# 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:** 159
**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:** [July 8, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3161 "2011-07-08T14:41:36Z")
> [@G-SE](#): > > On a side note, why did the Democrats vote almost unanimously against it in 2006? Why did Obama state in 2006: As a WAG: because in 2006 the economy was still doing well and yet we were still spending like the proverbial drunken sailors, whereas now in factoring in debt you have to consider that tax revenues have plummeted due to so many people out of work. Or because he wasn’t President yet. Or something. > [@](#): > > I think you may be a bit confused who the hypocrites and liars are. Politicians in general, really. But the country in 2006 and the country in 2011 are two very different things. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3162 "2011-07-08T15:42:48Z")
> [@G-SE](#): > > Yes, they raised it 7 times over 8 years. > > Maybe they are a bit concerned about raising it for the 4th time in 2.5 years now? > > On a side note, why did the Democrats vote almost unanimously against it in 2006? Why did Obama state in 2006: > > I think you may be a bit confused who the hypocrites and liars are. Ah, yes, I well remember in 2006 when Obama threatened to destroy the entire economy of the country if his party did not get 100% of their way and raise taxes to unprecedented levels. What’s that? He did not do that? Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3163 "2011-07-08T15:55:55Z")
> [@G-SE](#): > > Yes, they raised it 7 times over 8 years. > > Maybe they are a bit concerned about raising it for the 4th time in 2.5 years now? > > On a side note, why did the Democrats vote almost unanimously against it in 2006? Why did Obama state in 2006: > > I think you may be a bit confused who the hypocrites and liars are. You might note, if you wanted to view the universe through a framework of facts and logic, that the Republicans have put forward tiny extensions over and over again to try to milk the issue. You might also note, if you were inclined to face reality, that voting against the debt ceiling when there are enough votes to pass, is a symbolic gesture. It may not be profound, but it is the kind of thing politicians do. Voting against it when there isn’t enough votes to pass, threatening great harm on the nation. The right in this country are incoherent, ignorant dipshits. And I trust they are happy to have you swinging for them. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3164 "2011-07-08T15:58:00Z")
> [@G-SE](#): > > On a side note, why did the Democrats vote almost unanimously against it in 2006? Raising the debt ceiling has always been an opportunity for political grandstanding. It has never been an occasion for _negotiation_. Whichever party is in power votes to raise the ceiling, and the other opposes it. That is how the game is played. But the debt ceiling has always been raised. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3165 "2011-07-08T16:07:58Z")
> [@MilTan](#): > > Raising the debt ceiling has always been an opportunity for political grandstanding. It has never been an occasion for _negotiation_. Whichever party is in power votes to raise the ceiling, and the other opposes it. That is how the game is played. But the debt ceiling has always been raised. We have always been indebted to Eurasia. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3166 "2011-07-08T16:20:55Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I wonder what percentage of all income the top 10 percent earn? > **[2005 US income figures: top 10 percent had largest share of national wealth...](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2007/03/inco-m30.html)** > > A series of recent economic studies and media reports have added new details to the portrait of the US as a country riven by deepening social divisions. While a financial and corporate oligarchy rules America, with access to almost unimaginable... This is a socialist report showing the direction we are going. Massive mal-distribution of wealth results in the people going into the streets. Unfettered greed does not end well. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3167 "2011-07-08T16:47:28Z")
Unemployment is up again, so it looks like those corporate tax breaks are working as designed. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3168 "2011-07-08T17:34:26Z")
Clearly a direct result of the Obamist effort to raise taxes on the corporate jets of small business owners. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3169 "2011-07-09T00:08:05Z")
I have to give Boehner credit for standing in front of the cameras and saying with a straight face that this is clearly a reflection of the Obama administration’s economic policies. Just keep sucking up to big business, Johnny boy. Those tax breaks are helping unemployment, all right. Unfortunately, it’s all in Mexico and China. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3170 "2011-07-11T22:43:04Z")
Details here: [Lori Klein, Arizona State Senator, Pointed Loaded Gun At Reporter Richard Ruelas's Chest | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/lori-klein-arizona-gun-control-reporter-giffords_n_894973.html) Essentially, an Arizona Republican, Lori Klein, pointed her cute, loaded pink handgun at a local reporter. “It’s OK, I don’t have my finger on the trigger” she apparently reassured him. Doesn’t exactly reassure me that the ‘open carry/NRA’ crowd can be trusted to have good judgement around firearms. This with Giffords still fresh in our minds… They sure grow a special kind of stupid in Arizona politics… ---
**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:** [July 11, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3171 "2011-07-11T22:56:09Z")
Holy fuck! How is that not a crime? ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3172 "2011-07-11T23:06:00Z")
Well, to try to be fair, she wasn’t (apparently) threatening or ‘brandishing’ the gun, and it didn’t go off, so no physical consequences. Stupid isn’t always criminal, I guess. Hell, I don’t know, maybe one of the legal minds on the Board can tell us if it is a crime or not. But if stupid was criminal, :smack:, this would be a FELONY! ---
**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:** [July 11, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3173 "2011-07-11T23:15:29Z")
Pointing a loaded gun (with no safety, I don’t care how far back you have to pull the trigger) at someone, for who gives a shit what fluffy happy reason … I don’t understand how that could possibly be legal. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3174 "2011-07-11T23:20:00Z")
[http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/07/11/265846/arizona-state-rep-gun-journalist/](http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/07/11/265846/arizona-state-rep-gun-journalist/) ThinkProgress has a picture of the pistol, and I gotta say, that is just about the _cutest_ .38 pistol I ever saw! Most of those things are designed to appeal to the testosterone-impaired, but this one is demure and lady-like. Kinda gun Mary Tyler Moore would carry. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3175 "2011-07-11T23:37:23Z")
… That thing looks like a toy. Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3176 "2011-07-11T23:44:59Z")
Seems to me she’s breaking [gun safety](http://www.nrahq.org/education/guide.asp) rules 1 & 3. Perhaps she should take a refresher course. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3177 "2011-07-11T23:47:48Z")
A toy for kids who think they’re grownups. Probably wouldn’t let her son play _Grand Theft Auto._ Oh, didn’t one of the articles mention that the safety was off? ---
**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:** [July 11, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3178 "2011-07-11T23:53:22Z")
“Klein’s gun, a .380 Ruger,[**has no safety**](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/lori-klein-arizona-gun-control-reporter-giffords_n_894973.html), but the senator assured Ruelas that he wasn’t in danger.” ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3179 "2011-07-11T23:56:51Z")
I loved one of the comments: "That looks like the gun that came with my ‘Minuteman Barbie’ ". Seriously, if you cannot yourself comply with the responsibilities that come attached to your political positions, eg ‘no gun control’, maybe that’s evidence, in and of itself, that your position is fatally flawed? ---
**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:** [July 11, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3180 "2011-07-11T23:59:16Z")
That reporter was one – _hey y’all, watch this_ – away from the pearly gates. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=158) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=160)