# 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:** 1266
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25302 "2015-11-06T23:06:12Z")
No, he didn’t go to West Point. He said he was offered a full scholarship to that institution, which does not have scholarships, and from a person who was in no position to make that offer. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25303 "2015-11-06T23:41:59Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Well they had recently cribbed beer from the Sumerians, so… 🙂 It’s a lie! The Sumerians left it in the fridge after the party and said the Egyptians could keep it because they didn’t feel like lugging it home. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25304 "2015-11-07T00:13:19Z")
> [@bup](#): > > No, he didn’t go to West Point. He said he was offered a full scholarship to that institution, which does not have scholarships, and from a person who was in no position to make that offer. On a date when the person was not in the same city. Other than that, though, totally legit. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25305 "2015-11-07T01:00:09Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > To be honest, I didn’t even know Carson claimed to be a West Point graduate. And that’s the problem with thinking this is some kind of smoking gun that will bring him down. Why do most Carson supporters support him? Because he’s seemingly smart (he’s a doctor!), he’s got a calming disposition, he’s not part of the political establishment, and he says crazy things. Not once have I heard anything from him touting his West Point credentials (maybe that’s just me, I tuned out when Carson talks) so I don’t know if this will really hurt him. In your list of why people support him, you left out his honesty and genuineness. But with the blatant lie about endorsing Mannatech, the different versions of his teenage gangsta days, and now the West Point thing, it looks like he’s just another guy who will say whatever he thinks his audience wants to hear. And more of these things will turn up. They may not bother his hardcore supporters, but they will make him lose his lead. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25306 "2015-11-07T01:10:01Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > On a date when the person was not in the same city. Other than that, though, totally legit. I get that he attended a dinner with heroes, and that he dined with and spoke to Gen Westmoreland. Is there a direct statement that these took place at the same time? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25307 "2015-11-07T01:15:51Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > My understanding, which I admit may be wrong, is that there is really no such thing as a scholarship to West Point. The Army pays everyone’s education at West Point since the students are all in the Army. You understand correctly. Service academy graduates repay the costs of their education at West Point, Annapolis, and Colorado Springs by serving a minimum of five years in the Army, Navy, or Air Force. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25308 "2015-11-07T01:40:46Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > . . . it looks like he’s just another guy who will say whatever he thinks his audience wants to hear. So, he **will** be POTUS? ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25309 "2015-11-07T01:47:08Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > So, he **will** be POTUS? Not necessarily. But he’s got the qualifications. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25310 "2015-11-07T02:35:24Z")
Eh, tempest in a teapot, the “he didn’t apply”. He misremembered, or [his ghostwriter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Murphey) embellished. To me, Carson is a loon, however, I find it unlikely that he wasn’t “recruited” or given lots of attention at whatever ROTC function that happened more than 25 years before he made the claim. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25311 "2015-11-07T04:15:42Z")
[A couple more of Carson’s background stories are phony.](http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/11/06/caught-again-two-more-ben-carson-stories-appear-to-be-made-up/) I’m beginning to doubt he’s really a surgeon. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25312 "2015-11-07T04:33:30Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’m beginning to doubt he’s really a surgeon. At this point, I’m not sure I can trust that he’s black. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25313 "2015-11-07T13:40:08Z")
But he had that rap ad! Anyway, by the one drop rule that some of his supporters use, he’s as black as the ace of spades. But then, so are they, if they dig far enough. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25314 "2015-11-07T16:12:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > [A couple more of Carson’s background stories are phony.](http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/11/06/caught-again-two-more-ben-carson-stories-appear-to-be-made-up/) > > I’m beginning to doubt he’s really a surgeon. For some unexplained reason, Carson’s voice triggers an incipient laugh track in my head. Sort of a poor man’s Arron Sorkin political comedy on CBS. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25315 "2015-11-07T21:19:05Z")
Ben is good for comic relief but the 27% rule seems to be holding. No how matter how dumb a candidate; he/she will get around 27% support with a shrill enough message. I’m going back to the Obama vs. [del] Ryan the child molester [/del] Alan Keyes senate election in Illinois. [2004 United States Senate election in Illinois - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Illinois,_2004) Keyes was a carpetbagger from Maryland (at that time) imported to oppose Obama. With zero name recognition, total outsider status, half-assed party backing, a complete jerk (cite needed-whoosh), and being black also - he still got 27% of the vote. That’s about how many go into the booth and hit the one party lever. I’m seeing the same trend with Carson and Trump. They resonate with a certain whack job electorate but the climb to 50% seems precipitous. The past 2012 Republican clown car had various leaders such as Palin, Crazy eyes Bachmann, pizza guy, the huckster, scrotum with around the same percentages while in the early media spotlight. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25316 "2015-11-08T01:58:42Z")
[Ben Carson Wikipedia](http://gizmodo.com/here-are-some-fun-facts-you-might-find-on-ben-carsons-w-1740895273) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25317 "2015-11-08T02:28:30Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > [Ben Carson Wikipedia](http://gizmodo.com/here-are-some-fun-facts-you-might-find-on-ben-carsons-w-1740895273) > “I’m not saying it was Aliens” guy: ALIENS Ben Carson: GRAIN SILOS ---
**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:** [November 8, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25318 "2015-11-08T03:28:32Z")
[Alabama Board of Education member decries “homosexualists” trying to take over Southern schools, and claims Southern Poverty Law Center wants to make little kids transgendered.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/betty-peters-common-core_563e2a82e4b0307f2cadb27e) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25319 "2015-11-08T04:14:03Z")
> [@](#): > > …“We have gone past gay, lesbian and bisexual and we’re now into gender fluid spectrum.”… We have? Why didn’t we tell us that we did? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25320 "2015-11-08T04:19:28Z")
Human/vertebrate gender **is** a fluid spectrum, I should think that has been well known ever since the Kinsey research. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/25321 "2015-11-08T04:36:09Z")
I’m about a quart low on gender fluid. Remind me to pick some up at Walmart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1265) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1267)