# 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:** 1586
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31702 "2016-10-26T22:06:01Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > All campaign ads are full of questionable facts. Have candidates successfully sued their opponents for saying things about them that are not true? Here in Minnesota, there are specific state laws about “false claim of endorsement”. They have been enforced (with significant fines) against candidates, but always from the direction of a candidate claiming to have an endorsement that he didn’t have. Like claiming to be the Democratic Party endorsed candidate when he wasn’t. But I’ve never heard of these laws being used the opposite way – an opponent falsely claiming that one candidate was endorsed by another person from that same party. I’m not sure if the law is even written to cover that situation. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31703 "2016-10-26T23:15:34Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Shocking twist - three years into her presidency, the investigation uncovers she was born in Kenya. Kenya, MARS. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31704 "2016-10-27T00:48:53Z")
I knew it. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31705 "2016-10-27T01:32:31Z")
Former rep Joe Walsh > **[Ex-Rep. Joe Walsh says he wasn’t calling for violence when he vowed to grab...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/ex-rep-joe-walsh-says-he-wasnt-calling-for-violence-when-he-vowed-to-grab-a-musket-if-trump-loses-223517893.html)** > > Former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh started a firestorm on Wednesday afternoon when he tweeted that he would be “grabbing a musket” if Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump loses the election to Democrat Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8. On November 9th,... I’m guessing he grabs his musket a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31706 "2016-10-27T02:26:42Z")
Republicans are starting to float the idea of [just doing away with one of the three branches of government](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/cruz-supreme-court-blockade-230363). ---
**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:** [October 27, 2016, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31707 "2016-10-27T04:55:58Z")
State Rep. John Bennett’s Islamophobia is reaching new, terrfying heights… Yes folks, it’s Oklahoma crazy again. Courtesy of The Lost Ogle - [State Rep. John Bennett's Islamophobia is reaching new, terrifying heights... - The Lost Ogle](http://www.thelostogle.com/2016/10/26/state-rep-john-bennetts-islamophobia-is-reaching-new-terrfying-heights/#more-67625) Please note the family photo - should give you a hint on how this is going to go. Read the newspaper links at your own peril. Okay, go there. Standard “Islam is invading our state and eating our babies, Sharia Law, yada, yada, yada.” A scary video in the Tulsa link. Bennett needed State Police protection entering the Capitol. Actually just a show of force because members of the state’s Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group were there to observe. His meeting was opposed by most of the state’s religious organizations. (At least, “Yeah”, there.) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31708 "2016-10-27T19:26:07Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [City clerk in Green Bay, Wisconsin doesn’t want a polling place put up near the U of W Green Bay campus because students vote Democratic.](http://www.rawstory.com/2016/10/revealed-wisconsin-clerk-limits-voting-near-campus-because-students-lean-more-toward-the-democrats/) I don’t get this at all. Aren’t people supposed to vote near where they live. If they are in student housing near the campus, wouldn’t that suggest they are not residents and should vote elsewhere? Kinda like putting a polling place next to the Motel 6. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31709 "2016-10-27T19:31:51Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I don’t get this at all. Aren’t people supposed to vote near where they live. If they are in student housing near the campus, wouldn’t that suggest they are not residents and should vote elsewhere? Kinda like putting a polling place next to the Motel 6. It’s easy to change your registration to wherever it’s most convenient. If you’re a student in the middle of classes on election day, it makes more sense to vote near the dorm than near Mom & Dad’s house. Of course, vote-by-mail renders this all moot anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31710 "2016-10-27T19:34:59Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > It’s easy to change your registration to wherever it’s most convenient. If you’re a student in the middle of classes on election day, it makes more sense to vote near the dorm than near Mom & Dad’s house. > > Of course, vote-by-mail renders this all moot anyway. Not all students in student housing have a “Mom & Dad’s house” to go to. I didn’t, starting in the middle of my sophomore year in college. I had to get special permission to stay in the dorm over the break that year, and moved into an apartment for the last two years of college. I voted where I lived, not at the various places my mom moved to during those years (which I never even visited). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31711 "2016-10-27T19:35:36Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I don’t get this at all. Aren’t people supposed to vote near where they live. If they are in student housing near the campus, wouldn’t that suggest they are not residents and should vote elsewhere? Kinda like putting a polling place next to the Motel 6. Most college students live in their college location for 9 or more months each year, and practically ALL of them can register to vote there locally. It makes no sense to make them travel dozens or perhaps hundreds of miles to vote near their parents’ homes. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31712 "2016-10-27T19:39:15Z")
A lot of students turn 18 their senior year of HS or their freshman year of college, so the first election that they can vote in may be in November of their freshman year of college. It is easy to register at college. It is easy to get involved in politics in college. They will spend 9 months of the year at college. There is every reason to register and vote at college. I grew up in Minnesota and went to college in Chicago. I registered and voted in Chicago. There is more than a national election, after all. Many of the local contests affect college students. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31713 "2016-10-27T19:48:34Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I don’t get this at all. Aren’t people supposed to vote near where they live. If they are in student housing near the campus, wouldn’t that suggest they are not residents and should vote elsewhere? Kinda like putting a polling place next to the Motel 6. IME, polling places have a list of individuals who are eligible to vote in that location (precinct). If you put a polling place next to a Motel 6, do you think the motel guests would be entitled to vote in a place which is not where they live? If a college student has registered in Green Bay, they should be allowed to vote in a convenient place in Green Bay. If they have not registered there, they should trundle back to Baraboo, or where ever, where they _are_ registered to vote, or mail in their absentee ballot. This city clerk has no case. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31714 "2016-10-27T20:28:06Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I don’t get this at all. Aren’t people supposed to vote near where they live. If they are in student housing near the campus, wouldn’t that suggest they are not residents and should vote elsewhere? Kinda like putting a polling place next to the Motel 6. Then shouldn’t all those snowbirds spending November in The Villages fly back up to Schenectady to do their voting? ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31715 "2016-10-27T21:21:05Z")
The student vote, particularly when concentrated in a large university setting can be more decisive with regard to some contests than that same vote dispersed over dozens of “hometown” locations. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31716 "2016-10-28T00:25:06Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Most college students live in their college location for 9 or more months each year, and practically ALL of them can register to vote there locally. It makes no sense to make them travel dozens or perhaps hundreds of miles to vote near their parents’ homes. Or thousands of miles. I grew up in California, but registered and voted for the first time in Boston, where I was attending college. It would have been difficult to return home to vote, although I’m not sure what the absentee ballot situation was at the time. I know that back then California required a reason, although out-of-state student might have been acceptable. ---
**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:** [October 28, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31717 "2016-10-28T01:08:30Z")
[Melania Trump explains what she hopes to accomplish as First Lady:](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/melania-trump-explains-son-barron-dads-presidential-bid/story?id=43099325) > [@](#): > > …She also previewed one of the causes that she hopes to focus on if she becomes first lady. > > “I will focus on helping children and women, and also about social media. In this 21st century, what’s going on, it’s very hurtful to children. To some adults as well, but we need to take care of children,” she said. > > Trump said children get hurt “by social media” and “we need to teach them how to use it, what is right to say, what is not right to say… because it’s very bad out there.”… Is Donald going to help the project by serving as the “before” exhibit? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31718 "2016-10-28T01:59:54Z")
Now that was a fortuitous pairing of post and sig. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31719 "2016-10-28T04:03:24Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > The student vote, particularly when concentrated in a large university setting can be more decisive with regard to some contests than that same vote dispersed over dozens of “hometown” locations. That varies by the situation. Here in Minnesota, we have several large universities in Minneapolis & St, Paul. But we don’t need any more Democratic votes to win in those central cities. Meanwhile, we have outstate races in swing districts where we lost close races last election, one by 69 votes. It would be better for our state if these students voted absentee in their rural home districts. ---
**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:** [October 28, 2016, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31720 "2016-10-28T04:04:33Z")
[Mark Kirk is an unmitigated douche.](http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/senator-mark-kirk-mocks-tammy-duckworths-mixed-race-bac-1788310472?) ---
**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:** [October 28, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/31721 "2016-10-28T04:26:02Z")
Not really sure why it should matter all that much, since Wisconsin is a college town. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1585) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1587)