# 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:** 1688
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33742 "2017-05-06T18:48:06Z")
I think I heard laughter when he said that, before the jeering started. I guess some people really live in a bubble. What a complete dingus. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33743 "2017-05-06T18:49:40Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > What’s with the modern American conservative’s utter terror that somebody somewhere will get a benefit he didn’t deserve? It’s almost like they’d rather gouge out the eyes of a hundred babies with a red-hot corkscrew if it would prevent one of those baby’s parents from cheating on welfare. I think this is a pretty accurate summary of modern conservatism. Trying hard not to strawman here. I have a number of friends who seem to have this mindset as a central preoccupation. They talk a lot about waste, and how undeserving people are the source of a lot of problems (this comes up a lot, but not exclusively, when we discuss healthcare). My sense of it is one of the ways people sometimes change their mind is when a problem that was once hypothetical personally directly affects them. I think of a few conservatives whose positions are contrary to the more usual ideas of their side: **Nancy Reagan** was in favor of stem cell research. Not hard to imagine why - her husband had Alzheimer’s. **Dick Cheney** supported same-sex marriage, IMHO because he has a gay daughter. **Rob Portman** changed his position on same-sex marriage because his son came out to him. So I’m waiting for a prominent conservative to have a change of heart after a family member has some sort of health care situation that would be different under other circumstances. I think there have been a few such moments, but not in a big enough way to make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33744 "2017-05-06T19:19:32Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Congressman Raul Labrador: “[nobody dies because they don’t have access to healthcare](http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/watch-raul-labrador-booed-after-saying-nobody-dies-because-they-dont-have-access-to-healthcare/article/2622328)” Maybe he meant “No one I KNOW has ever died because they don’t have access to healthcare.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33745 "2017-05-06T19:30:56Z")
Neither of my friends has died due to a lack of access to health care. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33746 "2017-05-06T19:47:33Z")
“Look, it’s simple. None of my friends are in any danger, cause they won’t lose access to healthcare. We have money. Y’all, though…y’all are fucked.” Truth in politics. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2017, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33747 "2017-05-06T19:48:30Z")
Maybe it was part of an ultimatum. “From now on, nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care!” Nah. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33748 "2017-05-06T19:58:51Z")
Its that trap-door word, “access”. Of course you have access! I have access to pink Peruvian flake cocaine and supermodel hookers. They just won’t give me any unless I give them money. Doesn’t mean I don’t have “access”. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33749 "2017-05-06T20:00:24Z")
In Minnesota? ---
**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:** [May 6, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33750 "2017-05-06T20:01:37Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Congressman Raul Labrador: “[nobody dies because they don’t have access to healthcare](http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/watch-raul-labrador-booed-after-saying-nobody-dies-because-they-dont-have-access-to-healthcare/article/2622328)” He seemed so stunned- “Huh? These talking points always work in a crowd of only supporters and Republican nimrods!” ---
**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:** [May 6, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33751 "2017-05-06T20:02:14Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Neither of my friends has died due to a lack of access to health care. I will send you a friend request so I can live forever. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [May 6, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33752 "2017-05-06T20:06:17Z")
Any actual deaths are “fake news”. Obituaries are fake - they all look healthy in the pictures to me. And the guy’s name is Labradoodle - the black sheep in the doodle family - alternate fact. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33753 "2017-05-06T20:53:24Z")
Rand Paul has the craziest eyes since Gowron. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33754 "2017-05-06T20:58:32Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > What’s with the modern American conservative’s utter terror that somebody somewhere will get a benefit he didn’t deserve? It’s almost like they’d rather gouge out the eyes of a hundred babies with a red-hot corkscrew if it would prevent one of those baby’s parents from cheating on welfare. I say this with absolutely no snark: someday (if the world survives and science is a permitted activity), the part of the brain that obsesses over Free Riders will be pinpointed. And a corrective procedure, that will turn “obsessive preoccupation” into “common-sense occasional-where-appropriate concern” will likewise be found. And that will be the end of the GOP. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2017, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33755 "2017-05-07T03:48:09Z")
Mike Huckabee’s idea of celebrating Cinco de Mayo: > [@](#): > > [For Cinco de Mayo I will drink an entire jar of hot salsa and watch old Speedy Gonzales cartoons and speak Spanish all day. Happy CdMayo!](https://twitter.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/860431958660325376) What? No taco bowl at Trump Tower? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33756 "2017-05-07T04:37:55Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Or more likely, he doesn’t expect to ever _be_ an ex-President. He expects to be more like his heroes Vlad and Kim Jong Un. > [@elucidator](#): > > Or Louis XVI. Or Elvis Presley. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33757 "2017-05-07T04:47:35Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > If there was ever a man who could make a living doing Danny Kaye impersonations, it’s him. Hope he takes a HUGE swig from the vessel with the pestle, then. And follows it up with draughts from the chalice with the palace and the flagon with the dragon, just to be sure… ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33758 "2017-05-07T05:03:24Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > What’s with the modern American conservative’s utter terror that somebody somewhere will get a benefit he didn’t deserve? It’s almost like they’d rather gouge out the eyes of a hundred babies with a red-hot corkscrew if it would prevent one of those baby’s parents from cheating on welfare. I’ve been saying for some years that the main difference between Dems and Reps is that Dems are willing to see some cheaters get benefits they don’t deserve, in order to ensure that everyone who needs help gets it. Reps are willing to see innocent people suffer and die, in order to ensure that nobody gets an ounce more of government benefits than he needs. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33759 "2017-05-07T06:29:59Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Mike Huckabee’s idea of celebrating Cinco de Mayo: > > What? No taco bowl at Trump Tower? I thought this was gonna be one of those hilariously hyperbolic paraphrases of the link that are so famous here on the Dope. Alas. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33760 "2017-05-07T11:18:05Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I’ve been saying for some years that the main difference between Dems and Reps is that Dems are willing to see some cheaters get benefits they don’t deserve, in order to ensure that everyone who needs help gets it. Reps are willing to see innocent people suffer and die, in order to ensure that nobody gets an ounce more of government benefits than he needs. If by “benefits than he needs”, you mean “benefits they deserve when you take into account their wealth, age, and race,” then that’s not far from the truth. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/33761 "2017-05-07T19:29:50Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Or Elvis Presley. Go out on the john? Sounds about right. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1687) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1689)