# 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:** 120
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2381 "2010-12-07T22:16:53Z")
She’s drinking bourbon with Mark Twain tonight, the kind of bourbon that never gets you sloppy drunk, only makes other people more interesting and sharpens your wit. The Good Stuff. Can I get an “Amen!”? ---
**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:** [December 9, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2382 "2010-12-09T16:31:11Z")
The following was mentioned earlier; it’s not so much a stupid-in-and-of-itself example, but has more to do with the consequences of using stupid talking-points to get elected – [Uh, Oh: GOP Wakes to World Without Earmarks](http://www.newser.com/story/107221/uh-oh-gop-wakes-to-world-without-earmarks.html): > [@](#): > > …it turns out that ix-naying porky projects like the bridge to nowhere also meant defunding a lot of legitimate bridges to somewhere. And it has the likes of Michele Bachmann and Steve King now scrambling to get cash for transportation projects in their districts. Here’s a link from that page to a longer, but less quotable, [Politico article](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46172.html). ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2383 "2010-12-09T17:51:44Z")
Bachmann’s at least returned the money for that [I-35W Mississippi River Pork](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Saint_Anthony_Falls_Bridge#Funding), hasn’t she? ---
**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:** [December 10, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2384 "2010-12-10T20:47:56Z")
Apparently, the people who don’t want to extend the tax cuts for the wealthy are supposed to come up with spending cuts to pay for them, per [the honorable Senator from Oklahoma](http://politicalcorrection.org/blog/201012090003): [QUOTE=Tom Coburn] I’d issue this challenge: anyone who thinks we oughta pay for tax cuts, oughta have to put up a list of programs that we oughta eliminate to pay for them. [/QUOTE] Joe ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2385 "2010-12-10T21:23:39Z")
Can we start with all federal funds for Oklahoma? ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2386 "2010-12-11T00:50:15Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Apparently, the people who don’t want to extend the tax cuts for the wealthy are supposed to come up with spending cuts to pay for them, per [the honorable Senator from Oklahoma](http://politicalcorrection.org/blog/201012090003): > > Joe Well, there’s always the [Michele Bachmann method](http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/bachmann-i-dont-think-tax-cuts-should-be-defined-as-a-deficit-video.php?ref=fpb), just redefine “deficit” so that it doesn’t include tax cuts. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2387 "2010-12-11T02:04:59Z")
> [@waterj2](#): > > Well, there’s always the [Michele Bachmann method](http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/bachmann-i-dont-think-tax-cuts-should-be-defined-as-a-deficit-video.php?ref=fpb), just redefine “deficit” so that it doesn’t include tax cuts. That’s not just Bachmann. I’ve talked to lots of conservatives that just grant themselves a free pass with regard to tax cuts expanding the deficit. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2388 "2010-12-11T19:54:26Z")
The upside of stupid: Wisconsin’s and Ohio’s new Repub governors rejected federal stimulus money for improving mass transit (trains, in particular), because they want to spend money on roads. As a result, the money is being redistributed and the PNW gets $160 million for our train systems. Jobs and transit: win-win! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2389 "2010-12-11T20:19:06Z")
Duh. Trains are soshulist! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2390 "2010-12-11T20:47:04Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Duh. Trains are soshulist! Well, perhaps the [Empire Builder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Builder) is. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2391 "2010-12-11T21:41:44Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Duh. Trains are soshulist! And so is the Pacific Northwest, so it’s a good fit. What I can’t figure out is NJ Gov. Christie rejecting the Feds’ offer of picking up most of the tab on a second Hudson rail tunnel. The tunnel will probably become necessary enough that it’s going to get built eventually, and it’s doubtful that New Jersey will ever be able to spend as little of its own money on the project as now. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2392 "2010-12-12T00:49:55Z")
He doesn’t want to pay the feds the money back either. Everyone knew he was going to have to, but he’s refusing. He’s gonna lose this fight. But it looks good to the mouthbreathers, I guess. I’m thinking he wants to be president or something. He’s a Rush-type bully, he uses his weight and posture to insult voters at meetings. Just calls them up front, yells at them, and then refuses to let 'em speak back. Sumbitch is gonna learn about how bully politics doesn’t win, long-term. Still better than Corzine, but getting closer to worse. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2393 "2010-12-12T01:21:19Z")
Governor Rick Perry(TX) is highlighting his small government program this week regarding the state of Texas’s program for subsidizing movies filmed in Texas. I found it odd enough that the libertarian stronghold of a state uses tax payer dollars to fund the movie industry, that’s the free market at work right? But apparently just subsidizing a major film doesn’t cut it. The film also needs to fit the made up on the spot criteria of big government oversight. Texas agreed to pay Robert Rodriguez 1.7 million dollars to film his newest movie there. Now that Rodriguez has made the film, Rick Perry has decided he doesn’t like it and is vowing to refuse to pay the agreed upon sum. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2394 "2010-12-12T02:37:36Z")
Do you have a link to the story handy? I seem to recall reading about this before, but I can’t remember where. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2395 "2010-12-12T03:05:16Z")
[Film commission denies incentives for Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Machete’](http://www.austin360.com/movies/film-commission-denies-incentives-for-robert-rodriguezs-machete-1108577.html) ---
**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:** [December 13, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2396 "2010-12-13T14:58:49Z")
This only counts as ‘Stupid Republican’ if we can lump in ‘Stupid Tea Bagger’ – which I admit, is redundant. [Christine O’Donnell Calls Extending Unemployment Benefits a “Tragedy”](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20025008-503544.html) But it doesn’t stop there. Here’s her full quote: “Today marks a lot of tragedy. Tragedy comes in threes. Pearl Harbor, Elizabeth Edwards’s passing and Barack Obama’s announcement of extending the tax cuts, which is good, but also extending the unemployment benefits.” Three tragedies: an act of war that occurred 69 years ago, a national figure dying of cancer, and a whole bunch of people being able to pay their bills for a little while longer – but at least rich people will be able to buy another pony for all their little Muffys. Surely, we can all embrace the similarities. 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:** [December 13, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2397 "2010-12-13T15:00:32Z")
If only EVERYONE could run for the Senate and collect millions of dollars from conservative fat cats, we wouldn’t need unemployment. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2398 "2010-12-13T15:31:10Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > This only counts as ‘Stupid Republican’ if we can lump in ‘Stupid Tea Bagger’ – which I admit, is redundant. > > [Christine O’Donnell Calls Extending Unemployment Benefits a “Tragedy”](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20025008-503544.html) > > But it doesn’t stop there. Here’s her full quote: > > “Today marks a lot of tragedy. Tragedy comes in threes. Pearl Harbor, Elizabeth Edwards’s passing and Barack Obama’s announcement of extending the tax cuts, which is good, but also extending the unemployment benefits.” That extends the concept of stupidity into the realm of idiocy. O’Donnell attempted to place unemployment benefits on the same level as a major act of war. And I thought I’d never find someone who I wanted to SHUTTHEFUCKUP more than I want Palin to STFU. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2399 "2010-12-14T03:21:00Z")
Palin. She’s a fucking genius! She couldn’t step in front of a camera to refudiate something without being ridiculed by the ‘lamestream media’ so she Rex Harrisoned little Christine to deflect criticism. How, oh how could there possibly be somebody dumber than Sarah Palin with a viable Political Action Committee? ‘I Sarah Palin endorse Chistine O’Donnell for President of Everything’ ‘Tee hee – mice with fully functioning human brains – tee hee’ Holy shit … Palin is Stephen Hawking compared to this doorknob. ‘I, Sarah Palin, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States …’ Step 3: Profit! Don’t say you haven’t been warned. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/2400 "2010-12-14T03:26:22Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > so she Rex Harrisoned little Christine to deflect criticism. You! Apologize to Eliza Doolittle, Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn RIGHT NOW! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=119) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=121)