# 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:** 1529
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30562 "2016-08-10T16:58:46Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > … > But my real reason for posting this was because I noticed that Beck’s “investigators” are named Joe Weasel and Joel Cheatwood… Holy Damn Shit is that for real?? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30563 "2016-08-10T17:39:42Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I can actually see it as a ‘joke gone bad’ - but that doesn’t really help. A President or serious candidate shouldn’t be making jokes like that in public. The best spin is that it was a bad joke, and that still shows bad-to-terrible judgement, especially in the middle of one of his “see, I can be reasonable” cycles. But as [this guy, who wrote a Ph.D. dissertation on the function of humor,](http://www.vox.com/2016/8/9/12417100/donald-trump-assassinate-hillary-clinton-joke) points out, it’s much more serious than that. [QUOTE=Jason Steed] You’re never “just joking.” Nobody is ever “just joking.” Humor is a social act that performs a social function (always). [/QUOTE] He goes on to say (in an essay written across 23 tweets) that jokes like this (and racist or sexist jokes) are used to define “in” and “out” groups. The in group understands what’s being said and agrees; when anyone from the out group protests, the response is, “It’s just a joke.” It’s an insidious way of expressing despicable ideas and then shaming those who are the targets, or who side with them, as having no sense of humor or being too sensitive. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30564 "2016-08-10T17:42:26Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I have September 26 in the pool, ben But you haven’t voted in the [actual pool I started here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=764711). ---
**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:** [August 10, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30565 "2016-08-10T20:31:25Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > But you haven’t voted in the [actual pool I started here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=764711). I hadn’t noticed that thread until now, so I just voted “Election day (Trump Loses)”. I don’t mind but am slightly ashamed to admit that had I seen the thread in late 2015, my vote would have been for Super Tuesday, and I stated as much at the time in other threads. I’m somewhat agog at how long this farce has run. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30566 "2016-08-10T23:28:38Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I hadn’t noticed that thread until now, so I just voted “Election day (Trump Loses)”. I don’t mind but am slightly ashamed to admit that had I seen the thread in late 2015, my vote would have been for Super Tuesday, and I stated as much at the time in other threads. I’m somewhat agog at how long this farce has run. I wrote in that thread that my vote would have been for New Hampshire. Considering his bull dog like efforts on the birth certificate thing, he’ll be objecting to the election result for months afterward. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30567 "2016-08-11T00:42:48Z")
> **['Unelectable' candidate defends slavery and mocks women – but still wins GOP...](https://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/unelectable-candidate-defends-slavery-and-mocks-women-but-still-wins-gop-race-in-minnesota/)** > > Republican voters in the Minnesota Second Congressional District just nominated former right-wing radio host Jason Lewis as their nominee, despite criticisms from his own party. Lewis's homophobic and racist rhetoric came back to haunt him when the... "Uh, you know if you don’t want to own a slave, don’t. But don’t tell other people they can’t.” To be fair, the article says that party officials are unhappy with him, but this is evidently what appeals to the GOP electorate. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30568 "2016-08-11T01:35:06Z")
Ok, this is sly: the stupid part of the story is the shoving one’s head in the sand and playing the role of the orifice thereby displayed. Lamar Smith (AH-TX) was/is [sponsoring a measure to fund solar power and electricity storage research](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/my-education-in-climate-denial-jujitsu). Odd, that, an AssHole from Texas doing good, and pissing off the Democrats in the process? Turns out the funded “research” is restricted to studying stuff and may not involve actually _developing_ any stuff. Just when we thought the stupid was easy, now they are becoming strategically stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30569 "2016-08-11T01:42:07Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > ['Unelectable' candidate defends slavery and mocks women – but still wins GOP race in Minnesota](http://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/unelectable-candidate-defends-slavery-and-mocks-women-but-still-wins-gop-race-in-minnesota/) > > "Uh, you know if you don’t want to own a slave, don’t. But don’t tell other people they can’t.” > > To be fair, the article says that party officials are unhappy with him, but this is evidently what appeals to the GOP electorate. Wow, that guy is a serious POS. Does the party proud. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30570 "2016-08-11T01:54:27Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > Wow, that guy is a serious POS. Does the party proud. He has a decent chance of being elected. It’s the same district that sent Michele Bachman to Congress. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30571 "2016-08-11T02:15:12Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > He has a decent chance of being elected. It’s the same district that sent Michele Bachman to Congress. So Gerrymandered that the most extreme candidate wins. Lovely. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30572 "2016-08-11T02:31:11Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > ['Unelectable' candidate defends slavery and mocks women – but still wins GOP race in Minnesota](http://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/unelectable-candidate-defends-slavery-and-mocks-women-but-still-wins-gop-race-in-minnesota/) > > "Uh, you know if you don’t want to own a slave, don’t. But don’t tell other people they can’t.” > > To be fair, the article says that party officials are unhappy with him, but this is evidently what appeals to the GOP electorate. The party of Lincoln, right there. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2016, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30573 "2016-08-11T03:00:33Z")
[QUOTE=Tony Sinclair] "Uh, you know if you don’t want to own a slave, don’t. But don’t tell other people they can’t.” [http://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/unel…-in-minnesota/](http://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/unelectable-candidate-defends-slavery-and-mocks-women-but-still-wins-gop-race-in-minnesota/) [/QUOTE] Meanwhile, in a debate about gay marriage… 🙂 He’s wrong, too. Slavery _does_ affect the people who don’t want to own slaves, just like companies who outsource their factories overseas where children are paid 10 cents a day to toil in unsanitary or dangerous conditions affect the ones that don’t want to do that in the same field - namely, through unfair competition. Unregulated, the invisible hand implicitly selects for utter cunts. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2016, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30574 "2016-08-11T04:16:50Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > He’s wrong, too. Slavery _does_ affect the people who don’t want to own slaves, just like companies who outsource their factories overseas where children are paid 10 cents a day to toil in unsanitary or dangerous conditions affect the ones that don’t want to do that in the same field - namely, through unfair competition. Unregulated, the invisible hand implicitly selects for utter cunts. It also affects the slaves. Negatively, one would assume. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30575 "2016-08-11T09:25:40Z")
Nonsense. Sean Hannity tells me how well fed they were. And they had a place to sleep too. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30576 "2016-08-11T09:51:41Z")
That was Bill O’Reilly, I think. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30577 "2016-08-11T13:15:44Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > That was Bill O’Reilly, I think. Different bot, same program. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30578 "2016-08-11T13:19:24Z")
It wasn’t even about slavery. He was slamming gay marriage. Funny how the homophobia gets ignored and the racism gets invented. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30579 "2016-08-11T15:26:23Z")
Currently, there is no legal framework to support the literal ownership of servants. If you and your “slave(s)” voluntarily maintain a master/slave relationship, you could claim to “own” them. Buying and selling slaves would have to be a sort of underground black market thing with like-minded conspirators. But the minute the slaves want to be free, you would not be in a position to prevent them from leaving: retaining servants against their will is equivalent to kidnapping, which is a tad illegal. Gay marriage, on the other hand, _does_ have a valid legal framework. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30580 "2016-08-11T19:38:04Z")
The Daily Beast thought it appropriate to out a bunch of Olympic athletes, including those from countries with onerous laws concerning gay people. The current version of the article has been re-written, but Wonkette gives us highlights of the original post: > **[How Is The Daily Beast Being A Raging Dumpster Fire Today?](https://www.wonkette.com/how-is-the-daily-beast-being-a-raging-dumpster-fire-today)** > > The Daily Beast thought it would be cool to publish a story that basically outed a bunch of gay Olympic athletes in Rio, some of them from 'notoriously homophobic' countries. For real, they did that. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/30581 "2016-08-11T21:14:10Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The Daily Beast thought it appropriate to out a bunch of Olympic athletes, including those from countries with onerous laws concerning gay people. > The current version of the article has been re-written, but Wonkette gives us highlights of the original post: > [How Is The Daily Beast Being A Raging Dumpster Fire Today?](http://wonkette.com/605425/how-is-the-daily-beast-being-a-raging-dumpster-fire-today) Given my orientation, I obviously sympathize with the victims of this douchebag, but how is it a Republican stupid idea? The Daily Beast isn’t generally considered right-wing media and the douchebag “reporter” is British. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1528) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1530)