# 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:** 1207
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24122 "2015-09-08T22:30:05Z")
“OK, OK, sorry I asked, put the gun away, all right?” “But I’m just getting to the main part! So, anyway, beginning in the third century B.C.E…and I use ‘B.C.E.’ rather than ‘B.C.’ in deference to the more modern convention, which, as you may know…” ---
**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:** [September 9, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24123 "2015-09-09T01:30:41Z")
I think this one takes the prize. In typical Republican fashion, they tried to game the system to get their way, but their bluff was called. Kansas Republicans May Have Just Shut Down the State’s Court System > **[This state's Republicans just shut down its entire court system—and they're...](https://www.motherjones.com/criminal-justice/2015/09/why-entire-kansas-court-system-could-shut-down/)** > > It turns out courts can be useful. > [@](#): > > On Wednesday night, a district judge in Kansas struck down a 2014 law that stripped the state Supreme Court of some of its administrative powers. The ruling has set off a bizarre constitutional power struggle between the Republican-controlled legislature and the state Supreme Court. At stake is whether the Kansas court system will lose its funding and shut down. > > Last year, the Kansas legislature passed a law that took away the top court’s authority to appoint chief judges to the state’s 31 judicial districts—a policy change Democrats believe was retribution for an ongoing dispute over school funding between the Supreme Court and the legislature. (Mother Jones reported on the standoff this spring.) When the legislature passed a two-year budget for the court system earlier this year, it inserted a clause stipulating that if a court ever struck down the 2014 administrative powers law, funding for the entire court system would be “null and void.” Last night, that’s what the judge did. > > Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt warned that last night’s decision “could effectively and immediately shut off all funding for the judicial branch.” That would lead to chaos. As Pedro Irigonegaray, an attorney for the Kansas judge who brought the legal challenge against the administrative law, put it, “Without funding, our state courts would close, criminal cases would not be prosecuted, civil matters would be put on hold, real estate could not be bought or sold, adoptions could not be completed." ---
**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:** [September 9, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24124 "2015-09-09T04:18:03Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Why doesn’t someone start a _Stupidest Adaher post of the Month_ thread? [Here it is](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=12485106). ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24125 "2015-09-09T04:47:11Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > [Here it is](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=12485106). Whatever you linked to seems to have gone bye-bye. ---
**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 9, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24126 "2015-09-09T05:31:16Z")
He might have meant [this thread bestowing the award for epic wrongness on him](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700971). Or perhaps [this other one calling him a bigot](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=753480). Or it may have just been a “find all posts by **adaher** ” search. Really, though, we should all give him no more thought than that _schmutz_ we scrape off our shoes. He is _bubkes_. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24127 "2015-09-09T16:15:18Z")
You people just need to block him. He’s a troll that has worn out his hilarity. It used to be fun to see how wrong he can be and use facts against him to see what kind of spin he could put on it, but it just became sad ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24128 "2015-09-09T18:56:48Z")
[Tennessee mom](http://www.salon.com/2015/09/09/tennessee_mom_wants_pornographic_henrietta_lacks_book_banned_from_schools/) (the story does not say she is a Republican, but, you know . . .) wants [_The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Immortal-Life-Henrietta-Lacks/dp/1400052181) banned from public schools as “pornographic.” > [@](#): > > The book, of course, is hardly smut; Rather, the bestseller deals with issues of science and race by examining the case of Henrietta Lacks, a poor African American woman whose cells were taken without her knowledge just before she died of cervical cancer in 1951. Her cells (known as HeLa cells) would become the first immortal human cell line and go on to change the face of medical research forever. > > On her Facebook page, the book’s author Rebecca Skloot condemned Sims’ campaign. “Just in time for ‪#‎BannedBooksWeek‬, a parent in Tennessee has confused gynecology with pornography and is trying to get my book banned from the Knoxville high school system,” she wrote. > > Explaining that the sections of the book deemed “pornographic” involved descriptions of Henrietta’s husband being unfaithful and Henrietta’s discovery of a tumor of her cervix using her finger, Skloot asked, rhetorically, “So is a breast self-exam pornography too? ‪#‎sigh‬.” ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24129 "2015-09-09T19:13:06Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Tennessee mom](http://www.salon.com/2015/09/09/tennessee_mom_wants_pornographic_henrietta_lacks_book_banned_from_schools/) (the story does not say she is a Republican, but, you know . . .) wants [_The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Immortal-Life-Henrietta-Lacks/dp/1400052181) banned from public schools as “pornographic.” In fairness, this thread usually deals with the stupidity of political or media figures who are Republicans. If we opened it up to the idiocy of individual members of the public… think of the poor hamsters! (Of course if the school board goes along with her request, and is Republican, it will be totally fair game… or if Mike Huckabee shows up at a rally with her.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24130 "2015-09-09T19:22:56Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > In fairness, this thread usually deals with the stupidity of political or media figures who are Republicans. If we opened it up to the idiocy of individual members of the public… think of the poor hamsters! > > (Of course if the school board goes along with her request, and is Republican, it will be totally fair game… or if Mike Huckabee shows up at a rally with her.) Well, she’s a private citizen sticking her finger _snerk_ in public, political affairs; that’s fair game if stupid, I should think, and this is stupid. ---
**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 9, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24131 "2015-09-09T19:46:55Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > … think of the poor hamsters! This bloated thread has been a graveyard for hundreds of hamsters – not counting the ones who surrendered their freedom in service of gay Rs. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24132 "2015-09-09T21:28:16Z")
hashtag sigh? ---
**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:** [September 10, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24133 "2015-09-10T01:12:31Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > It’s only a matter of time before someone suggests building a big dome all over the USA…you know, so we can all live under the dome! [Thomas Friedman must read this thread.](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/09/opinion/thomas-friedman-walls-borders-a-dome-and-refugees.html?_r=0) > [@](#): > > After Donald Trump proposed building a high wall all along the U.S.-Mexico border, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, not to be out-trumped, basically said, I see your wall and raise you one, stating that it was “legitimate” to consider building a wall along the 5,525-mile U.S.-Canada border as well. > > Well, I see both your walls — and raise you a dome. I’m happy to have Scooter laughed at by a wider audience. ---
**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 10, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24134 "2015-09-10T02:17:35Z")
[The Republicans are holding hearings on Planned Parenthood, inviting all of the usual anti-abortion talking heads](http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2015/09/09/congress-starts-planned-parenthood-hearings-accusations-fly). But they have apparently “forgotten” to invite anyone from Planned Parenthood. ---
**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 10, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24135 "2015-09-10T04:04:19Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > I’m happy to have Scooter laughed at by a wider audience. Is he called Scooter because he is never in Wisconsin? ---
**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 10, 2015, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24136 "2015-09-10T04:25:28Z")
Ok, this belongs in the campaign thread, but here, as well, for its two-prong stupidity. Funny-hair-guy [walks onstage at an event to the tune of _It’s the End of the World as We Know It_](http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/253179-rem-blasts-trump-for-using-their-song), not only making himself look toxic but also pissing off that there band. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24137 "2015-09-10T05:04:35Z")
This seems to be a pattern. Republicans have often misappropriated copyrighted music for their events, without permission of the rights-holders. Aren’t they supposed to be the party that respects property rights? ---
**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:** [September 10, 2015, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24138 "2015-09-10T05:27:39Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > This seems to be a pattern. Republicans have often misappropriated copyrighted music for their events, without permission of the rights-holders. > > Aren’t they supposed to be the party that respects property rights? Technically speaking, I think that as long as a they pay for the rights through ASCAP or BMI, any campaign has the right to use any copyrighted music they want at public gatherings. (The issue of using music in commercials is somewhat different.) [Cite.](https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110705/03482614973/dear-musicians-once-again-politicians-can-probably-play-your-songs-events-without-your-permission.shtml) AFAIK, it’s only a matter of courtesy, not law, to ask the creator/composer for permission. In the field of politics, it is wise for campaigns to obtain that permission: composers may very well not wish to appear to endorse a candidate who uses their music, nor does it look good for the candidate when a musician publicly repudiates him or her. But I don’t think musicians have a legal right to refuse to allow their songs to be played at rallies and other gatherings. [More info.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performing_rights) ---
**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:** [September 10, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24139 "2015-09-10T16:15:32Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [The Republicans are holding hearings on Planned Parenthood, inviting all of the usual anti-abortion talking heads](http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2015/09/09/congress-starts-planned-parenthood-hearings-accusations-fly). But they have apparently “forgotten” to invite anyone from Planned Parenthood. [This is where Gohmert tells a bible story about boiling and eating babies.](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/louie-gohmert-compares-planned-parenthood-to-baby-boiling-scheme-in-bizarre-rant/) therefore Planned Parenthood must be defunded. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24140 "2015-09-10T19:10:44Z")
Huckabee [thinks that the Dred Scott decision is the law of the land that has been ignored.](http://www.buzzfeed.com/christophermassie/huckabee-dred-scott-decision-remains-to-this-day-the-law-of#.siPJRExGLm) So Kim Davis can continue ignoring laws if she wants to. And if elected President he too can ignore the law of the land if he so chooses. Even if he has to make up those laws in order to ignore them. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24141 "2015-09-10T19:16:25Z")
Looks like [somebody got his diaper in a twist](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/derek-myers-fired-david-vitter-prostitution): > [@](#): > > A reporter for a Baton Rouge, Louisiana TV station said he was fired Tuesday for asking Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) whether he still hires prostitutes. > > Derek Myers told The Advocate newspaper that WVLA fired him because the Vitter’s gubernatorial campaign threatened to pull its advertising from the news station after he asked the senator the question. Vitter admitted in 2007 to being a client of the infamous “D.C. Madam.”… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1206) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1208)