6684 "2018-01-10T22:36:12Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > It sounds like all they’re saying is if you have kids doing things known to be inherently dangerous you need to have someone around who maybe knows stuff like CPR. Doesn’t seem too different than saying if you’re gonna have a pool you need a lifeguard. We’re taking about summer camp, not your back yard. These regs sound sensible to me, considering that kids can get really rambunctious and can hurt themselves. But neocons (and some pragmatic progressives, of which I’m one) get pissy if anything sound like kids are being coddled, which results in ‘these kids today’ kinds of sneering statements (evidence of this for the latter group can be found in these [two](https://thedailybanter.com/2015/03/the-world-isnt-a-safe-space/) [articles](https://thedailybanter.com/2015/11/grownups-take-college-back-shrill-terrified-children/) at [this website.](https://thedailybanter.com) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6685 "2018-01-10T23:29:23Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Everything. The tests would be written by academics who are evenly Democrats and Republicans. Or even just by academics who are overwhelmingly Democrats. Doesn’t really matter, since the test scores would almost certainly be irrelevant in a general election. It’s the primary process where they would make a difference. “Gee, I was really excited about Senator Smith, but Senator Jones is so much more knowledgeable and they agree on most issues anyway.” The main purpose would be to weed out empty suits with charisma or biography but no brains from the primary process. And the effects would be…nil. There is a sizable and very vocal portion of America who views book learning as bad, as well as hoity-toity. Maybe even faggy. And they elected the emptiest of suits. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6686 "2018-01-11T00:33:14Z")
Yeah, any test that implied that Donny Boy wasn’t a super-brilliant expert businessman would have been rejected as easily as all the piles of other evidence that Donny Boy wasn’t a super-brilliant expert businessman. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6687 "2018-01-11T02:23:04Z")
Well, maybe we ought to _ **restore** _ the Electoral College to what it should have been in the first place. Elect electors every two years, individually, and let them decide when we need a new president (within the bounds of floating term limits). And maybe make them responsible for some key cabinet positions. 4 years is just too damn long to tolerate a bad president, but a good one should not have to face constant challenges. We are spending way to much money and bullshit on this office. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6688 "2018-01-11T21:05:50Z")
I don’t know if it’s necessarily a liberal idea, but I expect that this trends leftwards: decade-old book on World War 2 appears on 3 Amazon bestseller lists. It’s title? [Fire and Fury](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42611645). ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6689 "2018-01-12T04:37:46Z")
[Democrats Aren’t Sure Whether To Make Jeff Sessions’ Pot Crackdown An Election Issue](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jeff-sessions-marijuana-crackdown-democratic-party-election-politics_us_5a4ecee7e4b089e14db9ae04) Launch these feckless jokers into the sun. More evil than stupid: [With Support From Nancy Pelosi, House Gives Trump Administration Broad Latitude to Spy on Americans.](https://theintercept.com/2018/01/11/nsa-pelosi-democrats-spy-american-section-702/) > [@](#): > > “Unfortunately, 55 Democrats, led by Rep. Adam Schiff, lent their support to legislation — and implicitly signed on to the racist, xenophobic language used by the Intelligence Committee majority — that expands domestic surveillance and gives reason for every American to be fearful of their government. A swing of just 26 Democrats would have defeated the measure.” [George Zornick:](https://twitter.com/gzornick/status/951501089047764992) > [@](#): > > 55 House Democrats - including Pelosi, Hoyer, Schiff - voted to kill a surveillance reform bill that would have (among other things) added a warrant requirement to 702 searches. Cue the avalanche of “SIR, by your logic!” hot takes, like [Glenn Greenwald:](https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/951600957317615617) > [@](#): > > You’ve long claimed Trump is in cahoots with Putin. Yet today, you joined with Trump to hand him sweeping, virtually unchecked domestic spying power. Isn’t it suspicious - unpatriotic - for you to put that kind of power in the hands of someone you think reports to the Kremlin? Gleefully poking holes in the narrative while we descend through a portal to hell is the only catharsis now. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6690 "2018-01-12T04:57:44Z")
The eagle needs both a left wing and a right wing on order to fly. But, if the right wing is crooked and broken, the left wing can only thrash about helplessly in our plunge to the rocks below. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6691 "2018-01-12T08:24:40Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > The eagle needs both a left wing and a right wing on order to fly. But, if the right wing is crooked and broken, the left wing can only thrash about helplessly in our plunge to the rocks below. Nice analogy. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6692 "2018-01-12T18:12:58Z")
And once again, a libtard Congressman pisses on our sacred flag by saying disgusting things about our Great Leader: > [@Senator Jeff Flake](#): > > The words used by the President, as related to me directly following the meeting by those in attendance, were not ‘tough,’ they were abhorrent and repulsive. This flake of a Senator is from Arizona and sure enough: del[/del] :smack: (R) R? Oh. In the words of Roseanne Roseannadanna, _Nevermind_. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6693 "2018-01-12T18:21:38Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > …This flake of a Senator is from Arizona and sure enough: del[/del] :smack: (R) R?..]. R, me hearties! R! R!. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6694 "2018-01-12T18:58:06Z")
Jeff Flake, Republican though he be, has never been a Trump fan and has been willing to speak out against him… because he’s not running for another term. Such courage! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6695 "2018-01-12T19:59:37Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > The Constitution lays out a very minimal set of requirements to be eligible for POTUS and Congress. Can Congress pass a law to add more requirements? Or would that require an Amendment? The legislative branch cannot just pass laws changing the administrative branch, or why even have a Constitution? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6696 "2018-01-12T21:37:24Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The legislative branch cannot just pass laws changing the administrative branch, or why even have a Constitution? See the exchange between me and **Really Not All That Bright** just upthread. **RNATB** sees the bill as probably constitutional. It’s an interesting question, though academic since the bill isn’t going anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6697 "2018-01-12T22:45:27Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Jeff Flake, Republican though he be, has never been a Trump fan and has been willing to speak out against him… because he’s not running for another term. Such courage! > [@RickJay](#): > > The legislative branch cannot just pass laws changing the administrative branch, or why even have a Constitution? Beyond the fact that federal campaign legislation doesn’t affect eligibility for office (as I noted above), there’s a good argument to be made that the Constitution just sets out minimal qualifications. It doesn’t say “anyone who is a natural born citizen and 35 and a 14-year resident can be POTUS,” it says nobody can be POTUS unless they are a natural born citizen and 35 and a 14-year resident. Frequently, courts find that sort of provision sets a floor rather than a ceiling. On the other hand, in _Marbury v. Madison_ SCOTUS decided that its original jurisdiction - spelled out in Article III, Section 2 - could not be supplemented by Congress. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6698 "2018-01-13T04:46:09Z")
I hope **Clothahump** appreciates my help finding stupid liberal ideas. This one _is_ from a (D) — I triple-checked! It’s a shameful quote from the Pocahontas lady. > [@Senator Elizabeth Warren](#): > > Right now, shady lenders can pocket huge fees by pushing veterans to refinance their VA mortgages even when the veterans end up losing money on the deal. I’ve introduced a new bill today with Senator Thom Tillis – a Republican from North Carolina – to crack down on these lenders and make sure no one can exploit our vets just to make a quick buck. Our bill already has broad bipartisan support from five Democrats and five Republicans. I’m going to keep fighting to get this bill passed as soon as possible - because our veterans deserve better. This foul-mouthed rant drips with hatred for capitalism. Just look what happens to her first two sentences if we replace her slurs with objective language: “Right now, job creators can make a fair profit by helping veterans refinance their homes, with the veterans paying a small but fair fee. I’ve introduced a bill (with some Flakey GOP Senator) to force Soviet-style regulation on this free market to prevent our vets from refinancing their homes.” She claims support from “five Republicans.” Obviously these are RINOs or Senators she promised blowjobs to, or, most likely, her claim is just another of the liberal lies for which she is famous. Or maybe she saw them mowing their lawns in libtard D.C. and she’s blackmailing them for it. Why doesn’t Pocahontas go back to North Korea, or whatever her Marxist utopia is? How am I doing, **Mr. Hump**? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6699 "2018-01-13T13:33:09Z")
Thank you, Britain, for the greatest anti-single payer anecdote of all time: > **[Surgeon who burned initials into livers of two patients fined £10,000](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/12/surgeon-burned-initials-livers-two-patients-fined-simon-bramhall-assault-transplant)** > > Simon Bramhall ordered to carry out 120 hours’ unpaid work after admitting assault offences relating to transplant surgeries NHS doctor was burning his initials into livers he was transplanting. His sentence? Unpaid work. That’s how hard up the single payer system there is for doctors. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/6700 "2018-01-13T14:12:22Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Thank you, Britain, for the greatest anti-single payer anecdote of all time: > > [Surgeon who burned initials into livers of two patients fined £10,000 | Birmingham | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/12/surgeon-burned-initials-livers-two-patients-fined-simon-bramhall-assault-transplant) > > NHS doctor was burning his initials into livers he was transplanting. His sentence? Unpaid work. **That’s how hard up the single payer system there is for doctors.** And where in the article does it say that or is that your own idiot partisan view? 120 hours of unpaid works sounds very much like “community service”. Is there a way to opt out of the single payer system for doctors? Are there enough wealthy patients to support entirely private care outside the system to the extent that the single payer system is starved for doctors? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=334) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=336)