# 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:** 1655
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33082 "2017-03-17T02:16:47Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Well, remember that in America that “narrow base” has a far larger share of the income and wealth than in most other wealthy countries. The more economically unequal a society, the smaller the group you have to tax in order to obtain some serious revenue. > > Nonetheless, I too would be happy to trade our current billionaire-dominated setup for an economy in which gains were more equally shared in useful goods and services such as healthcare for all, even if it meant I was paying somewhat more in taxes myself. Not that much larger. You can’t get to universal health care taxing the rich, and you can’t tax the rich much more and still be electorally viable. The nature of your coalition now is that wealthy liberals in the Northeast and the nicer areas of California are extremely important. They support Democrats on everything as long as Democrats don’t raise their taxes. ---
**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 17, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33083 "2017-03-17T02:55:01Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Like me, for insta-- waitanminute (_ **kd99** checks DOB on driver’s license_) > _ **60!!!???!!!** _ > How the hell did THAT happen? Broadly? You haven’t died yet. ---
**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 17, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33084 "2017-03-17T03:39:19Z")
Louie Gohmert is applauding the State Department’s budget cuts, because it hampers the State Deparment’s gay agenda. > **[Louie Gohmert loves State Dept. cuts because they've been busy 'promoting the...](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/16/1644238/-Louie-Gohmert-loves-State-Dept-cuts-because-they-ve-been-busy-promoting-the-LGBT-agenda)** > > Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) absolutely loves Donald Trump’s plan to gut the State Department’s budget by 28 percent because—get this—he claims they’ve been busy gaying up the world. No, really: > > > > "I don't have any concerns with the cuts... ---
**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 17, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33085 "2017-03-17T04:26:27Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Not that much larger. You can’t get to universal health care taxing the rich, and you can’t tax the rich much more and still be electorally viable. The nature of your coalition now is that wealthy liberals in the Northeast and the nicer areas of California are extremely important. They support Democrats on everything as long as Democrats don’t raise their taxes. Man, these wealthy people are really dragging us down. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33086 "2017-03-17T05:06:49Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > They should offer a Medicare-for-all bill. What are you, some sort of pie in the sky, fairy dust licking Bernie Bro? You’ll keep defending Romneycare and like it. Other countries don’t even exist. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33087 "2017-03-17T06:26:59Z")
Trump spokesperson explains why Trump’s budget that cuts tons of services for the poor [is compassionate](http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/03/16/mulvaney_says_cutting_aid_to_the_poor_is_compassionate.html): “I think it’s fairly compassionate to go to them and say, look, we’re not going to ask you for your hard-earned money anymore. Single mom of two in Detroit, OK, Give us your money!” Do they not understand progressive taxation, or do they think _we_ don’t? ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33088 "2017-03-17T13:38:46Z")
[QUOTE=Mick Mulvaney] “Single mom of two in Detroit, OK, Give us your money!” [/QUOTE] Jet fuel is expensive! What, do you expect a flabby 70-year-old to _walk_ from DC to Mar-a-Largo and back every weekend? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33089 "2017-03-17T15:29:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Not that much larger. You can’t get to universal health care taxing the rich, and you can’t tax the rich much more and still be electorally viable. The nature of your coalition now is that wealthy liberals in the Northeast and the nicer areas of California are extremely important. They support Democrats on everything as long as Democrats don’t raise their taxes. Wrong again. Sometimes I think a fast way to get a good grip on American politics is to just read your posts and always assume the _opposite is true_. 😃 [QUOTE=[CNBC survey shows millionaires want higher taxes to fix inequality](http://www.cnbc.com/2014/05/06/cnbc-survey-shows-millionaires-want-higher-taxes-to-fix-inequality.html)] Democratic millionaires are far more supportive of taxing the rich and raising the minimum wage. Among Democratic millionaires, 78 percent support higher taxes on the wealthy, and 77 percent back a higher minimum wage. That compares with 31 percent and 38 percent, respectively, for Republicans. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33090 "2017-03-17T16:16:51Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Congress will be voting on a new bill to allow mentally ill veterans to get guns.](http://www.newsweek.com/guns-america-bill-seeks-allow-gun-sales-mentally-ill-vets-568578) Its just a way to deal with the problem of [long wait times for Veteran mental health](http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/benefits/veterans/2015/10/28/report-vets-still-face-long-waits-mental-health-treatment/74734474/)care. Just give a suicidal veterans guns and the problem takes care of itself. ---
**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 17, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33091 "2017-03-17T17:41:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) believes it’s not conspiracy theorists or deniers of the near-universal consensus on climate change that are brainwashing America’s youth, but those pesky scientists over at the Environmental Protection Agency. > Asked Thursday by CNN about the White House’s proposal to slash 31 percent of the federal agency’s budget, the staunch denier of mainstream climate science didn’t mince words, calling it a “a good cut for the American people.” > “We want to deliver the services, we’re going to make things clean,” Inhofe said. “But we’re going to take all this stuff that comes out of the EPA that’s brainwashing our kids, that is propaganda, things that aren’t true, allegations.” > > … > > Unsurprisingly, Inhofe provided no examples of this so-called “brainwashing.” He also failed to acknowledge that he had just implied this propaganda is being pushed under the watchful eye of his good friend and fellow climate denier, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt. > **[The EPA Is 'Brainwashing Our Kids' Says Climate Change Denier Sen. Jim Inhofe](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jim-inhofe-epa-brainwashing-children-us_n_58cad008e4b0ec9d29d9d1e3?eymzmo6ecsbeghkt9=)** > > He said a 31 percent cut to the agency's budget will be "good" for the American people. ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33092 "2017-03-17T17:52:37Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Its just a way to deal with the problem of [long wait times for Veteran mental health](http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/benefits/veterans/2015/10/28/report-vets-still-face-long-waits-mental-health-treatment/74734474/)care. Just give a suicidal veterans guns and the problem takes care of itself. Speaking of which,[Trump promised a White House hotline](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/promise/1342/create-private-white-house-veterans-hotline/) to report problems with receiving care from the VA. He promised it would be staffed 24/7 and that he would even personally deal with stubborn situations. > [@](#): > > Donald Trump said he’ll give up time on Twitter to man a veterans’ hotline aimed at ensuring that valid complaints about the Veterans Administration don’t fall through the cracks. > > “I will create a private White House hotline. This could keep me very busy at night, folks,” Trump said on July 26 during the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Charlotte, N.C. “This will take the place of Twitter. A lot of truth to that.” > > Trump has repeatedly promised to set up a 24/7 hotline for veterans that would be answered by people. He’s even said he will pick up the phone himself if it comes to it. Looks like Twitter was more important after all. ---
**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 17, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33093 "2017-03-17T17:56:38Z")
> [@](#): > > The Washington Post noted a health care anecdote out of Nashville that I read three times, just to make sure I wasn’t getting it wrong. > Soon after Charla McComic’s son lost his job, his health-insurance premium dropped from $567 per month to just $88, a “blessing from God” that she believes was made possible by President Trump. > > “I think it was just because of the tax credit,” said McComic, 52, a former first-grade teacher who traveled to Trump’s Wednesday night rally in Nashville from Lexington, Tenn., with her daughter, mother, aunt and cousin. > > The price change was actually thanks to a subsidy made possible by former president Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which is still in place, not by the tax credits proposed by Republicans as part of the health-care bill still being considered by Congress. > > … > > The woman the Post spoke to in Tennessee went on to say she trusts Trump not to curtail her family’s benefits, and she hopes “more and more people” get coverage through the Republican legislation. > > Except, we know - and Republicans concede – that the exact opposite is true: “more and more people” will be uninsured as a result of the bill some are calling “Trumpcare.” And while I’m skeptical the GOP plan will become law, I remain curious what the president’s die-hard supporters will think if Trump leaves them in much worse shape than they’re in now. > **[Trump supporter credits him with 'Obamacare' benefits](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-supporter-credits-him-obamacare-benefits-msna973336)** > > It was only a matter of time before conservatives decide they like Obamacare so much that they start giving Trump credit for it. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/who-to-trust-when-it-comes-to-health-care-reform-trump-supporters-put-their-faith-in-him/2017/03/16/1c702d58-0a64-11e7-93dc-00f9bdd74ed1\_story.html?utm\_term=.348ce9c5499c](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/who-to-trust-when-it-comes-to-health-care-reform-trump-supporters-put-their-faith-in-him/2017/03/16/1c702d58-0a64-11e7-93dc-00f9bdd74ed1_story.html?utm_term=.348ce9c5499c) ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33094 "2017-03-17T18:30:35Z")
I know that there a lot of True Believers in Trump out there, but I’m beginning to believe that some of these people would start disbelieving in whatever god they worship before doubting their faith in Trump. ---
**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 17, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33095 "2017-03-17T18:33:56Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I know that there a lot of True Believers in Trump out there, but I’m beginning to believe that some of these people would start **disbelieving in whatever god they worship before doubting their faith in Trump.** (My bolding) From the Washington Post article I link to: > [@](#): > > McComic says she has never trusted a president the way she trusts Trump. Ahead of the election, she and her relatives turned their cars into a “Trump train” and drove across Lexington, waving flags and shouting: “Trump! Trump! Vote for Trump!” > > **“We said: ‘Who else would we do this for, besides Trump?’ ” McComic said. “We agreed on the Lord. We would stand here for the Lord, but that’s about it.”** ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33096 "2017-03-17T18:44:34Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > [Trump supporter credits him with 'Obamacare' benefits](http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-supporter-credits-him-obamacare-benefits#break) > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/who-to-trust-when-it-comes-to-health-care-reform-trump-supporters-put-their-faith-in-him/2017/03/16/1c702d58-0a64-11e7-93dc-00f9bdd74ed1\_story.html?utm\_term=.348ce9c5499c](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/who-to-trust-when-it-comes-to-health-care-reform-trump-supporters-put-their-faith-in-him/2017/03/16/1c702d58-0a64-11e7-93dc-00f9bdd74ed1_story.html?utm_term=.348ce9c5499c) She praises Trump for what Obama has done, then later she will blame Obama for what Trump has done. It’s amazing that some people were able to fill out ballots. maybe they asked for help from poll workers. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33097 "2017-03-17T18:46:56Z")
Lot of ignorant, stupid people in that Post article. Makes me sad ☹ ---
**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:** [March 17, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33098 "2017-03-17T18:48:34Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > She praises Trump for what Obama has done, then later she will blame Obama for what Trump has done. > > It’s amazing that some people were able to fill out ballots. maybe they asked for help from poll workers. Her being a former first grade teacher concerns me for the generation of children that she “taught”. ---
**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 17, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33099 "2017-03-17T19:02:31Z")
[Tillerson delivers stark warning to North Korea of possible military response](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tillerson-asia-southkorea-idUSKBN16O07E). Whew! I was getting worried there for a moment. 60 days into a new Republican administration and no new wars. I wonder if this one will entail thermonuclear weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33100 "2017-03-17T19:21:05Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The nature of your coalition now is that wealthy liberals in the Northeast and the nicer areas of California are extremely important. They support Democrats on everything as long as Democrats don’t raise their taxes. :dubious: Cite that wealthy liberals stop supporting Democrats if Democrats raise taxes on the wealthy? Because AFAICT both the Clinton and Obama administrations ended up raising top marginal tax rates (and pushed for higher increases than Republican Congresses would tolerate), and wealthy liberals seem to have gone on supporting them just fine. [ETA: as **septimus** noted.] ---
**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 17, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33101 "2017-03-17T19:37:00Z")
“…cutting funding to several anti-poverty programs is [one of the most compassionate things we can do.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/cuts-to-poverty-programs-are-as-compassionate-as-you-can-get-trump-budget-chief-says-211630818.html)” I would pay American dollars to see someone insert a 10 foot long, curry tipped pile driver straight up White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney’s ass. Oh, and it must be done in a\* compassionate manner.\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1654) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1656)