# 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:** 1459
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29162 "2016-05-18T19:06:01Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s been my line of attack for six years now. Your mostly evidence-free and cite-free attack. If you think this President has acted unusually in how often he has claimed ignorance about something bad that happened, then show it – show how often he has done it, and show how often other presidents have done it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29163 "2016-05-18T19:08:18Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > And it’s never not been essentially cherry-picked bullshit. > [@adaher](#): > > That’s kinda the point. Ah, _that_’s the point of your argument: that your argument is essentially cherry-picked bullshit? Well, you’ve made your point over and over, in that case. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29164 "2016-05-18T19:11:27Z")
That’s only because you’re asking for evidence of irrelevant things. The executive branch failures have been widely covered. So has his responses to them(“What? Huh?”) So have the media responses to them(“The President’s response was greeted with derision in the White House press room”) If I’ve ever said he was the worst ever in this regard, or notably worse, I withdraw it, not because I don’t believe it, but because I don’t think at this point it’s worth the effort to find out for sure. But a President who has such high self regard for his own intelligence and who takes joy in making fun of those he considers less intelligent really shouldn’t be lecturing someone who has never avoided accountability but has generally been cheerful to accept it. No person is all bad or all good. This just happens to be one of the few areas where Trump is superior to Clinton or Obama. He has grown up in a culture of accountability going back to military school. Clinton and Obama have grown up in a culture where avoiding accountability is an art form. It’s one of the reasons voters hate politicians. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29165 "2016-05-18T19:14:23Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That’s only because you’re asking for evidence of irrelevant things. The executive branch failures have been widely covered. So has his responses to them(“What? Huh?”) So have the media responses to them(“The President’s response was greeted with derision in the White House press room”) If they’ve been widely covered you should have no problem coming up for a cite for your claims. Any of them. One of them. Particularly the “What? Huh?” and “The President’s response was greeted with derision in the White House press room” that you’ve just put in quotes as though it were something that actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29166 "2016-05-18T19:17:22Z")
> **[WH: Obama learned of VA problem on TV (same as IRS, Fast & Furious...)](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2633103/White-House-says-Obama-learned-VA-wait-list-scandal-TV-just-like-IRS-Fast-Furious-reporter-snooping-scandals.html)** > > Claims that Obama didn't know the Veterans Administration was keeping secret off-the-books medical waiting lists until news reports surfaced clash with a report showing the problem was part of his team's briefing after the 2008 election. > [@](#): > > Obama has come under fire before for saying he was made aware of scandal-worthy shortcomings in his own administration by watching television, including the IRS tea party-targeting scandal that rocked Washington 12 months ago and the Operation Fast and Furious saga that has tainted his Justice Department for years. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29167 "2016-05-18T19:20:18Z")
And here’s Fox with a compilation of nine times the President was caught by surprise by his own administration’s actions: > **['We did not know': 9 times the Obama administration was blindsided](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/we-did-not-know-9-times-the-obama-administration-was-blindsided)** > > The unfolding sectarian violence in Iraq is just the latest crisis where the Obama administration seemingly has been caught off guard. I wouldn’t blame the President for three of those, because two of them are misreading of intelligence or intelligence failures, while another was an incident that couldn’t have been predicted. But six of them are things the President directly claimed ignorance of. I know it’s Fox, but it’s well cited: > [@](#): > > President Obama news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan (5/16/2013): “I can assure you that I certainly did not know anything about the I.G. report before the I.G. report had been leaked through press – through the press.” > [@](#): > > CARNEY: "You mean the specific allegations that I think were reported first by your news network out of Phoenix, I believe. We learned about them through the reports > [@](#): > > Well, let me take the IRS situation first. I first learned about it from the same news reports that I think most people learned about this. I think it was on Friday." > [@](#): > > QUESTION: “When did the president find out about the Department of Justice’s subpoenas for the Associated Press?” > > CARNEY: “Yesterday. Let me just be clear. We don’t have any independent knowledge of that. He found out about the news reports yesterday on the road.” > [@](#): > > “The president did not know about this tactic until he heard about it through the media; the attorney general did not know about it.” Only in politics is this kind of thing not all that damning. Although the public did react very negatively. Each story brought the President’s approval rating to new lows. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29168 "2016-05-18T19:24:07Z")
You’re trying to use Fox as evidence of the President’s malfeasance? Not exactly a reliable source. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29169 "2016-05-18T19:25:27Z")
I’d also note that Jon Stewart as a critic of this tactic: > **[Stewart Tears Apart Obama: You Can’t Keep Saying You Found Out About News At...](https://www.mediaite.com/tv/stewart-tears-apart-obama-you-cant-keep-saying-you-found-out-about-news-at-the-same-time-as-us/)** > > Jon Stewart tonight targeted President Obama for his reactions to major administration scandals in the past week and how every time there's a big news item involving his administration, Obama always seems to have found out about the news at the same... > [@](#): > > Stewart quipped, “I wouldn’t be surprised if President Obama learned Osama bin Laden had been killed when he saw himself announce it on television.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29170 "2016-05-18T19:51:13Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Only in politics is this kind of thing not all that damning. Although the public did react very negatively. Each story brought the President’s approval rating to new lows. But I thought you were saying that Obama was unusual in this regard. Are you now saying that this is pretty normal for Presidents? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29171 "2016-05-18T19:56:16Z")
No, just saying that with a few months left in his tenure I’m not interested in proving it. Right now I’m just interested in defending Trump’s tweet, which I thought was a pretty nice comeback. It’s sufficient to note that the President does not see ignorance as a problem in all cases. In fact, it can be very useful. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29172 "2016-05-18T20:00:42Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It’s sufficient to note that the President does not see ignorance as a problem in all cases. You have provided no evidence of this. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29173 "2016-05-18T20:05:50Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > The Republicans are used to cowtowing to the 1%. 😉 Good one, it needed to be said 😃 ---
**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:** [May 18, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29174 "2016-05-18T20:16:11Z")
Soooooo. Your defense of Trump’s nonsensical tweet is that occasionally President Obama doesn’t know something, so therefore President Obama loves ignorance while Trump will fire people when he doesn’t know things? Because that’s pretty stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29175 "2016-05-18T20:30:40Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > No, just saying that with a few months left in his tenure I’m not interested in proving it. Right now I’m just interested in defending Trump’s tweet, which I thought was a pretty nice comeback. It’s sufficient to note that the President does not see ignorance as a problem in all cases. In fact, it can be very useful. So, you’ve got nothing on President Obama. The Donald is indefensible. (Hey, this is the Pit.) You picked a bad century to be a Republican. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29176 "2016-05-18T20:44:52Z")
[Congressional Republicans are refusing to pass funding to fight the Zika virus unless the administration agrees to cuts to Obamacare.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-cornyn-zika-funding_us_573cb65ae4b0646cbeebd2b3?section=politics) ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29177 "2016-05-18T21:10:14Z")
What’s next? Republicans bringing citizens into the Senate chambers and threatening to execute them one by one until their demands to destroy Obamacare are met? ---
**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:** [May 18, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29178 "2016-05-18T23:04:33Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Alabama senator wants to place “monitors” at restrooms to make sure nothing funny happens. My wife would be a natural. As a kid she would play “Man or Woman?” whenever she was bored. She tries to not play it as an adult because she decided it was a sin, but I helpfully list all the other reasons she’s going to Hell that she isn’t a bit sorry for, so she feels better and sometimes lets me play, too. Unfortunately, which bathroom they use is the decider, and few of the people realize the issue is in doubt. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29179 "2016-05-19T00:13:34Z")
The Texas GOP releases it’s [party platform](http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a45011/texas-gop-platform/). While the whole thing is hilarious,9and scary as hell) one part could use rewording. > [@](#): > > “ **Homosexuality is a chosen behavior** that is contrary to the fundamental unchanging truths that has been ordained by God in the Bible, recognized by our nation’s founders, **and shared by the majority of Texans.** Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable alternative lifestyle, in public policy, nor should family be redefined to include homosexual couples. We oppose the granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin. We oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values.” Yep. Most Texans are gay. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29180 "2016-05-19T00:21:44Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The Texas GOP releases it’s [party platform](http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a45011/texas-gop-platform/). While the whole thing is hilarious,9and scary as hell) one part could use rewording. > > Yep. Most Texans are gay. Ain’t nothing in Texas but steers and queers. Which are you? 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 19, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/29181 "2016-05-19T02:43:46Z")
[John McCain has a campaign ad attacking his Republican primary opponent for taking chemtrails seriously. Until the likely Democratic opponent in the general election dug up that McCain himself passed on a letter from a concerned constituent about chemtrails.](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/john-mccain-letter-chemtrails) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1458) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1460)