# 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:** 1606
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32102 "2017-01-05T05:24:21Z")
Mitch McConnell says that [“Americans will not tolerate Democrats blocking a SCotUS nomination.”](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mcconnell-schumer-supreme-court-response) ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32103 "2017-01-05T08:09:35Z")
If they (republicans) don’t get a nominee vetted and approved the first day of Trump’s presidency, he (Trump) will be a lame duck and the democrats are fully within their rights to oppose any nominee. Indeed, even oppose having hearings. Presidents should not have the right to promote Supreme Court Justices so close to the end of their term. It’s right there in the pocket constitution and scribbled side notes that the ®s carry. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32104 "2017-01-05T09:23:07Z")
[This one](http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/01/report-trump-kicked-critical-biographer-off-his-golf-course.html) is stupid in an eat-your-own sort of way. Bad-hair-guy was golfing when a writer came up to congratulate him on the WH thing. He had written some stuff that made bad-hair-guy angry, so he booted the writer and the three other guys playing with him off the course. Curiously, one of those other guys was a notorious Kansas oil man named David. I was amused by the fact that the annoying writer guy is named Harry Hurt the third – that seems somehow fitting. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32105 "2017-01-05T09:35:59Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > If they (republicans) don’t get a nominee vetted and approved the first day of Trump’s presidency, he (Trump) will be a lame duck and the democrats are fully within their rights to oppose any nominee. Indeed, even oppose having hearings. Presidents should not have the right to promote Supreme Court Justices so close to the end of their term. It’s right there in the pocket constitution and scribbled side notes that the (R)s carry. And the Democratic candidate got three million more votes than Trump. Seems to me, “The American People Have Spoken”[sup]TM[/sup]. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32106 "2017-01-05T13:19:31Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > No chance we’re gonna be needing an [ethics committee](http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/politics/with-no-warning-house-republicans-vote-to-hobble-independent-ethics-office.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news) moving forward. Interesting item today on the HuffPost – a lot of the folks backing the defanging of the Ethics Office were also people who were dinged by the Azerbaijani scandal, where they got lots of perks from – it turns out – the state-owned oil company of Azerbaijan: > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON ― In 2013, nine U.S. House members jetted off to Baku, Azerbaijan, beside the Caspian Sea for an all-expenses-paid trip sponsored by a nonprofit source. It was meant to be an “education, cultural, business” experience for the lawmakers. > Not only was their travel completely paid for, but a number of the members received nice gifts: rugs of various sizes, a six-piece crystal tea set, a silk scarf, a DVD box set about Azerbaijan’s president, a briefcase and a paperweight-and-stationery set. > Sponsored trips from nonprofits are not a new perk and are typically noncontroversial. This time was different: The nonprofit approved to pay for the trip by the House Ethics Committee was hiding something. > That secret wouldn’t be uncovered until two years later by the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent watchdog that oversees House members. > The OCE eventually cracked the case, figuring out that the so-called nonprofit was actually a front for the state-owned oil company of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijan government had funneled some $750,000 into nonprofit sources to conceal the money’s origin. > > Still, the OCE investigation faced resistance from within Congress. The House members said they didn’t know the state-owned oil company was paying for the trip. And some didn’t return gifts they received until the ethics watchdog started its probe. Further: > [@](#): > > Late Monday night, Republicans voted secretly to attach a provision gutting the OCE onto a larger rules package for the House. The measure would have given the Ethics Committee ― which is run by House members ― the power to order the OCE to halt an investigation, bar its board from releasing findings, and prohibit it from contacting law enforcement directly if the independent body learned of possible criminal violations. After intense public backlash, Republicans backed off. The amendment never made it into the final package the House passed Tuesday, but Republicans are promising to push for its return before August. > “The people that spoke out in the Republican conference [against OCE] were all those who had run-ins, and I say that accurately, with OCE, and all have ethical issues,” said Meredith McGehee, policy director with the Campaign Legal Center. “That they are the aggrieved is kind of laughable.” > During the Azerbaijan investigation, conducted in 2015, the Ethics Committee asked the OCE to drop the case ― in what appeared to be the first-ever such request. The OCE didn’t. > Under the Republicans’ proposed provision, the OCE would have to comply if the Ethics Committee directed it to shut down a probe. Not only that, the “gag” rule they wanted to apply to the Ethics Office has its roots in that incident, as well: > [@](#): > > After the OCE handed over its complete findings in the Azerbaijan case to the ethics panel, lawmakers decided to release only a short summary, deeming the independent watchdog’s entire report “not appropriate for release because the referral followed the OCE Board’s decision not to cease its investigations.” In response, the OCE’s board, on which Republicans and Democrats are equally represented, voted unanimously to release all its findings to the public. So this outburst against the Ethics Office was probably spurred by a particular incident – they wanted to get back at the folks who had uncovered a prior scandal affecting the ones calling for its emasculation. “I’ll get you for this, OCE! And your little dog, too!” > **[House GOP's Blueprint To Gut Ethics Office Looks Like It Was Copied From...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/office-of-congressional-ethics-azerbaijan-investigation_n_586d8f22e4b0c4be0af2e08a)** > > Republicans tried to eliminate the very tools used to catch lawmakers on a shady trip. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32107 "2017-01-05T14:09:46Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Mitch McConnell says that [“Americans will not tolerate Democrats blocking a SCotUS nomination.”](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mcconnell-schumer-supreme-court-response) I’m curious about this one. They were perfectly willing to re-elect the Republican Senators who did just that, why can’t the Democrats try it out and see what happens? I’m willing to watch the Turtle and the Weasel get the exact same medicine they spent 8 years dispensing - a concerted effort by the opposition to shut down everything the Republicans want. “When they go low, we go high” got Trump elected, let’s get down in the mud and wrestle. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32108 "2017-01-05T15:27:04Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > I’m curious about this one. They were perfectly willing to re-elect the Republican Senators who did just that, why can’t the Democrats try it out and see what happens? I’m willing to watch the Turtle and the Weasel get the exact same medicine they spent 8 years dispensing - a concerted effort by the opposition to shut down everything the Republicans want. “When they go low, we go high” got Trump elected, let’s get down in the mud and wrestle. It sucks, but you’re right. It goes way beyond the Supreme Court, although nominating justices is arguably the most important thing the President does. The Republicans opposed EVERYTHING Obama favored, even bills that they themselves introduced. The Dems have vowed to oppose bad Republican bills, like repealing Obamacare, but have also said that they will work with the Pubs on bills they favor, such as infrastructure repair and modernization. That’s what they should do if the Pubs did the same. But it’s stupid to do it when the Pubs simply obstruct. If the Pubs make sure nothing gets done when the Dems have the majority and/or the Presidency, but the Dems allow good stuff to get done when the Pubs have the majority and/or Presidency, then the only rational way to vote is Republican. And obstructionism shouldn’t be rewarded. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32109 "2017-01-05T16:28:54Z")
US Representative Marsha Blackburn, the Sarah Palin of Tennessee, sent out a Twitter poll the other day: “Do you support the repeal of Obamacare? RT if you do, and share what you want to see as a replacement.” [The results were not what she hoped.](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/republican-congresswomans-obamacare-poll-has-surprising-result/) Some of the replies were fantastic, though. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32110 "2017-01-05T16:44:36Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > It sucks, but you’re right. > > It goes way beyond the Supreme Court, although nominating justices is arguably the most important thing the President does. The Republicans opposed EVERYTHING Obama favored, even bills that they themselves introduced. The Dems have vowed to oppose bad Republican bills, like repealing Obamacare, but have also said that they will work with the Pubs on bills they favor, such as infrastructure repair and modernization. > > That’s what they should do if the Pubs did the same. But it’s stupid to do it when the Pubs simply obstruct. > > If the Pubs make sure nothing gets done when the Dems have the majority and/or the Presidency, but the Dems allow good stuff to get done when the Pubs have the majority and/or Presidency, then the only rational way to vote is Republican. And obstructionism shouldn’t be rewarded. That’s actually the goal of the republicans. They know that working with the party in power only benefits the country, not the party. They know that if they work with democrats to improve the lives of americans, then people will appreciate that, and tend to vote for democrats in the future. So, as a result, if democrats are in power, they have to do everything they can to ensure that the country does not do well under that administration. Unfortunately (for their electoral chances), democrats are not of that mindset. They are willing to work with the party in power to improve the lives of american, even if it is not in their best political interest. It is a vicious cycle, one that can only be broken by voters working to inform themselves as to the actual policy differences between the parties. I knew a number of people that voted D in 2008, and R in 2010, because Obama had not fixed the economy yet, not caring that the policies that were proposed by dems that may have helped were watered down, altered, or completely blocked by republican obstructionists. Now, if democrats start copying republicans strategy of party over country obstructionism, then I will be very disappointed. It is not okay if either side does it, either way is bad for the people that actually have to live here. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32111 "2017-01-05T16:48:12Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It is a vicious cycle, one that can only be broken by voters working to inform themselves as to the actual policy differences between the parties. . Well, we’re officially fucked then. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32112 "2017-01-05T16:49:02Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Well, we’re officially fucked then. Yeah, that’s what I said, just with more words. ---
**Author:** ![Donpeyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a4c791/32.png) [@Donpeyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donpeyote)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32113 "2017-01-05T16:52:20Z")
200 trillion in unfunded liability fucked ( so a fiscally conservative condom & some socially conservative lube will ease the pain and potential future bloating ) ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32114 "2017-01-05T16:57:35Z")
> [@Donpeyote](#): > > 200 trillion in unfunded liability fucked ( so a fiscally conservative condom & some socially conservative lube will ease the pain and potential future bloating ) Care to link where you got such a ridiculous number from? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32115 "2017-01-05T17:16:38Z")
> [@Donpeyote](#): > > 200 trillion in unfunded liability fucked ( so a fiscally conservative condom & some socially conservative lube will ease the pain and potential future bloating ) > [@running\_coach](#): > > Care to link where you got such a ridiculous number from? I am impressed you managed to parse that well enough to ask for a cite. I have no idea what that scrawl is even in relation to, much less what it means, or what kind of point it is trying to make. ---
**Author:** ![Donpeyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a4c791/32.png) [@Donpeyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donpeyote)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32116 "2017-01-05T17:20:24Z")
Google "unfunded Liability " for California and that will provide a little initiative to dig deeper … ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32117 "2017-01-05T17:23:04Z")
I did. The number “200 Trillion” appears nowhere on the first page of results. How far down do I have to go to find the citation that supports your, ah, “estimate”? (When you are asked for a cite, it is not a request for a homework assignment.) ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32118 "2017-01-05T17:25:59Z")
> [@Donpeyote](#): > > Google "unfunded Liability " for California and that will provide a little initiative to dig deeper … You found that number somewhere. That means you provide the link, not send us off on a wild goose chase. Cough it up, chuckles. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32119 "2017-01-05T17:41:04Z")
> [@Donpeyote](#): > > Google "unfunded Liability " for California and that will provide a little initiative to dig deeper … Just because you pull numbers out your ass does not put any obligation for others to dig even deeper up your ass. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32120 "2017-01-05T18:39:10Z")
Hey, I did! Reported my non-results, did not expect to fall into the category of butt-spelunker! ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32121 "2017-01-05T18:54:32Z")
Judging by the amount of crap he spews, his asshole must gaping. Was the echo at least pleasant? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1605) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1607)