# 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:** 1109
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22162 "2015-06-11T15:57:11Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I think “doubling down” would be a statement like “Governor Bush still stands behind that statement.” Maybe even enhancing it by citing biblical support. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22163 "2015-06-11T15:58:44Z")
Hey look, another [BIG WIN](http://www.southernequality.org/sb2-becomes-law-in-nc/) for the GOP anti-LGBT crowd in North Carloina. Now they are going to go down to the beach and sweep back the tide. ---
**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 11, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22164 "2015-06-11T16:23:32Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > > [@Locrian](#): > > > > Yes, the dumbest thing I’ve heard all day. > > > > You know what? Let’s test this. We’ll bring those who supported this into a biology classroom, give them a bible, a fetal pig, and tell them to locate and remove the heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. Let’s see if they pass. > > Idaho natives will fail. Pennsylvanians who relocated to Idaho will be making scrapple. Mmm… formaldehyde scrapple. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22165 "2015-06-11T18:18:51Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > His campaign doubled down on the stupidity, [accusing the media](http://www.businessinsider.com/jeb-bush-campaign-responds-to-shame-criticism-2015-6) of taking “cheap shots” by quoting Jeb’s words. Like the “Romneycare” section in Romney’s book, that part will just be quietly removed from the next printing of Jeb’s, and they can try to pretend it never happened. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22166 "2015-06-11T19:24:34Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > His campaign doubled down on the stupidity, [accusing the media](http://www.businessinsider.com/jeb-bush-campaign-responds-to-shame-criticism-2015-6) of taking “cheap shots” by quoting Jeb’s words. Now that I’ve actually read Jeb’s words, they’re even better: he’s not in favor of shaming all unwed mothers, just those from “the inner city” [dog whistle code for “black”] ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22167 "2015-06-11T19:49:02Z")
Nevada Congressman: Disabled people are a drain on society. I’m not sure his count of how many children he has is correct, either. The numbers don’t add up. ---
**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 11, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22168 "2015-06-11T20:08:31Z")
[Chris Christie proposes indentured servitude as a solution to rising tuition rates;](http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/06/11/3668713/chris-christie-makes-college-affordability-priority-iowa-speech/) > [@](#): > > Christie also mentioned income share agreements, which allow students to essentially issue stock in themselves. It allows people to invest in college students, or to “own human capital contracts,” which means that an investor could pay a portion of the student’s tuition to attend college in exchange for that student giving the investor a certain percentage of their income for so many years. ---
**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 11, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22169 "2015-06-11T20:11:36Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I think “doubling down” would be a statement like “Governor Bush still stands behind that statement.” What they did was “hand waving”, with a solid dash of “attacking your critics” thrown in. Well, [here you go](http://theweek.com/speedreads/560054/jeb-bush-doubles-down-1995-critiques-outofwedlock-births-views-havent-changed-all): > [@](#): > > Asked on Thursday whether his views had changed at all in the 20 years since he penned those lines, Bush gave an emphatic no. ---
**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 11, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22170 "2015-06-11T20:20:30Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [Chris Christie proposes indentured servitude as a solution to rising tuition rates;](http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/06/11/3668713/chris-christie-makes-college-affordability-priority-iowa-speech/) Shit, I thought these guys wanted to go back to the 1950s, but it seems they’re shooting for the 1590s. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22171 "2015-06-11T20:25:59Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Nevada Congressman: Disabled people are a drain on society. > > I’m not sure his count of how many children he has is correct, either. The numbers don’t add up. He is including the one he does not know about. ---
**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 11, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22172 "2015-06-11T20:28:04Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Nevada Congressman: Disabled people are a drain on society. > > I’m not sure his count of how many children he has is correct, either. The numbers don’t add up. To be honest, his last sentences were so incoherent I’m not sure just what he meant to say, but the story makes a reasonable inference of his intent. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22173 "2015-06-11T20:45:51Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Nevada Congressman: Disabled people are a drain on society. I’m not at all sure what he was trying to say, or what context it was in. Certainly some disabled people do have a cost to society. It’s the mark of a civilized society that they are taken care of despite that cost. However, given that he was speaking to a libertarian group, I’m going to think that that is not what he meant. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22174 "2015-06-11T23:37:53Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Nevada Congressman: Disabled people are a drain on society. > > I’m not sure his count of how many children he has is correct, either. The numbers don’t add up. Ugh. This guy is my representative, and he can’t even count to three (or is it four?). In 2014 he somehow defeated an African-American Democrat, Steve Horsford. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22175 "2015-06-12T01:31:50Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Shit, I thought these guys wanted to go back to the 1950s, but it seems they’re shooting for the 1590s. Who can blame them? Economically, they’ve got us back to the Gilded Age. They’re on a roll! ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22176 "2015-06-12T02:42:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [Chris Christie proposes indentured servitude as a solution to rising tuition rates;](http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/06/11/3668713/chris-christie-makes-college-affordability-priority-iowa-speech/) Unless there’s more to it than described there, I think that’s actually a fine idea, and not remotely anything like “indentured servitude”. As described, the idea sounds like “you loan me money to pay for college, then instead of me paying you back the loan amount plus interest, I agree to pay you back 8% of my income for the next 15 years” or something. Which is just a student loan with an element of a gamble built in, and really is not sinister at all. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22177 "2015-06-12T03:32:17Z")
I think we have previously visited this precious lass \*[The legislature’s debate to expand a gun owner’s right to carry](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/arizona-lawmaker-church-attendance-mandatory-article-1.2164602) took a pious turn when state Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, suggested the real problem behind gun violence was corrupted souls. “It is the soul that is corrupt and how we get back to a moral rebirth in this country, I don’t know,” Allen told the state’s appropriations committee on Tuesday. “We are slowly eroding religion at every opportunity that we have. We should probably be debating a bill **requiring every American to attend a church of their choice on Sunday** to see if we can get back to having a moral rebirth.”\*(emphasis mine) But lord all mighty, she does bring the stupid. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22178 "2015-06-12T04:15:30Z")
Any Republican participating in the Heartland Institute today qualifies for this thread, but more so the ones that are willing to use the law to do more than just to deny the science. > **[Texas Congressman Lamar Smith Declares War on NASA and EPA Climate Science...](https://www.desmog.com/2015/06/11/texas-congressman-lamar-smith-declares-war-nasa-and-epa-climate-science-research/)** > > Lamar Smith, a Republican member of the US House of Representatives, has declared war on the Obama administration, NASA and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to undermine attempts to prevent dangerous climate change, report Kyla Mandel and... > [@](#): > > Texas Congressman Lamar Smith Declares War on NASA and EPA Climate Science Research > [@](#): > > Speaking at the Heartland Institute’s climate denier conference in Washington DC today, the Texas congressman described how three subpoenas for EPA staff emails and texts have now been issued following claims about “secret emails” and personal use of email accounts by the agency. > > This follows a similar-spirited freedom of information request submitted to the EPA by Chris Horner, a senior legal fellow for the Energy and Environment Legal Institute supported by the ExxonMobil funded Competitive Enterprise Institute. > > Smith, chairman of the science, space and technology committee said at the conference that “Regulation should be based on sound science not science fiction.” He is also counting on the lazy media to not report much about his efforts to also defund any efforts to collect data about the issue, he really does believe that stupid idea that what you don’t know can’t hurt you. > [@](#): > > Cut Off The Money > > In response to audience calls to “cut off the money” from climate change research Smith highlighted the fact that NASA’s budget on earth science was cut by 40 percent just last week. This was met with cheers and applause from the room. > > He added: “The second cut we made that you will appreciate [is to the] National Science Foundation, [which] we also have jurisdiction for, we reset [its] priorities, which we are entitled to do. As Phil Plait, **The Bad Astronomer** points out, it is very transparent what the Republicans are trying to do. > **[GOP Wants to Cut $300+ Million From NASA’s Earth Science Program](https://slate.com/technology/2015/04/nasa-budget-gop-committee-wants-to-slash-and-burn-earth-sciences.html)** > > There’s no other way to put this, so I’ll be succinct: A passel of anti-science global warming denying GOP representatives have put together a funding... > [@](#): > > But the evisceration of Earth sciences means this bill is seriously, critically flawed. I have written about this again and again: Republicans in the House and Senate don’t want NASA studying Earth, because they think (or say) that global warming isn’t real, or isn’t a problem, or whatever talking point they’ve been told to use this week. What they say in statements is that NASA should be looking outward, and other agencies should be studying Earth. > > Sounds good, right? But then they pledge to cut that ability from other agencies, too (that particular bill passed, by the way). Pretty transparent. > > If you think I’m mad, I am. And so are others; Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Maryland, has pledged to fight the bill, and I hope others Congress members in the House do as well. Cutting NASA Earth Sciences funding is, frankly, disgusting. Much like throwing snowballs in Congress. ---
**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 12, 2015, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22179 "2015-06-12T04:38:25Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Unless there’s more to it than described there, I think that’s actually a fine idea, and not remotely anything like “indentured servitude”. > > As described, the idea sounds like “you loan me money to pay for college, then instead of me paying you back the loan amount plus interest, I agree to pay you back 8% of my income for the next 15 years” or something. Which is just a student loan with an element of a gamble built in, and really is not sinister at all. Let’s wait for the details. Are there any guarantees for the creditors? If the student wants to join the Peace Corps after graduation, or just opt for a lower-paying job to live in a certain city, will that be permitted, or will he be obligated to maximize his earnings? Who chooses the terms of the loan; can the student choose whether to get a standard loan or this percent-of-income scheme, or does the lender get to choose based on the expected payoff for that student’s field of study? What counts as income; if the student wants to donate money to a charity, does that come before or after the repayment amount is calculated? If the student hits some windfall, lottery, investment, stock options, inheritance, do those count to their payment calculations even if they’re totally unrelated to the education that was financed by the loan? What happens if the student declares bankruptcy; is he protected from these creditors, or do they go to the front of the line? Ask yourself who’s going to write the rules for this type of arrangement. I don’t think it will be the students. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22180 "2015-06-12T05:54:18Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I think we have previously visited this precious lass > \*[The legislature’s debate to expand a gun owner’s right to carry](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/arizona-lawmaker-church-attendance-mandatory-article-1.2164602) took a pious turn when state Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, suggested the real problem behind gun violence was corrupted souls. > > “It is the soul that is corrupt and how we get back to a moral rebirth in this country, I don’t know,” Allen told the state’s appropriations committee on Tuesday. “We are slowly eroding religion at every opportunity that we have. We should probably be debating a bill **requiring every American to attend a church of their choice on Sunday** to see if we can get back to having a moral rebirth.”\*(emphasis mine) > > But lord all mighty, she does bring the stupid. I get to carry a gun _and_ I have to attend a church of my choice? Cool, I choose a Mormon temple, and I’ll shoot my way in if I have to. Mormons won’t like it, but I am compelled by the state to go and I do have a gun. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/22181 "2015-06-12T07:03:26Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Let’s wait for the details. > > Are there any guarantees for the creditors? If the student wants to join the Peace Corps after graduation, or just opt for a lower-paying job to live in a certain city, will that be permitted, or will he be obligated to maximize his earnings? All reasonable questions. My point is not that I endorse the specific proposal, as we have no details. My point is that there are plenty of actually clearly idiotic Republican ideas out there without comparing a vaguely defined and potentially quite reasonable student loan plan to indentured servitude. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1108) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1110)