# 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:** 1239
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24762 "2015-10-08T19:01:31Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Ben Carson: “[Not every lifestyle is of the same value](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-lifestyle-same-value).” We know where he rates fast food workers. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24763 "2015-10-08T19:02:34Z")
A blast from the past in the form of what turned out to be a Stupid Republican Idea from five years ago: [Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders (Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy)](https://twitter.com/ryanbeckwith/status/652177507656052736) ---
**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:** [October 8, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24764 "2015-10-08T19:10:51Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > A blast from the past in the form of what turned out to be a Stupid Republican Idea from five years ago: > > [Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders (Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy)](https://twitter.com/ryanbeckwith/status/652177507656052736) And now none of them are conservative enough. Amazing. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24765 "2015-10-08T19:11:55Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > And now none of them are conservative enough. Amazing. Young Guns in the middle of a circular firing squad. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24766 "2015-10-08T19:13:06Z")
I am just gobsmacked by this political season. Things I’ve never expected are happening. It’s pretty fun! ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24767 "2015-10-08T20:00:24Z")
If there’s anything I’ve learned watching politics in this country it’s that you should never celebrate a defeat for an antagonist, because things can always get worse. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24768 "2015-10-08T20:20:07Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [GOP candidate for governor of KY wants to drug test Medicare recipients](http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/drug-tests-medicare-recipients?cid=sm_fb_maddow). It doesn’t matter that they’ve been paying into the program with their own money, apparently. Maybe they want to recycle the old folks’ Viagra and Lisinopril. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24769 "2015-10-08T20:38:36Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Ben Carson: “[Not every lifestyle is of the same value](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-lifestyle-same-value).” Reading the article, I think that was a rather inartful way of expressing a pretty valid point. The three biggest indicators towards your likelihood of financial success are 1) your education level 2) whether you’re married 3) whether you have offspring. Are single moms bad parents or bad people? No. Do I value them less? No. But having a child as a teenager, out of wedlock, and dropping out of school because of it is the surest path to poverty. And when a society values the choice and freedom to do so, it naturally leads to systemic generational poverty. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24770 "2015-10-08T22:49:38Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Rand Paul [would prevent school shootings with stickers:](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rand-paul-put-stickers-school-windows-warning-you-will-be-shot)He went on to say the stickers should also be placed in the cockpits of commercial airliners. See, that solves our mental health problem too. Just shoot them, perhaps preemptively. > [@running\_coach](#): > > “Charge 'em down” Carson reveals his inner coward. > [From here.](http://thedailybanter.com/2015/10/ben-carson-told-real-life-gunman-to-get-the-other-guy/) > > That’s right, he pointed out a more suitable target. “These are not the droids you are looking for.” [http://collectionofawesome.com/2012/12/21/star-wars-these-arent-the-droids-youre-looking-for-gif/](http://collectionofawesome.com/2012/12/21/star-wars-these-arent-the-droids-youre-looking-for-gif/) ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24771 "2015-10-08T23:27:17Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > But having a child as a teenager, out of wedlock, and dropping out of school because of it is the surest path to poverty. And when a society values the choice and freedom to do so, it naturally leads to systemic generational poverty. So abortions should be mandatory? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24772 "2015-10-08T23:48:57Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > In other news, [Matt Drudge](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/matt-drudge-interview-obama-isis-issa) must be feeling neglected lately. He’s claiming Obama picked the name ISIS so people would link it to Darrell Issa. If that were true, why wouldn’t Obama just call them ISSA? With the way people butcher acronyms, I’m sure they can make it spell whatever they want. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > We are talking about the same Obama who annoyed Republicans by insisting on calling it _ISIL_, right? Really? They were mad about that? ---
**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:** [October 9, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24773 "2015-10-09T00:01:08Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Really? They were mad about that? They claim he was trying to call it ISIL so people wouldn’t know he was talking about ISIS. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2015, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24774 "2015-10-09T00:03:47Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Really? They were mad about that? [Yup](http://pamelageller.com/2014/10/obama-administration-changes-the-islamic-states-name-again-name-number-five-daesh.html/). Well, changing the name from ISIS to ISIL (and then _gasp_ to Daesh, the same acronym in Dreaded Ay-Rahbic ! I.e. what they call themselves) in his speeches about them. Of course, this is just one well-known kook with a chip the size of Nebraska on her shoulder when it comes to any and all things Islam. I dunno how much traction this particular gripe has in the wider GOP. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24775 "2015-10-09T00:06:22Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > They were mad about that? They were mad as a hat-ter. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24776 "2015-10-09T00:16:32Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > So abortions should be mandatory? Why yes . Yes they should. That was 100% completely what I was advocating with my post. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24777 "2015-10-09T00:46:40Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > But having a child as a teenager, out of wedlock, and dropping out of school because of it is the surest path to poverty. And when a society values the choice and freedom to do so, it naturally leads to systemic generational poverty. I have to take issue with this. it is not the surest path to poverty when you are already IN poverty. You are describing choices that are _sometimes_ made by teenagers from affluent and middle class families, but predominantly made by poor teenagers from poor families. Theses choices didn’t make them poor, they were already poor. We can all agree that these are not the best choices to make, but just condemning the choices seems to turn a blind eye to the economic and social circumstances that prompted them. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24778 "2015-10-09T02:34:22Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Why yes . Yes they should. That was 100% completely what I was advocating with my post. Well, you can be that way, or you can tell us your plan to prevent teenagers from having kids out of wedlock. Bristol Palin has pretty much proved that abstinence-only isn’t reliable, so the obvious alternatives are forced contraception, forced abortion, or forced marriage. Or, I guess, chastity belts. If you’ve got a better plan, I’m all ears, but a Trump-esque “we’ve got to stop it” isn’t all that helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24779 "2015-10-09T02:40:25Z")
Jon Swift had a modest proposal that would turn the problem into a something beneficial for the public. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24780 "2015-10-09T03:34:57Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Well, you can be that way, or you can tell us your plan to prevent teenagers from having kids out of wedlock. Bristol Palin has pretty much proved that abstinence-only isn’t reliable, so the obvious alternatives are forced contraception, forced abortion, or forced marriage. Or, I guess, chastity belts. If you’ve got a better plan, I’m all ears, but a Trump-esque “we’ve got to stop it” isn’t all that helpful. Well since you’ve already selected forced abortions and chastity belts, I’ll have to mark those two off the list of my reply. So let’s see, what would I do? Before pregnancy, better access to comprehensive sex education, contraception, morning after pills and abortion services. During and after pregnancy, better access to healthcare, mandatory maternity leave, increased educational opportunities…the list goes on. Notice how at no point did I say anything about banning children out of wedlock or mandating marriage for all pregnant teens or whatever else you want to throw at me. It’s a free country. Go get knocked up at 14! Have two by 16! You keep on rocking in the free world, baby. But it is undeniable that doing so significantly and negatively affects your lifetime earning potential and educational level. It is a fact. So if you have a group of people in crushing poverty, you don’t advocate for them to make a choice that so greatly affects not only them, but the next generation as well. Give them the tools and opportunities to make a better decision for themselves. Or forced sterilization. Whichever. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24781 "2015-10-09T03:45:34Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Notice how at no point did I say anything about banning children out of wedlock or mandating marriage for all pregnant teens or whatever else you want to throw at me. No, you gave some very sensible suggestions — in that post. But in the earlier one, you didn’t say anything about sex education; you said it was a mistake to give teenagers the freedom to have kids out of wedlock. I’m happy to have helped you clarify your position. Sorry I responded to what you posted, rather than what you thought. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1238) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1240)