# 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:** 36
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/701 "2012-07-17T17:05:11Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > To be fair, I’m pretty sure that in Clothaump World, context counts as a stupid liberal idea. Well, he is from Texas, and this is what the Texas Republican Party’s [2012 Platform](http://s3.amazonaws.com/texasgop_pre/assets/original/2012Platform_Final.pdf) (PDF) has to say about education: > [@](#): > > Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. Looks like **Clothahump** is taking the rejection of critical thinking skills aspect seriously. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/702 "2012-07-17T18:30:51Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Anyone know where **Clothy** got this particular distorted talking point from? Just curious. We have a whole thread about it over [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=658831) It’s the Fox talking point of the week so all the stupid conservatives who can’t be bothered to listen to the actual speech are in a tizzy. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/703 "2012-07-17T18:47:24Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > # Obama: "…-look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. " > > Really? > > I suppose the Wright Brothers didn’t do it on their own, right, Barry? How about Henry Ford? Or Thomas Edison? > > Or me? Or any of the other millions of small business owners? I sure as hell didn’t see you next to me on the training floor as I worked my way up to 5th Degree Black Belt and school owner. I sure as hell don’t see you next to me as I make phone calls, design flyers, meet prospective new students and sign them up, teach classes, then clean the restrooms after everyone has gone home for the evening. > > I did that, you ignorant pissant. It’s my blood, tears and sweat making that business run, not yours. You are an utter failure, and without our social systems in place, someone who is actually strong and smart would have destroyed you and would be wearing your skin as a cape. And teaching children to hit people with their feet is laudable, but if those children didn’t have roads, an economy or leisure time, you’d be a dirt farmer in a sod hut. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/704 "2012-07-17T21:34:34Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > You are an utter failure, and without our social systems in place, someone who is actually strong and smart would have destroyed you and would be wearing your skin as a cape. > > And teaching children to hit people with their feet is laudable, but if those children didn’t have roads, an economy or leisure time, you’d be a dirt farmer in a sod hut. Roads, economy(!), and leisure time are the result of capitalism. Not the bullshit brand of progressivism you advocate. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/705 "2012-07-17T21:47:00Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Roads, economy(!), and leisure time are the result of capitalism. Not the bullshit brand of progressivism you advocate. Yet oddly I don’t have to pay a toll every time I leave my cul-de-sac. Can you explain the business plan for the wonderful capitalist who built the road outside my house without any support from the government? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/706 "2012-07-17T22:02:01Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Roads, economy(!), and leisure time are the result of capitalism. You mean the capitalist system that had to be regulated to not make employees work more than 40 hours a week without just compensation? That, before then, had no problems with 12 hour work days in sweatshops? And even now still tries to push the bullshit that if a salaried and thus exempt employee _really cared_ about their job they should put in 50-60 hour weeks? Yeah, capitalism’s all about leisure time. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/707 "2012-07-18T00:41:38Z")
Whenever I think of capitalism relative to leisure, I think of Carnegie who gave millions to improve the working class by opening free libraries. Which were open on workdays, when they couldn’t go there, and closed on Sunday when they could. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/708 "2012-07-18T16:07:03Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > They didn’t get there on their own, and neither did you. You all had the advantage of a society that encouraged entrepreneurship and probably friends and family who supported them, and for those who made it really big, investors who thought their ideas were worthwhile. You’ve missed the point. Obama’s statement is all about how _government_ made it possible, not private enterprise. Did I open my business by singlehandedly building the facility where it is housed? No, I rented space in an existing building. Etc. The point is that the government had nothing to do with the creation of my business, and there is a reasonable argument to be made that government these days is actively working to make it more difficult to open/run a small business. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/709 "2012-07-18T16:09:06Z")
And by the way, for all the posters who simply posted snark: bite me. The issue apparently sailed right over your pointed little heads as well. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/710 "2012-07-18T16:18:02Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > You’ve missed the point. Obama’s statement is all about how _government_ made it possible, not private enterprise. > > Did I open my business by singlehandedly building the facility where it is housed? No, I rented space in an existing building. Etc. The point is that the government had nothing to do with the creation of my business, and there is a reasonable argument to be made that government these days is actively working to make it more difficult to open/run a small business. No, you’ve missed the point. Or maybe you relied on a source that missed the point, or more likely took the excerpt entirely out of context and deliberately distorted it. [Here is ABC’s story on his speech the the quote comes from](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/did-obama-say-if-youve-got-a-business-you-didnt-build-that/). It is NOT just about government – it is about teachers who inspired you, a system that makes small businesses possible, AND a government that invests in and builds an infrastructure that we can all use to our advantage. What was YOUR source? Did they give you the full content of the speech, or just cherry pick a couple of sentences that sound idiotic when taken out of context? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/711 "2012-07-18T16:19:24Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > You’ve missed the point. Obama’s statement is all about how _government_ made it possible, not private enterprise. You lie! [/Joe Wilson] Obama said, “When we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.” You didn’t create the Internet: the government did and private industry brought it to you. Your claim that Obama is saying that the government makes everything possible is as big a fuckin’ lie as your original statement. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/712 "2012-07-18T16:24:55Z")
You see, **Clothy** , this land is your land. It is, however, also my land. Geographically speaking, from California to the New York islands. If we posit an ultimate Creator, we might very well say that his land was made for you and me. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/713 "2012-07-18T16:25:08Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > And by the way, for all the posters who simply posted snark: bite me. > > The issue apparently sailed right over your pointed little heads as well. Way to fight the snark. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/714 "2012-07-18T16:28:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Way to fight the snark. :rolleyes: You might even say, he fought the snark, and the snark won. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/715 "2012-07-18T16:29:33Z")
You know,we should also look carefully at what Romney said recently: “I really like… Communism. I think that America… should be more like… China.” I know what you’re thinking - there is more to that quote, and we should look at what was between the ellipses. Give it some context, so to speak. However, I am entitled to my interpretation, and if you interpret Romney’s quote in a more charitable way, you just do that because you’re biased towards Romney in the first place. So I am right. Anyway, whatever Romney’s message was supposed to be in the quote above, I think you can all agree that he chose a very horrible way to frame it. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/716 "2012-07-18T23:01:48Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > You mean the capitalist system that had to be regulated to not make employees work more than 40 hours a week without just compensation? That, before then, had no problems with 12 hour work days in sweatshops? And even now still tries to push the bullshit that if a salaried and thus exempt employee _really cared_ about their job they should put in 50-60 hour weeks? > > Yeah, capitalism’s all about leisure time. You misunderstand. The employees work so that the \*boss \*has ample leisure time. That’s the beauty of capitalism, that is. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/717 "2012-07-18T23:09:06Z")
Or the thread title: “Stupid li…e… of the day” > [@WillFarnaby](#): > > leisure time are the result of capitalism In the same way [anarchism and Marxism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workingmen%27s_Association) are the results of capitalism. [Anyway, yeah](http://mises.org/books/socialism/part5_ch34.aspx). Also, it’s funny to note that Mises calls himself a liberal and advocates a liberal philosophy at several times in the book (defined as opposition to war qua war, market protectionism and unenlightened monarchism), while denigrating Locke for forwarding a labour theory of value. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/718 "2012-07-19T01:23:37Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > You misunderstand. The employees work so that the \*boss \*has ample leisure time. That’s the beauty of capitalism, that is. I guess all that job creating tuckered him out. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/719 "2012-07-19T07:09:14Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Roads, economy(!), and leisure time are the result of capitalism. Not the bullshit brand of progressivism you advocate. You’re really not smart enough to engage fully here. Maybe you should go to the Hannity forums where people won’t judge you poorly for being slow? ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/720 "2012-07-19T13:01:01Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > No, you’ve missed the point. Or maybe you relied on a source that missed the point, or more likely took the excerpt entirely out of context and deliberately distorted it. Hey, when Fox News and Rush give you the marching orders to spread the word about the latest liberal outrage, you don’t have time for all that pansy-ass fact checking! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=37)