# 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:** 1626
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32502 "2017-02-02T03:55:35Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Can’t find a cite, but I heard there’s a change in the House to allow giving away public lands, even at a loss, for any reason? there’s this: [Congress moves to give away national lands, discounting billions in revenue | Environment | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/19/bureau-land-management-federal-lease) and more recently: [Republicans move to sell off 3.3m acres of national land, sparking rallies | Conservation | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/31/public-lands-sell-congress-bureau-management-chaffetz) The Feds have dispersed most land east of the Mississippi, and their role originally was to disperse land, but the reason they hold so much land in the west is because no one really wanted it, and these days of course conservation is more important than it was in the 1800s. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32503 "2017-02-02T15:45:24Z")
[Run away! Run away!](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/peter-roskam-cancels-obamacare-meeting) > [@](#): > > Rep. Peter Roskam’s (R-IL) office cancelled a meeting with constituents about Obamacare on Wednesday when a staffer for the congressman learned that a reporter was present ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32504 "2017-02-02T16:51:06Z")
Apparently a US military convoy thought it would be a good idea to [fly the Trump flag](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/02/02/military-convoy-flew-trump-flag-convoy/97388366/). I was hoping this would turn out to be fake news, as it’s just too surreal. But sadly no, the [navy investigated and found it was some SEALs](https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/video/convoy-flying-trump-flag-spotted-205658639.html). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32505 "2017-02-02T17:19:55Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > Apparently a US military convoy thought it would be a good idea to [fly the Trump flag](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/02/02/military-convoy-flew-trump-flag-convoy/97388366/). At least they’re not in a place like Yemen, where that flag would make them a target. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32506 "2017-02-02T21:01:24Z")
[Jason Chaffetz withdrew his bill that would have sold off federal lands to the highest bidder.](http://www.krdo.com/news/top-stories/house-bill-proposes-selling-33-million-acres-of-federal-land/304202505) [The bill follows in the wake of a new bill that would sell off lands at cheap prices without taking into consideration any value of the mineral rights thereon.](http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-federal-lands-20170104-story.html) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32507 "2017-02-03T14:46:51Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [A Texas state legislator has sent a questionnaire to his Muslim constituents (I don’t know how they were identified), asking if they support the Muslim Brotherhood or believe it should be declared a terrorist organization.](http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/1/31/1628063/-Muslim-leaders-in-Texas-get-scary-survey-asking-them-about-their-faith-from-Republican-legislator?detail=facebook) It was sent to Muslim religious leaders throughout Texas, rather than his constituents. Presumably his staff just Googled mosques. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32508 "2017-02-03T18:13:56Z")
[In North Dakota, it would be legal to hit a protester with your car](http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-bills-protest-criminal-20170201-story.html). ---
**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:** [February 3, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32509 "2017-02-03T18:26:04Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Jason Chaffetz withdrew his bill that would have sold off federal lands to the highest bidder.](http://www.krdo.com/news/top-stories/house-bill-proposes-selling-33-million-acres-of-federal-land/304202505) > > [The bill follows in the wake of a new bill that would sell off lands at cheap prices without taking into consideration any value of the mineral rights thereon.](http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-federal-lands-20170104-story.html) Well, you can see where he’s coming from. I mean, with Trump and all, seems like a good time for a clearance sale. Then you burn the country for the insurance money. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32510 "2017-02-03T19:05:03Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > [In North Dakota, it would be legal to hit a protester with your car](http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-bills-protest-criminal-20170201-story.html). If I can unilaterally declare jay-walkers to be protesters, I’m not sure I am against it. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32511 "2017-02-03T20:03:04Z")
And, now, [the Trump Administration and Congress are licking the boots of the Wall Street bankers and planning to eviscerate the regulations enacted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/business/dealbook/trump-congress-financial-regulations.html): > [@](#): > > President Trump moved to roll back the Obama administration’s legacy on financial regulation on Friday, announcing an array of steps to undo rules enacted to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis and turning to the Wall Street titans he had demonized during his campaign for advice. > > After a White House meeting with the business executives on Friday, Mr. Trump signed a directive calling for a rewriting of major provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, crafted by the Obama administration and passed by Congress in response to the 2008 meltdown, the White House said. A second directive he signed is expected to halt and possibly require an overhaul of an Obama-era Labor Department rule that requires brokers to act in a client’s best interest, rather than seek the highest profits for themselves, when providing retirement advice. > > Taken together, the actions constitute a broad effort to loosen regulations on banks and other major financial companies, put into motion by a president who campaigned as a champion of working Americans and a harsh critic of Wall Street and other global elites. > > … > > The meeting underscored the degree to which the architects of Mr. Trump’s economic strategy are now some of the people he denounced in his campaign, which ended with a commercial that described “a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations.” (much more detail in article) ---
**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:** [February 3, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32512 "2017-02-03T21:46:41Z")
After voters in South Dakota approved a new ethics law in last year’s election, the state government has declared a state of emergency, which will allow the legislature to repeal the law without voter approval, and which would require double the number of petition signatures to initiate a new voter proposition to rescind the repeal. > **[South Dakota GOP literally declares 'state of emergency' to repeal...](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/2/2/1629306/-South-Dakota-GOP-literally-declared-state-of-emergency-to-repeal-voter-approved-ethics-reform-law?detail=facebook)** > > On Thursday, South Dakota’s Republican-dominated state government literally declared a “state of emergency” to repeal a voter-approved ethics reform law after the electorate passed Measure 22 in 2016, a ballot initiative that... ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32513 "2017-02-03T22:11:04Z")
[Mike Pence celebrates Black History Month by honoring white guy.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mike-pence-recognized-black-history-month-by-honoring-a-white-man_us_58936c19e4b06f344e406b78) That’s right-there would be no “Black History Month” if Lincoln hadn’t freed them all. I especially like this tweet: “can’t wait for women’s history month when Pence & Tr\*mp thank the brave dudes who let us have a month outside the kitchen” ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32514 "2017-02-04T01:35:40Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Mike Pence celebrates Black History Month by honoring white guy.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mike-pence-recognized-black-history-month-by-honoring-a-white-man_us_58936c19e4b06f344e406b78) That’s right-there would be no “Black History Month” if Lincoln hadn’t freed them all. I especially like this tweet: “can’t wait for women’s history month when Pence & Tr\*mp thank the brave dudes who let us have a month outside the kitchen” And no doubt he did that because Lincoln was 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:** [February 4, 2017, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32515 "2017-02-04T02:26:43Z")
[Sombeody is paying people to call in and support Betsy DeVos.](http://theslot.jezebel.com/someone-is-paying-strangers-online-to-beg-for-betsy-dev-1791976320) ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32516 "2017-02-04T05:42:05Z")
> [@jshore](#): > > And, now, [the Trump Administration and Congress are licking the boots of the Wall Street bankers and planning to eviscerate the regulations enacted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/business/dealbook/trump-congress-financial-regulations.html): That doesn’t seem like an accurate characterization. I’d say they’re slapping each other on the backs, having a good laugh, and drinking bubbly together. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2017, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32517 "2017-02-05T01:18:01Z")
Rick Kitchen wrote: “Sombeody is paying people to call in and support Betsy DeVos.” Job creation in action! ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32518 "2017-02-05T03:19:35Z")
Matt Gaetz of Florida has introduced a bill to [terminate the Environmental Protection Agency](https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/861/). A representative of a state that will be mostly underwater in a few decades thanks to climate change wants to hasten the inundation. Perfect. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2017, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32519 "2017-02-06T06:26:37Z")
Ok, this one is not so much a stupid idea as it is a stupid lack of imagination, > [@"\[Can't](#): > > ([Trump team literally can't find the White House light switches - Raw Story](http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/trump-team-literally-cant-find-the-white-house-light-switches/))“]“Aides confer in the dark because they cannot figure out how to operate the light switches in the cabinet room,” wrote the Times‘ Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman. “Visitors conclude their meetings and then wander around, testing doorknobs until finding one that leads to an exit.” Maybe someday someone will invent some kind of portable glowy thingy that they could use to find the light switches. That person could sell the WH team portable glowy thingies for tens of thousands of dollars apiece. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2017, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32520 "2017-02-06T06:30:12Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Ok, this one is not so much a stupid idea as it is a stupid lack of imagination, > Maybe someday someone will invent some kind of portable glowy thingy that they could use to find the light switches. That person could sell the WH team portable glowy thingies for tens of thousands of dollars apiece. Or they could look for the light switches in the daytime. “But we don’t need them then.” ---
**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:** [February 6, 2017, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32521 "2017-02-06T06:39:06Z")
Lights? Where are the stinking lights? We have top men working on it right now. Who? Top men. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1625) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1627)