# 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:** 1646
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32902 "2017-03-10T17:08:55Z")
> **[EPA chief: Carbon dioxide isn’t a ‘primary contributor’ to global warming](https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/323137-epa-chief-co2-isnt-a-primary-contributor-to-global-warming/)** > > The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Thursday that he does not believe that carbon dioxide is a “primary contributor” to climate change. “The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Thursday that he does not believe carbon dioxide is a “primary contributor” to climate change.” ---
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32903 "2017-03-10T18:57:30Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Well, the _Protocols of the Elders of Zion_ has been popping up periodically since 1903. So I’d say no. Of course it has. They turned it into a candy meme. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32904 "2017-03-10T19:09:56Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **GOP Congressman Asks Why Men Should Have To Pay For Prenatal Care** > > [GOP Congressman Asks Why Men Should Have To Pay For Prenatal Care | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-shimkus-prenatal-care_us_58c1e4fae4b0ed71826b6e4e?w2nqgfv8wep5e9udi&) More on this from Maddowblog: First, a similar story: > [@](#): > > One of my favorite moments of the legislative debate on the Affordable Care Act came in September 2009, during an otherwise unremarkable committee hearing. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), at the time the Senate Minority Whip, was complaining bitterly about proposed benefits to be included in a standard benefit package. > > To drive home his point, the Arizona Republican said, “I don’t need maternity care.” > > ”I think your mom probably did,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) replied. Regarding the Shimkus episode: > [@](#): > > Apparently, the point of this preoccupation with the issue is the Republican belief that the ACA isn’t fair to men because it forces them to pay for a benefit they’ll never, physiologically, be able to use. Scrapping the guarantee, the argument goes, will make coverage cheaper. > > As we discussed the last time this came up, it’s worth appreciating the fact that the Affordable Care Act’s architects set up the system deliberately so that women wouldn’t be penalized for being women, and they wouldn’t be forced to pay more for the coverage as men. This is a feature not a bug. > > The New Republic’s Brian Beutler had a good piece on this a few years ago. > \*The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that insurers cover maternity care is a major manifestation of its broader prohibition against gender rating. Before Obamacare, it made sense actuarially for insurers to charge women more than men for coverage on the individual market. The fact that women, rather than men, incur maternity costs was a big part of their justification, though women were also generally charged more for equivalent coverage. By prohibiting the practice, Obamacare doesn’t just strike a blow for moral reasoning. It effectuates a billion-dollar transfer of wealth from men to women. > > By undertaking to foist the costs of maternity care back onto women alone, Ellmers was proposing, perhaps unwittingly, to transfer all of that wealth from women back to men. \* > > The fact that GOP lawmakers are still hung up on this, despite the implications of turning back the clock, continues to amaze me. > **[Republicans take aim at men paying for prenatal care](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/republicans-take-aim-men-paying-prenatal-care-msna971521)** > > GOP lawmakers keep complaining about one of the ACA's key provisions: the "Obamacare" policy that requires health plans to cover pregnancy and childbirth. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32905 "2017-03-10T19:14:41Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32906 "2017-03-10T19:26:22Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Well, the _Protocols of the Elders of Zion_ has been popping up periodically since 1903. So I’d say no. > [@eschereal](#): > > Of course it has. They turned it into a candy meme. We get candy? That wasn’t mentioned in my Chosen People benefits packet. I need to contact the JR department. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32907 "2017-03-10T19:30:54Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > We get candy? That wasn’t mentioned in my Chosen People benefits packet. I need to contact the JR department. Of course you get candy. What do you think _Hannukah Gelt_ is? ---
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32908 "2017-03-10T19:56:46Z")
This goes into the stupidly evil category: [HR 1313](https://www.statnews.com/2017/03/10/workplace-wellness-genetic-testing/) would exempt part of GINA (Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act privacy protection) for cases of “workplace wellness programs”. An employer will be able to effectively force employees into genetic testing, and, through loopholes, be able to examine the results and possibly sell them to advertisers. Employees may be able to opt out – if they can afford the penalty fine. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32909 "2017-03-10T20:54:04Z")
Sean Spicer on the new Labor Report: > [@](#): > > Spicer said Friday that he believes the job report numbers were accurate. > > “They may have been phony in the past, but it’s very real now,” he said during a White House press briefing. …because the Republicans are now in power. For context, for the past 77 months, when Obama was president, the Republicans downplayed the Jobs Report and disputed its numbers: > [@](#): > > When good job numbers came out under the Obama administration, Trump and other Republicans would undermine them by highlighting certain slow areas or suggesting that the numbers did not reflect an accurate picture of the American economy. > Trump has long claimed that the unemployment rate released in the monthly jobs report is artificially low, saying, inaccurately, in 2015 that it could be as high as 42 percent. Trump has argued that the unemployment number is misleading because it doesn’t consider the number of people who have stopped looking for work, but even if you do include that figure, the numbers are nowhere close to what Trump claims. > Despite Trump’s uncertainty about the unemployment rate, White House advisers and Republicans were quick to tout it Friday. > **[Republicans Are Suddenly Thrilled About The Jobs Report](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/republicans-jobs-report_n_58c2c9fae4b0d1078ca6579f?4gm5z5mi=)** > > Now that Trump is president, they're singing a different tune. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32910 "2017-03-10T21:08:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, talked to CNN’s Ern Burnett this week about health care, and his intention to kill the Affordable Care Act. The host pointed to a Republican voter, featured on an earlier segment, who’d be dead if it weren’t for “Obamacare.” She asked for his reaction. > > DeSantis proceeded to complain about the reform law anyway, before turning to a familiar GOP refrain: > “I would say though … there really is no lack of health care. If people really need it, if they show up to the emergency room, they do get care, it just gets passed on to other folks.” > > The host pointed to the fact that woman in question had $1 million in cancer treatments, adding, “You’re not going to get that by showing up in an emergency room.” > > DeSantis then changed the subject. > **[Freedom Caucus member points to emergency rooms for uninsured](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/freedom-caucus-member-points-emergency-rooms-uninsured-msna971621)** > > The "you can always go to the emergency room" argument among the worst of the bad health care arguments from the far-right. One of the things I loathed about Mitt Romney’s run for president was that, when asked about healthcare after Obamacare, he gave the same answer – “go to the Emergency Room”. as the force behind Massachusetts’ “Romneycare”, he knew about the reasons for not relying on Emergency Rooms for your health care – It costs both you and taxpayers far too much. It’s an idiotic alternative to preventive care (which would be cheaper, as well). In many cases, the uninsured won’t go to the Emergency Rooms, or can’t, and they’ll die. Yet he pushed the idea of repealing ACA and having the uninsured use ERs. That’s completely irresponsible and unconscionable. And these bastards are still doing this. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32911 "2017-03-10T21:41:01Z")
CalMeacham provided a link to this story in post 32897, but I liked this succinct take on it from Jonathan Cohn: > [@](#): > > …this back-and-forth at the Senate Finance hearings, between Jon Kyl, the Arizona Republican, and Debbie Stabenow, the Michigan Democrat. The subject is requirements that all insurance policies cover certain benefits. > > KYL: “I don’t need maternity care.” > STABENOW: “I think your mom probably did.” > > I’m hard-pressed to think of a single exchange that **better captures the sensibilities of our two political parties** –or the principle of shared risk upon which universal coverage is based. > **[Line of the Day: Debbie Stabenow](https://newrepublic.com/article/69694/line-the-day-debbie-stabenow)** > > Via Wonkroom comes this back-and-forth at the Senate Finance hearings, between Jon Kyl, the Arizona Republican, and Debbie Stabenow, the Michigan Democrat. The subject is requirements that all insurance policies cover certain benefits.  > KYL: "I... In 2009 as now, Congressional Republicans are hell-bent on getting what they believe to be best for their own little selves–and incapable of seeing the most obvious truths. This is a _society_, not a collection of non-born males in log cabins in the woods. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32912 "2017-03-10T21:57:27Z")
Amazon’s “Man in the High Castle” TV series has a fictional podcast called “Resistance Radio” which runs anti-Nazi propaganda aimed at the Germans in the TV series. Trump supporters think it’s about them. > **[Trump Supporters Get Mad Because They Think The Man in the High Castle's...](https://gizmodo.com/trump-supporters-get-mad-because-they-think-the-man-in-1793159888)** > > Some conservatives and Donald Trump supporters are freaking out online because there’s a new pirate station called Resistance Radio, dedicated to fighting fascism and Nazi propaganda. Only one problem: It’s fake. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32913 "2017-03-10T22:56:31Z")
[Trump supporters protest The Man In The High Castle’s anti-Nazi radio station](http://www.avclub.com/article/trump-supporters-protest-man-high-castles-anti-naz-251886) > [@](#): > > As part of an ad campaign for its original series The Man In The High Castle, Amazon recently launched Resistance Radio, a streaming station set, like the Philip K. Dick adaptation itself, in an alternate 1962 America run by fascists. The pre-recorded program features “bootleg songs” alongside interstitials where underground DJs talk about standing up to Nazis, urging listeners to keep the fight alive in a nation that’s been overrun by fear, oppression, and authoritarian rule. For whatever reason, some conservatives have interpreted this as being about Donald Trump. And faced with what appears to be such a strong anti-Nazi statement, and a call for people who still believe in American ideals to stand up against the country’s destruction, naturally these patriots have rushed to loudly denounce it. It’s fiction folks!! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32914 "2017-03-11T00:18:21Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Amazon’s “Man in the High Castle” TV series has a fictional podcast called “Resistance Radio” which runs anti-Nazi propaganda aimed at the Germans in the TV series. Trump supporters think it’s about them. > [http://io9.gizmodo.com/trump-supporters-get-mad-because-they-think-the-man-in-1793159888](http://io9.gizmodo.com/trump-supporters-get-mad-because-they-think-the-man-in-1793159888) If the shoe fits… ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32915 "2017-03-11T01:35:00Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > This goes into the stupidly evil category: [HR 1313](https://www.statnews.com/2017/03/10/workplace-wellness-genetic-testing/) would exempt part of GINA (Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act privacy protection) for cases of “workplace wellness programs”. An employer will be able to effectively force employees into genetic testing, and, through loopholes, be able to examine the results and possibly sell them to advertisers. Employees may be able to opt out – if they can afford the penalty fine. Gattaca, here we come! ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32916 "2017-03-11T05:40:12Z")
[House Republicans would let employers demand workers’ genetic test results](https://www.statnews.com/2017/03/10/workplace-wellness-genetic-testing/) This one might qualify for stupid idea of the week. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32917 "2017-03-11T06:23:10Z")
Now now, this is clearly a necessary part of the process of Making America Great Again. I’m sure a drumph will be along shortly to explain how. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32918 "2017-03-11T16:26:00Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > [House Republicans would let employers demand workers’ genetic test results](https://www.statnews.com/2017/03/10/workplace-wellness-genetic-testing/) > > This one might qualify for stupid idea of the week. > **[Does H.R. 1313 Require Employees to Submit to Genetic Testing?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/genetic-testing-bill/)** > > The bill allows offering benefits for "voluntary" workplace programs that may include "health risk assessments" but does not enable mandatory genetic testing of employees. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32919 "2017-03-11T16:48:48Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > [http://www.snopes.com/genetic-testing-bill/](http://www.snopes.com/genetic-testing-bill/) I’m not sure that your link refutes the allegations, to be honest, since AFAIK employers could still levy penalties on any employee who did not submit to genetic testing as part of a “wellness” program. The penalty for that could well be “you’re fired”. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32920 "2017-03-11T17:05:16Z")
But still not what my link stated. Apologies for not checking sources more closely. I have fallen victim to fake news. And worse, attempted to spread it. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/32921 "2017-03-12T18:59:18Z")
[Paul Ryan says he doesn’t know how many people will lose coverage under Trumpcare, “It’s up to people,” Ryan said. “People are going to do what they want to do with their lives.”](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/paul-ryan-number-who-will-lose-coverage-up-to-people) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1645) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1647)