# 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:** 1407
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28122 "2016-03-25T17:13:07Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > No one even knows the 2020 candidates, but I can guarantee with 100% certainty, this same dilemma will present itself then and every election thereafter. So at what point do you say “I’m tired of the candidate I can tolerate. I want the candidate I can support, and I want a party that will support me”? > > Which election cycle do you finally take the stand? Or do you never? This is exactly what the Tea Party philosophy was, and they had a HUGE influence on American politics despite their small numbers. I find the milquetoast dems saying that it would be a waste of votes for progressives to do the same either naive or disingenuous. They have a better argument since the opposition is in fact, evil this time though, so it’s a decision to be taken less lightly as Tea Party purity tests. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28123 "2016-03-25T17:21:53Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > But given that 100% of your vote that doesn’t go to the Dem nominee is 100% a vote for the Republican It isn’t, actually. More like 50%. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28124 "2016-03-25T17:36:10Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I’ll respond, though I don’t want to sidetrack a thread about Republicans by talking about progressives. If you’re a progressive looking to promote progressive values, what do you do? You support the most progressive person running who has a shot. If you have a big opportunity, you take it. If you don’t, you take the small ones. If you make the perfect the enemy of the good, you’ll end up with neither. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28125 "2016-03-25T17:58:21Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > You support the most progressive person running who has a shot. {…} You support and vote for the most progressive person running in the primary. You support and vote for the most progressive person who has an actual chance of winning in the general. Unless you don’t mind the least progressive people actually winning elections. Ideological purity destroyed the left in the 60’s and 70’s. We’re watching it destroy the right as we speak. Don’t help them stave off the inevitable! CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28126 "2016-03-25T18:02:42Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Not a Nader fan, but this is idiotic. Unless you are being facetious, in which case, I apologize. > > Pretty sure the Nader voters are just fine in their self appraisal. Having a voice and running for President is not an evil indulgence. The votes belong to the person who gets them. Voting for a dark horse is not taking away votes from another candidate. Anyone who has a problem with another voter casting their vote for who they like best can fuck right the fuck off. No, not facetious. And assuming you’re sane enough to realize a Gore Presidency would have been much better than Dubya’s then you’re the idiot. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28127 "2016-03-25T19:06:42Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Pretty sure the Nader voters are just fine in their self appraisal. Having a voice and running for President is not an evil indulgence. The votes belong to the person who gets them. Voting for a dark horse is not taking away votes from another candidate. Anyone who has a problem with another voter casting their vote for who they like best can fuck right the fuck off. Of course someone can vote for who ever they want. However, if you vote for a 3rd party candidate in lieu of the major party candidate who checks of more of your boxes than the other candidate, and those votes lead to the worse candidate winning, then it is on you and your candidate. You can argue pretty strongly that it has happened twice recently, with Nader helping Bush, and Perot helping Clinton. > [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > You support and vote for the most progressive person running in the primary. > You support and vote for the most progressive person who has an actual chance of winning in the general. > Unless you don’t mind the least progressive people actually winning elections. > > Ideological purity destroyed the left in the 60’s and 70’s. We’re watching it destroy the right as we speak. > > Don’t help them stave off the inevitable! > > CMC fnord! And the above is the way to both move a party your way and not cut off your nose in the meantime. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28128 "2016-03-25T19:28:36Z")
Can we move the third party vote discussion to another thread? [Paul Ryan has decided that anxiety is a “character deficiency” and has given it up for Lent.](http://author.addictinginfo.org/2016/03/24/paul-ryan-just-revealed-what-he-gave-up-for-lent-and-its-truly-despicable-video/) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28129 "2016-03-25T20:11:35Z")
In and of itself, giving up anxiety is a pretty smart move, Republican or not. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28130 "2016-03-25T20:29:52Z")
Calling it a character deficiency is not. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28131 "2016-03-25T20:38:20Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Paul Ryan has decided that anxiety is a “character deficiency” and has given it up for Lent.](http://author.addictinginfo.org/2016/03/24/paul-ryan-just-revealed-what-he-gave-up-for-lent-and-its-truly-despicable-video/) Paul Ryan is an idiot, and what he said was stupid on a couple of levels. But I think it’s a stretch to say he was shaming people with anxiety. (I couldn’t watch the video, so I’m only going off the quotes). I think “anxiety” is one of those words like “depressed” that has a casual use and a medical use. I think people say things like “I had a lot of anxiety about taking this job” all the time without meaning that they suffer from clinical anxiety. I mean, I sometimes say things like that to my wife, and she _does_ have an real anxiety disorder. None of which is to say that Paul Ryan isn’t a doofus. He most certainly is. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28132 "2016-03-25T20:46:56Z")
Giving up anxiety is a stupid thing to give up for lent. It’s like giving up athletes foot. How is that any kind of a sacrifice? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28133 "2016-03-25T20:58:46Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > If you support someone you just tolerate, how does that help your cause? How is your voice heard? Sure, you didn’t take one step backwards this time. But you also didn’t move forward. Do you think next election will be any different? How can you throw your vote away on a progressive candidate in 2020? You’re helping the opposition! This is an important election! Sometimes, no matter how good of an idea you think you have, you’ll still lose because people aren’t going to be ready for it. You ask how it will help the cause if Sanders supporters vote for moderate Democrats? I would ask the opposite, how would it hurt your cause if a Republican gets into the White House? If we accept that with Clinton, we won’t move forward, its still a win for progressives if we don’t go backwards, or is Obamacare, because its not single payer, completely irrelevant to progressive ideals? If we lose progress made by Obama, I could ask, how does that help your cause? You’re still free to vote for Sanders or Warren or someone more progressive in 2020, meanwhile we’ve kept the change we’ve achieved. > [@Enderw24](#): > > No one even knows the 2020 candidates, but I can guarantee with 100% certainty, this same dilemma will present itself then and every election thereafter. So at what point do you say “I’m tired of the candidate I can tolerate. I want the candidate I can support, and I want a party that will support me”? Sanders didn’t come out of nowhere, he’s been progressive for a long time. Why didn’t he run in 2008, where I think the circumstances would have been much more beneficial to his success? If you’re tired of the same old moderates, then get someone who’s not moderately left but extremely left to run each time. Why hasn’t that happened each year? Could it simply be that America doesn’t want someone like that? > [@rogerbox](#): > > This is exactly what the Tea Party philosophy was, and they had a HUGE influence on American politics despite their small numbers. I find the milquetoast dems saying that it would be a waste of votes for progressives to do the same either naive or disingenuous. They have a better argument since the opposition is in fact, evil this time though, so it’s a decision to be taken less lightly as Tea Party purity tests. The only reason that the Tea Party has been successful is because they’ve been able to primary moderate Republicans out of their seats. This goes back to what I was talking about with regards to building support at the local level. Due to a lucky census year, small House districts, gerrymandering, and Democratic apathy during midterms, they’ve been able to grab disproportionate power at the state level. They’ve lost the one presidential campaign we’ve had since their creation, and all signs are they are poised to lose another one. In fact, this year’s loss may set back conservative ideology severely and damage the brand. Given this track record, why would a moderate Democrat want to risk the presidency by putting Sanders up when its been shown that success starts small and at the local level? If Sanders supporters stay home, then they don’t vote Democratic down the ballot and we won’t be able to recapture the House or Senate. Then, even if Hillary turns out to be super progressive, she won’t be able to pass anything because she’s up against a conservative legislature. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28134 "2016-03-25T20:59:33Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Giving up anxiety is a stupid thing to give up for lent. It’s like giving up athletes foot. How is that any kind of a sacrifice? Yeah, I can see giving up “impatience” as it’s kind of fun (in a weird way) to pound on the steering wheel in traffic and call the guy going 5mph under the speed limit in front of you a lunkhead. But if there were a drug free way to just “give up” anxiety, I (and my stomach) would like to know what it is. Unfortunately, the human body evolved to pump out adrenaline when worried, in preparation for flight or fight. And you can’t easily turn it off just because flinging stones at things is not an actually useful way of dealing with uncertainty in the year 2016. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28135 "2016-03-25T21:07:06Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Yeah, I can see giving up “impatience” as it’s kind of fun (in a weird way) to pound on the steering wheel in traffic and call the guy going 5mph under the speed limit in front of you a lunkhead. But if there were a drug free way to just “give up” anxiety, I (and my stomach) would like to know what it is. Unfortunately, the human body evolved to pump out adrenaline when worried, in preparation for flight or fight. And you can’t easily turn it off just because flinging stones at things is not an actually useful way of dealing with uncertainty in the year 2016. I’m more interested in whether Paul Ryan plans to start being anxious again on Easter. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28136 "2016-03-25T22:04:55Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Paul Ryan has decided that anxiety is a “character deficiency” and has given it up for Lent.](http://author.addictinginfo.org/2016/03/24/paul-ryan-just-revealed-what-he-gave-up-for-lent-and-its-truly-despicable-video/) What he’s **not** giving up for Lent helps immensely with that! _puff_puff_cough_ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28137 "2016-03-25T23:04:10Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’m more interested in whether Paul Ryan plans to start being anxious again on Easter. Depends. When are the next primary results due? ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28138 "2016-03-25T23:40:24Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > This is exactly what the Tea Party philosophy was, and they had a HUGE influence on American politics despite their small numbers. I find the milquetoast dems saying that it would be a waste of votes for progressives to do the same either naive or disingenuous. They have a better argument since the opposition is in fact, evil this time though, so it’s a decision to be taken less lightly as Tea Party purity tests. Yes, but the Tea Party has (more or less) focused on elections they can win (US HoR, some Gubernatorial, some US Senate, and LOTS of state races). Their one shot at a POTUS election so far was a complete bust. It’s an argument for, not against, the build-up-from-the-bottom system. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2016, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28139 "2016-03-26T01:27:11Z")
[Sonia Sotomayor had to explain to the Republican justices how Obamacare works.](http://m.dailykos.com/story/2016/03/25/1505944/-Justice-Sonia-Sotomayor-Corrects-Justice-John-Roberts-on-Obamacare-That-s-a-falsehood?detail=facebook) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28140 "2016-03-26T01:30:36Z")
Well, it looks like we’ll win the birth control case by a four-to-four tie. Justice Scalia died for our liberty. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28141 "2016-03-27T03:43:39Z")
I LOVE this [brilliant idea with no possible down side](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/25-000-sign-petition-allow-guns-republican-national-convention-cleveland-n546076) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1406) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1408)