# 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:** 1203
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24042 "2015-09-04T20:08:35Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Might be one of the older clocks with the digits on little flaps. It’s very simple. It’s a regular clock, with hands. It’s stuck at 2:30. And the day he was talking about was last March 8th. Duh. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24043 "2015-09-04T20:59:43Z")
[Ben Carson wants to do away with the Veterans’ Administration](http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gops-ben-carson-eyes-end-veterans-administration) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24044 "2015-09-04T21:59:20Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Ben Carson wants to do away with the Veterans’ Administration](http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gops-ben-carson-eyes-end-veterans-administration) > [@](#): > > The retired neurosurgeon said, “We don’t need a Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans Affairs should be folded in under the Department of Defense.” Doesn’t really sound so stupid. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24045 "2015-09-04T22:08:50Z")
Yes and no. Outside of changing the letterhead, what does that accomplish ? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24046 "2015-09-04T23:00:46Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Yes and no. Outside of changing the letterhead, what does that accomplish ? I don’t think that’s a blatantly stupid idea. There’s a difference between “we should get rid of the department of X… because fuck X, we just don’t want to do it” and “we should get rid of the department of X, because things would work better if X was folded into department Y”. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24047 "2015-09-05T00:00:00Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Yes and no. Outside of changing the letterhead, what does that accomplish ? I know a few veterans who feel that part of the VA’s problems are due to having too few servicemembers in positions of authority. I don’t know how correct they are in their opinion, but I expect that placing the VA within the DoD hierarchy would increase those numbers. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24048 "2015-09-05T00:00:22Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I don’t think that’s a blatantly stupid idea. There’s a difference between “we should get rid of the department of X… because fuck X, we just don’t want to do it” and “we should get rid of the department of X, because things would work better if X was folded into department Y”. I’d be hoping for something more along the lines of “things would work better if X was folded into department Y, because…” ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24049 "2015-09-05T00:27:49Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’d be hoping for something more along the lines of “things would work better if X was folded into department Y, because…” Sure, but it’s just an incomplete idea, not a STUPID one, at least not in the way that prime SRIOTD fodder is. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24050 "2015-09-05T00:33:53Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Sure, but it’s just an incomplete idea, not a STUPID one, at least not in the way that prime SRIOTD fodder is. True, up to a point. It’s still possible that such a glaring omission is fodder for this thread. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24051 "2015-09-05T00:34:33Z")
How much better organized is the military? It seems like the VA would kind of get lost in the Pentagon. It would be a handy way to just push those vets further from view, because complaining to the brass would be handled internally, where is would be less likely to come to public attention. Support our troops! With Slogan Power! ---
**Author:** ![Wash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@Wash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wash)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24052 "2015-09-05T00:57:02Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Oh please let this Duggar on him. > > Right after Huckabee visits, let Kim’s husband’s boyfriend crawl out of the woodwork or something. Which husband? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24053 "2015-09-05T01:10:48Z")
Her husband’s boyfriend? Might make an interesting case study on the gender selection power of ugly. Like, was he gay before he met her? ---
**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:** [September 5, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24054 "2015-09-05T01:14:13Z")
Her husband’s boyfriend is one of her ex-husbands? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24055 "2015-09-05T01:49:08Z")
So, two guys in a gay bar, just talking over beer, and the first guys asks “So, how did you become gay?” Second guy shakes his head sadly, pulls out his wallet, pulls a picture out of it and hands it over. “I married _her_.” First guy reels back in shock and dismay and says “You’re not gonna fucking believe this…” ---
**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:** [September 5, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24056 "2015-09-05T02:00:58Z")
Isn’t one of the VA’s functions to act as an agent on the veteran’s behalf during arbitration with the DoD? ---
**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:** [September 5, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24057 "2015-09-05T02:11:16Z")
We veterans are the constituency of the Veterans’ Administration. Folding us into the DOD would make us just a lost piece of the military-industrial complex. The DOD doesn’t care about veterans, they’re more interested in building big machines. And offering vouchers for civilian doctors to take care of veterans? It’s hard to get doctors to take care of Medicare recipients. Flood the medical establishment with all of us veterans trying to get care? We’d wind up not getting any care, period. You think veterans are dying now from not getting efficient care? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24058 "2015-09-05T02:18:47Z")
Vets are already lost in the shuffle. that’s why some waited years to get their benefits. I’m not sure things can get worse over there. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24059 "2015-09-05T03:05:24Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Some RWs seem to think “Denali” is a Kenyan word for “Black Power”.](http://www.mediaite.com/online/no-denali-is-not-a-kenyan-word-for-black-power/) [The state of Alaska officially changed the name to Denali in 1975 and asked the federal government to do so too.](http://www.livescience.com/40595-denali-mount-mckinley.html) So much for the sanctity of states rights. :smack: ---
**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:** [September 5, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24060 "2015-09-05T03:05:25Z")
But that would never happen if VA medical operations were privatized. Because private industry _always_ works better than anything the government does. Especially when it comes to things like the edge-cases that the VA handles. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24061 "2015-09-05T03:09:53Z")
The VA became a cabinet level organization in 1988. Hopefully to give it more clout. It’s now a 280,000 person bureaucracy IMHO. Interestingly, “small government” republicans, Reagan and Bush, grew the agency. It shrunk under the Clinton administration. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1202) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1204)