# Stupid Republican idea of the day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897 "2009-03-26T18:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1105
**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:** [June 8, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22082 "2015-06-08T22:39:23Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Fox News’ religion correspondent: The Duggars should remain on TV because they’re “not a bad example” of Christian living.](http://www.salon.com/2015/06/08/fox_news_religion_correspondent_the_duggars_should_remain_on_tv_because_theyre_not_a_bad_example_of_christian_living/) > > He’s a Catholic priest, BTW. Is he trying to say “Well they’re not THAT bad as far as Christians go. I mean, I’ve seen worse.” Because I’m not sure how else to take it. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22083 "2015-06-08T22:40:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I assume you’re being hyperbolic, but it happens a lot. [Here](http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-9490_3fb4.pdf) Scalia blasts Thomas’ majority opinion on a traffic stop. [Here](https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/538/343/case.html) Thomas voted the opposite way from Scalia on a cross-burning statute. Thomas also frequently votes differently from Scalia on substantive due process issues, because of his long-held view that SDP isn’t a thing. Apparently, I’ve been misinformed. I had long-standing belief that Scalia and Thomas were essentially clones (except that one talks, and one doesn’t). Thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22084 "2015-06-08T23:19:42Z")
Well, I don’t think the Duggars are a bad example of Christian living. In fact, given their smarmy, arrogant, hypocritical, repressive approach, I’d say they’re a pretty typical example of Christian living. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22085 "2015-06-09T00:57:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I assume you’re being hyperbolic, but it happens a lot. [Here](http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-9490_3fb4.pdf) Scalia blasts Thomas’ majority opinion on a traffic stop. [Here](https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/538/343/case.html) Thomas voted the opposite way from Scalia on a cross-burning statute. Thomas also frequently votes differently from Scalia on substantive due process issues, because of his long-held view that SDP isn’t a thing. That’s true. Thomas does not march lockstep with Scalia. Now, that doesn’t mean he isn’t horrible. He’s horrible for other reasons. His famous inability to participate, for example. According to Jeffrey Toobin: > [@](#): > > As of this Saturday, February 22nd, eight years will have passed since Clarence Thomas last asked a question during a Supreme Court oral argument. His behavior on the bench has gone from curious to bizarre to downright embarrassing, for himself and for the institution he represents. > > In question-and-answer sessions at law schools, Thomas has said that his colleagues talk too much, that he wants to let the lawyers say their piece, and that the briefs tell him all he needs to know. But this—as his colleagues’ ability to provoke revealing exchanges demonstrates—is nonsense. Thomas is simply not doing his job > > By refusing to acknowledge the advocates or his fellow-Justices, Thomas treats them all with disrespect. It would be one thing if Thomas’s petulance reflected badly only on himself, which it did for the first few years of his ludicrous behavior. But at this point, eight years on, Thomas is demeaning the Court. Imagine, for a moment, if all nine Justices behaved as Thomas does on the bench. The public would rightly, and immediately, lose all faith in the Supreme Court. Instead, the public has lost, and should lose, any confidence it might have in Clarence Thomas. > [The New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/clarence-thomass-disgraceful-silence) He’s also horrible because he’s regressive. Says [Think Progress](http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/03/24/3636905/five-worst-supreme-court-justices-american-history-ranked/), in naming him one of the five worst Supreme Court Justices in history (and the only one who is still alive): > [@](#): > > Justice Clarence Thomas is the [only current member of the Supreme Court](http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/02/24/3321531/clarence-thomas-americas-legal-minds-progressives-ignore-fact-peril/) who has explicitly embraced the reasoning of _Lochner_ Era decisions striking down nationwide child labor laws and making similar attacks on federal power. Indeed, under the logic Thomas first laid out in a concurring opinion in _[United States v. Lopez](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/93-1260.ZC1.html)_, the federal minimum wage, overtime rules, anti-discrimination protections for workers, and even the national ban on whites-only lunch counters are all unconstitutional. > Though Thomas’s views are rare today, they have, sadly, not been the least bit uncommon during the Supreme Court’s history. He makes this list because, frankly, he should know better than his predecessors. > > Thomas has the benefit of eighty years of American history that Hoover had not witnessed when he warned of an overreaching government. In that time, the Supreme Court largely abandoned the values embraced by Justice Field, and the United States became the mightiest nation in the history of politics and the wealthiest nation in the history of money. He’s horrible for not recusing himself in cases where his wife clearly causes a conflict of interest in his decisions. Says David Corn: > [@](#): > > Critics have [contended](http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/07/02/new-financial-forms-show-clarence-thomass-wife-continued-to-lobby-against-healthcare-in-2011) that Thomas’ work as a lobbyist opposing Obamacare posed a conflict of interest for her husband, who would rule on the constitutionality of the health care reform initiative. (Clarence Thomas joined the Supreme Court minority that favored striking down the law.) And Common Cause has [maintained](http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4773617&ct=9039331) that Justice Thomas had a conflict of interest when he participated in the _Citizens United_ case because his wife at the time was running a conservative nonprofit fighting the “tyranny” of President Barack Obama that would benefit from removing limits on such groups’ spending and fundraising. With her involvement in Groundswell—which zeroes in on contentious issues that come before the high court, including voting rights, abortion, and gay marriage—Ginni Thomas continues to be intricately associated with matters on which her husband may have to render a decision. Ginni Thomas did not respond to requests for comment. > [Mother Jones](http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/groundswell-rightwing-group-ginni-thomas?page=1) ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22086 "2015-06-09T02:07:06Z")
I’m sure the proposed [law defunding the Kansas judiciary](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/us/courts-budget-intensifies-kansas-dispute-over-powers.html) has been mentioned somewhere in this thread. Well the law passed and was signed on Friday. > [@](#): > > The measure, at the end of a lengthy bill that allocated money for the judiciary this year, stipulates that if a state court strikes down a 2014 law that removed some powers from the State Supreme Court, the judiciary will lose its funding. The moderate Republicans were right in 2014. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22087 "2015-06-09T03:33:49Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Senator John Thune, who doesn’t like Obamacare and hopes it gets repealed, is upset that Obamacare may get repealed. And it’s Obama’s fault.](http://www.vox.com/2015/6/8/8748335/thune-obamacare-subsidies) [WaPo Blog - same subject](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/06/08/john-thunes-bad-obamacare-argument/) This is right up there with the GET YOUR GOVERNMENT HANDS OFF MY MEDICARE sign. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22088 "2015-06-09T04:31:35Z")
The sad thing is that John Thune’s tweet: > [@](#): > > Senator John Thune ✔@SenJohnThune > Six million people risk losing their health care subsidies, yet @POTUS continues to deny that Obamacare is bad for the American people. > 3:19 PM - 8 Jun 2015 will no doubt be passed along on _“Obama, WORST president EVER!”_ emails because, as H. L. Mencken wrote, > [@](#): > > It is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22089 "2015-06-09T08:04:02Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > So this fuckwit wants to kneecap these protections, no doubt to make it easier for industries to clear bothersome birds off develop-able beaches and forests. (Given that he’s from South Carolina, chances are he has buddies with beachfront properties they want to build hotels on.) No, he had buddies who are speculating in properties a little more inland which, with some suitable legislative activity (or lack thereof) may well become beachfront properties in the next 50 years. (Hey, it almost worked for Lex Luthor in Superman I.) ---
**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:** [June 9, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22090 "2015-06-09T15:45:22Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Apparently, I’ve been misinformed. I had long-standing belief that Scalia and Thomas were essentially clones (except that one talks, and one doesn’t). Thanks for the correction. Well, they do tend to reach the same results on civil rights cases that don’t involve issues of particular significance to the black community (and some that do, such as affirmative action, which Thomas opposes), and those are generally the most widely-discussed SCOTUS cases. So it is a widely perceived thing and not altogether wrong. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22091 "2015-06-09T15:51:58Z")
And, since \*\*Bricker \*\*doesn’t do this thread (I don’t think), [I feel obligated to link to this handy chart of SCOTUS voting trends](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/24/upshot/24up-scotus-agreement-rates.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0). While Scalia and Thomas are high in ruling the same way at 91%, like-minded judges mostly score around there, and Kagan/Sotomayor actually top them at 94%. The difference, of course, is that the liberal judges are right. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22092 "2015-06-09T16:44:38Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > … > > There was once a big atomic bomb > That wanted to be a bullet. > His friends all asked why, when he was such a big atomic bomb, he would want to be a tiny bullet. > > “I miss”, he sighed, "the personal touch.” Worst. Limerick. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22093 "2015-06-09T16:54:26Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Worst. Limerick. Ever. “there was once a boy from Los Alamos…” ? ---
**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:** [June 9, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22094 "2015-06-09T17:17:10Z")
… who accidently irradiated his thalamus. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22095 "2015-06-09T17:28:03Z")
I am become death He said under his breath But the physics involved was quite fabulous ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22096 "2015-06-09T18:23:08Z")
/golfclap Nicely done, y’all. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22097 "2015-06-09T18:59:12Z")
That was pretty impressive. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22098 "2015-06-09T19:07:28Z")
Remember Glenn Beck? How could you forget him? [He has 10,000 pastors lined up to give their lives to fight gay rights.](http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/06/08/glenn-beck-claims-he-has-network-of-10000-pastors-willing-to-die-opposing-gay-rights-video/) I’m picturing a Gate of Heaven scenario where they all climb aboard the comet to take them back to the 17th century. ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22099 "2015-06-09T19:16:01Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Prostitution? > Actually, this brings up an interesting point. Can I make the notarized marriage contract be for one night? There’s nothing wrong with signing a contract in exchange for a consideration. Does this effectively legalize prostitution in Alabama? No one thinks twice when a contract is between THREE (or more!) people. Or when a person already in a binding contract signs another contract. And another. Fun times in Alabama! ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22100 "2015-06-09T19:23:10Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Remember Glenn Beck? How could you forget him? [He has 10,000 pastors lined up to give their lives to fight gay rights.](http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/06/08/glenn-beck-claims-he-has-network-of-10000-pastors-willing-to-die-opposing-gay-rights-video/) I’m picturing a Gate of Heaven scenario where they all climb aboard the comet to take them back to the 17th century. It’s less impressive if you know that Glenbeckistan uses the decimal comma. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22101 "2015-06-09T19:30:07Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Remember Glenn Beck? How could you forget him? [He has 10,000 pastors lined up to give their lives to fight gay rights.](http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/06/08/glenn-beck-claims-he-has-network-of-10000-pastors-willing-to-die-opposing-gay-rights-video/) I’m picturing a Gate of Heaven scenario where they all climb aboard the comet to take them back to the 17th century. How is this any different from ISIS? These guys will wear tiny American flag lapel pins? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1104) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1106)