# 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:** 1441
**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:** [April 29, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28802 "2016-04-29T02:55:17Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [House Majority Whip Steve Scalise has suggested that “President” Trump might nominate Ted Cruz to the Supreme Court.](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/277650-top-republican-floats-cruz-as-supreme-court-pick) No! Cruz for Vice President! Imagine him as president of an organization where everybody hates him. It’d be like Fiorino at HP, except every employee/“reliable source” has dozens of press contacts hungry for a scoop. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28803 "2016-04-29T03:02:00Z")
Well, Trump has said he would choose a politician as Veep to advise him. My working theory is that Trump (illegally, btw) promised Christie the Veep spot so that’s why Christie endorsed and has (seemingly reluctantly) worked with Trump. Trump can easily fuck him over on it too. Name someone else. What is Christie going to do? Admit committing a felony and commit career suicide only to have Trump laugh it off as ‘unbelievable’? ---
**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:** [April 29, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28804 "2016-04-29T03:11:19Z")
Trump should nominate Paul LePage. He’s even crazier than Trump OR Cruz. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2016, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28805 "2016-04-29T03:23:42Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Trump should nominate Paul LePage. He’s even crazier than Trump OR Cruz. LePage was actually Trump 1.0, the successful businessman without a filter who said what he wanted (a lot of it horrific) and since he was elected, he has managed to even piss off Republicans in the state. Another thing which should shed light on a Trump presidency is how LePage really doesn’t know how this governing stuff works. For example, he let a bunch of things he wanted to veto lapse and as a result become law because he didn’t know how that whole thing worked. The Maine Supreme Court eventually ruled against him for that very reason. In a Trump presidency, expect him making a lot of similar procedural errors because he simply doesn’t understand these things and doesn’t much care to be bothered to learn. ETA: He also is a perfect example for those who are critical of the two-party system that a third party doesn’t guarantee a better outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28806 "2016-04-29T03:53:59Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The reason they don’t is obvious to all, including you. Space gnomes? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28807 "2016-04-29T04:07:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Ted Cruz has just appointed former Navy chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt to his Colorado Leadership Team. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I wouldn’t get too close to an exorcist if I were you, Ted. And it appears that [John Boehner would agree](http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36163188). ---
**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:** [April 29, 2016, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28808 "2016-04-29T10:53:39Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Well, Trump has said he would choose a politician as Veep to advise him. My working theory is that Trump (illegally, btw) promised Christie the Veep spot so that’s why Christie endorsed and has (seemingly reluctantly) worked with Trump. Why illegally? Especially in the current Citizen’s United world of it ain’t bribery unless actual cash is exchanged for explicit favors, what law says you can’t tell someone that you’ll make them VP if they agree to support you? ---
**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:** [April 29, 2016, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28809 "2016-04-29T11:06:25Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Why illegally? Especially in the current Citizen’s United world of it ain’t bribery unless actual cash is exchanged for explicit favors, what law says you can’t tell someone that you’ll make them VP if they agree to support you? This one: [**18 U.S. Code § 599**](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/599) > [@](#): > > Whoever, being a candidate, directly or indirectly promises or pledges the appointment, or the use of his influence or support for the appointment of any person to any public or private position or employment, for the purpose of procuring support in his candidacy shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28810 "2016-04-29T13:26:09Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I haven’t moved the goalposts at all. I didn’t claim they don’t make fun of terrorists, I claimed they don’t make fun of Islam. > > SNL lampooned a mainstream Christian movie. If they can make fun of mainstream Christianity they can make fun of mainstream Islam. The reason they don’t is obvious to all, including you. Apparently not to you though, despite repeated explanations. I even linked to a very clear video setting it all out for you. Most comedians don’t make fun of Islam not because it’s dangerous but because _it’s not funny_. Knowledge of the life of Christ and other significant Bible stories is so intrinsic to Western society that you don’t remotely have to be Christian to understand what is being mocked or parodied. But the life of Muhammed, or stories from the Qu’ran? I doubt most non-Muslims know anything at all about either. And where Islam _is_ mocked, it’s often in contexts where the reader or viewer is simulataneously educated about the subject on which the comedy is based (as is, for example, the case for the webcomic [Jesus and Mo](http://www.jesusandmo.net/)). That’s not really an approach suited to SNL. What most Westerners are familiar with is modern extremist Islam, and as a result that _does_ come in for a lot of mockery. Usually this is fairly crude (see _Team America: World Police_ for a clear example) but one of the better and more nuanced versions of this is the movie _Four Lions_ which not only lampoons terrorists, it lampoons their beliefs. I recommend it to all. It’s the same reason we don’t see a lot of hilarious send-ups of Hinduism, Buddhism or Shintoism. Comedians are not obligated to give equal time to all topics; their job is to go in, get the funny and get out. If you think there’s comic potential in lampooning mainstream Islam then by all means get writing; there’s clearly an unfilled niche there. But stop whining just because someone else isn’t doing it for you. When there’s a mainstream Muslim movie out and it doesn’t get lampooned, you _might_ have a point. Until then, please learn the difference between an apple and an orange. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28811 "2016-04-29T15:26:58Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Then, Fiorina sang. Dear god, [she sang](http://time.com/4310405/carly-fiorina-sings-ted-cruz-video/). This might have been a humanizing touch if it wasn’t so tone deaf, both in execution, and in terms of convincing the electorate that Carly, as a woman, is ready to take on the awesome dignity and responsibilities of the highest rank in the country if needed. Great googly moogly! I couldn’t make it through the end of that, it was so cringy. It was like watching a comedian bomb onstage or watching a play where someone forgets their lines. Who the fuck thought that was a good idea? If someone scripted that, they should be fired, if Fiorina ad-libbed that, it tells you everything you need to know about her judgement ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28812 "2016-04-29T15:32:55Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > SNL lampooned a mainstream Christian movie. If they can make fun of mainstream Christianity they can make fun of mainstream Islam. It’s absolutely precious that you think _God’s Not Dead 2_ is a depiction of “mainstream Christianity”. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28813 "2016-04-29T18:04:20Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > So… they put the bill in place to allow counselors to turn patients away, but really nobody has ever actually turned anyone away… so why in hell did they need to pass a bill that was apparently not needed? Why not just title it “The Pandering To Stupid Asshole Republican Voters Bill”? Way too ambiguous. The TN legislature was also juggling bills to keep transgendered people out of bathrooms, make the Bible the official state book, and force universities and all public spaces and parks to permit firearms. “Pandering to Stupid Asshole Republican Voters Bill” would have caused total confusion! > [@Smapti](#): > > It’s absolutely precious that you think _God’s Not Dead 2_ is a depiction of “mainstream Christianity”. _Thank you._ ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28814 "2016-04-29T18:41:51Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > This one: > > [**18 U.S. Code § 599**](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/599) He’s not really appointing him to the VP spot, though. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28815 "2016-04-29T19:03:30Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I haven’t moved the goalposts at all. I didn’t claim they don’t make fun of terrorists, I claimed they don’t make fun of Islam. > > SNL lampooned a mainstream Christian movie. If they can make fun of mainstream Christianity they can make fun of mainstream Islam. The reason they don’t is obvious to all, including you. No, thye made fun of a really dumb mainstream movie and a really dumb law that happened to be Christian. If there was a really dumb mainstream Muslim movie that their audience would be familiar with, and if a state was actually trying to pass Sharia Law, then I bet Saturday night live would have at it. However, fortunately or unfortunately, Christianity hugely outnumbers other religions in the US, so the only mockable pop culture references to religion that you are likely to find in the US are the Christian ones, with the occasional Jewish joke. I would also note that they seem to be giving Zoroastrianism a pass, and have more skits making fun of rock stars than they do Tuvan Throat singers. What gives? They must really hate Rock and Roll or perhaps they are scared of the Mongolian Monks and treat them with kid gloves. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28816 "2016-04-29T19:24:17Z")
[Republicans in the House voted to block a new Department of Labor rule that would require financial planners to make sure that they put the interests of their clients above their own interests](http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/04/29/3773960/republicans-fiduciary-rule/). This after eight financial industry groups sent the House a letter begging them to oppose the new rule. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28817 "2016-04-29T20:02:48Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > This one: > > [**18 U.S. Code § 599**](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/599) Color me edumacated. Although I’d think that pretty much every presidential candidate ever would probably be jail from a strict application of that statute. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28818 "2016-04-29T20:03:40Z")
[There’s a bill before the Oklahoma state legislature preventing District Attorneys from prosecuting state officials.](http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/politics/republicans-try-passing-bill-to-prevent-them-from-ever-being-arrested-for-corruption/) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28819 "2016-04-29T20:24:47Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > He’s not really appointing him to the VP spot, though. Yeah, I think there’s a difference between appointing someone to an office (ie, putting him on the government payroll in exchange for his support) and allowing him the opportunity to run for office. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2016, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28820 "2016-04-29T23:55:32Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Republicans in the House voted to block a new Department of Labor rule that would require financial planners to make sure that they put the interests of their clients above their own interests](http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/04/29/3773960/republicans-fiduciary-rule/). This after eight financial industry groups sent the House a letter begging them to oppose the new rule. Gotta wonder how many people heard about this and thought “Da fuq?! They are _already_ legally obligated to put their clients interests first, aren’t they?” If they have to, and can’t figure a way round it, then they are going to make less money. I’m guessing a lot less money. Payroll decisions ensue. Lot of yuppie scum, kind of guys who cheered at screenings of _Wolf of Wall Street_…oh, dear, oh my. I’m pretty humanist, my principles demand empathy for misfortune. I will try. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/28821 "2016-04-29T23:56:38Z")
Can you run for VP? I mean, independently? Can I just say, “My name is Zakalwe and I don’t care who you vote for to be POTUS, I want the veep spot and that sweet-ass house.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1440) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1442)