# 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:** 118
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2341 "2010-11-17T21:56:36Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Shit, that’s not a “Stupid Republican Idea”, that’s pure hypocrisy, and it belongs in the “Standard Republican SOP” thread. That applies to way too many things. It’s gone so far that for many things, relatively speaking, the bar is just too high to justify any comment (e.g., [Bachmann’s redefinition of ‘earmark’](http://minnesotaindependent.com/74302/bachmann-says-transportation-projects-shouldnt-count-as-earmarks)). But there have been some notable ones. There’s the [Tea Partiers advocating for ignoring federal law (EPA clean water standards meant to prevent cancer)](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/11/tea-partiers-protest-clean-water-bladder-cancer_n_781059.html). Wackier, there’s the potential House Energy Chair who claims [climate change is impossible – 'cuz God said so](http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/11/09/john_shimkus_god_and_noah). And don’t forget the [save $25B by cutting an already defunct program](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/us/politics/p10spending.html?_r=4&ref=politics) idea. D’oh. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2342 "2010-11-17T22:10:07Z")
> [@Digital\_Stimulus](#): > > That applies to way too many things. It’s gone so far that for many things, relatively speaking, the bar is just too high to justify any comment (e.g., [Bachmann’s redefinition of ‘earmark’](http://minnesotaindependent.com/74302/bachmann-says-transportation-projects-shouldnt-count-as-earmarks)). > > But there have been some notable ones. There’s the [Tea Partiers advocating for ignoring federal law (EPA clean water standards meant to prevent cancer)](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/11/tea-partiers-protest-clean-water-bladder-cancer_n_781059.html). Wackier, there’s the potential House Energy Chair who claims [climate change is impossible – 'cuz God said so](http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/11/09/john_shimkus_god_and_noah). And don’t forget the [save $25B by cutting an already defunct program](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/us/politics/p10spending.html?_r=4&ref=politics) idea. > > D’oh. Well, sure, but you still get a CNN headline that says “GOP votes to ax earmarks”. If that’s not totally accurate, I just don’t know what could be. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2343 "2010-11-17T23:25:40Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Well, sure, but you still get a CNN headline that says “GOP votes to ax earmarks”. > > If that’s not totally accurate, I just don’t know what could be. > > -Joe Oh, I wasn’t commenting on the perception/reality of the situation. Rather, I was venting my exasperation. ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2344 "2010-11-18T07:39:17Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > The health care gravy train for all members of the Senate and House should be stopped. Why should their access and level of care and insurance be any better, and their premiums lower, than any other American’s? Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) just called out the Republicans who ran (and won) on healthcare reform repeal. Told them in effect: “if you’re going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk. If you want to deny Americans healthcare, turn down your taxpayer provided healthcare.” (paraphrased because I heard it on The ED Show) I wonder if the Republicans will respond. The hypocrisy runs deep. Found a [Link](http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/11/congressman_joe_crowley_double.html). ---
**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:** [November 18, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2345 "2010-11-18T14:39:12Z")
That’s not really hypocrisy. They work for the government; it makes perfect sense that the government should provide them with healthcare. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2346 "2010-11-18T16:05:01Z")
It’s also a dangerous backfire-able trap. If you’re in congress, it’s very likely you’ll be able to afford the ten to fifteen grand to go private. Given the political clout you’d gain, it could very well be worth it. ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2347 "2010-11-18T16:33:08Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That’s not really hypocrisy. They work for the government; it makes perfect sense that the government should provide them with healthcare. The government DOES provide health insurance. But these guys campaigned that healthcare reform needs to be repealed because government should not be in the healthcare business. They have said (ad nauseum) that the government will only screw up any government-provided insurance, which this guy wants. Plus it just didn’t start fast enough for the Harris. So it’s also hypocritical because he wanted some kind of special deal (e.g., to buy health insurance from the government to cover him until his employer-provided health insurance kicked in) that he is fighting to keep away from the mere citizens. But this is the Stupid Republican thread. If you want to argue healthcare reform/repeal, you should probably start another thread. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2348 "2010-11-24T02:44:50Z")
OK, so here we are deep into a recession. Unemployment has been over 8% going on two years now. Inflation is effectively zero, and may dip into the negative on occasion. So what’s Congressman Mike Pence’s idea? We should [end the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate](http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/16/pence-corker-qe2/) to combat both unemployment and high inflation. Apparently, the Fed is just doing too much to fight unemployment for these guys: > [@](#): > > “The Fed’s dual mandate policy has failed,” Pence said in a statement. “For a record 18th straight month the nation’s unemployment rate is at or above 9.4 percent. It’s time for the Fed to be solely focused on price stability and not the recently announced QE2 which will monetize our debt and trigger inflation.” I believe the technical term among economists for this is “[Cyring ‘Fire! Fire!’ in Noah’s flood](http://www.economist.com/economics/by-invitation/guest-contributions/crying_fire_fire_noahs_flood)”. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2349 "2010-11-24T03:40:06Z")
> [@waterj2](#): > > I believe the technical term among economists for this is “[Cyring ‘Fire! Fire!’ in Noah’s flood](http://www.economist.com/economics/by-invitation/guest-contributions/crying_fire_fire_noahs_flood)”. Dude, if the economy is still in the shitter in 2012 the nigger will be gone! What else could possibly matter? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2350 "2010-11-25T14:06:13Z")
Sarah Palin comes out [in favor of childhood obesity](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/24/palin-slams-michelle-obam_n_788200.html): > [@](#): > > Take [First Lady Michelle Obama’s] anti-obesity thing that she is on. She is on this kick, right. What she is telling us is she cannot trust parents to make decisions for their own children, for their own families in what we should eat. And I know I’m going to be again criticized for bringing this up, but instead of a government thinking that they need to take over and make decisions for us according to some politician or politician’s wife priorities, just leave us alone, get off our back, and allow us as individuals to exercise our own God-given rights to make our own decisions and then our country gets back on the right track. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2351 "2010-11-25T15:18:48Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Sarah Palin comes out [in favor of childhood obesity](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/24/palin-slams-michelle-obam_n_788200.html): How we gonna stand with our stand [with our North Korean allies](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/11/24/2010-11-24_sarah_palin_on_glenn_becks_radio_show_we_gotta_stand_with_our_north_korean_allie.html), if our children isn’t eating enough twinkies? [thevideo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2XrxhD4LTI) ---
**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:** [November 25, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2352 "2010-11-25T16:26:01Z")
> [@](#): > > She is on this kick, right. What she is telling us is she cannot trust parents to make decisions for their own children, for their own families in what we should eat. And I know I’m going to be again criticized for bringing this up, but instead of a government thinking that they need to take over and make decisions for us according to some politician or politician’s wife priorities, just leave us alone, get off our back, and allow us as individuals to exercise our own God-given rights to make our own decisions and then our country gets back on the right track. I wonder if she would have said the same thing during the Nancy Reagan “just say no” years. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2353 "2010-11-25T17:10:41Z")
Todd Akin claims Pilgrims came to America to escape “socialism.” Who knew that the Mayflower was really a time machine? ---
**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:** [November 25, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2354 "2010-11-25T17:16:58Z")
> [@sleeping](#): > > Todd Akin claims Pilgrims came to America to escape “socialism.” > > Who knew that the Mayflower was really a time machine? Great Americans they were, give or take a few knife fights. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2355 "2010-11-25T17:18:28Z")
> [@sleeping](#): > > Todd Akin claims Pilgrims came to America to escape “socialism.” > > Who knew that the Mayflower was really a time machine? I just watched the video, and ffs he really did say that they came here to escape socialism, in the 1620s. :eek:😕:dubious::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2356 "2010-11-25T17:20:48Z")
The irony is that the Pilgrims instituted communal rules as soon as they got here. All property and resources had to be given over to the group as a whole. They were collectivists in the most literal sense of he word. They weren’t much on civil liberties either. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2357 "2010-11-25T18:19:08Z")
Palin was on Beck yesterday explaining why we have to stick with our North Korean allies. She is so bright. She should be president. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2358 "2010-11-26T00:14:41Z")
Wait. What? Can we have a cite? Thats too brilliant not to post. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2359 "2010-11-26T00:17:14Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Wait. What? Can we have a cite? Thats too brilliant not to post. Here’s the [audio](http://www.oliverwillis.com/2010/11/24/audio-sarah-palin-we-gotta-stand-north-korean-allies/). ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2360 "2010-11-26T10:41:38Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I wonder if she would have said the same thing during the Nancy Reagan “just say no” years. :rolleyes: Of course not. Nancy was a Republican first lady. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=117) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=119)