# 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:** 1830
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36582 "2018-02-12T04:20:09Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > This is from a couple of days ago-- just came across it. > > [At Olympics opening ceremony, Pence refuses to stand for any country except the U.S.](https://thinkprogress.org/pence-doesnt-stand-for-korea-3b61775b4269/) > > That’s really grown-up of him. I’m surprised he didn’t take a knee. When it was announced that Pence brought along the parents of Otto Warmbler, I turned to my wife and said “of course he did”. His sitting stoned-faced looked childish; it made the whole country look foolish. I’d like to know what the US athletes were doing when the joint Korean team came in (I know they were standing and cheering). If they were cheering, does that mean they’re anti-American? or just anti-Trump? or just decent humans? ---
**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 12, 2018, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36583 "2018-02-12T04:40:59Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > This is from a couple of days ago-- just came across it. > > [At Olympics opening ceremony, Pence refuses to stand for any country except the U.S.](https://thinkprogress.org/pence-doesnt-stand-for-korea-3b61775b4269/) > > That’s really grown-up of him. I’m surprised he didn’t take a knee. He does not know how to do that. Evidence indicates that he is skilled at taking two, but one, he does not seem to get that. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36584 "2018-02-12T05:48:19Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > He does not know how to do that. Evidence indicates that he is skilled at taking two, but one, he does not seem to get that. That one-knee thing is Catholic, and you know how those Indiana Protestants feel about Catholics… ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36585 "2018-02-12T06:27:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > What else can he sabotage? Just wait until he moves into the Oval Office ☹ ---
**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:** [February 12, 2018, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36586 "2018-02-12T06:56:36Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > That one-knee thing is Catholic, and you know how those Indiana Protestants feel about Catholics… Pretty much the same way that us Indiana atheists and agnostics feel about Protestants? ---
**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 12, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36587 "2018-02-12T20:26:08Z")
Looks like Devin Nunes has taken down his “news” website after it got publicized. ---
**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 12, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36588 "2018-02-12T22:08:16Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > That one-knee thing is Catholic, and you know how those Indiana Protestants feel about Catholics… I was trying to imply a disgusting image and here you go spoiling it with pedantry. ---
**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 13, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36589 "2018-02-13T00:14:40Z")
[Wisconsin parents of GOP Senate hopeful Kevin Nicholson donate the maximum allowable to Tammy Baldwin, who he would hope to defeat](https://www.rawstory.com/2018/02/parents-gop-senate-candidate-donated-thousands-dollars-democratic-opponent/). (should I laugh?) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36590 "2018-02-13T00:49:46Z")
It says something that I thought that’d be a Raw Story link before checking. It’s so obviously their style of story. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36591 "2018-02-13T00:49:47Z")
Guy who was a liberal, from a strong liberal family, meets woman in college, breaks up with her and gets back together with her repeatedly, ultimately marries her. Why is that important? She was the one who ‘convinced’ him that he was really a Conservative, not a Liberal. :rolleyes: Now he’s got the zeal of a convert. :smack: ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36592 "2018-02-13T07:47:18Z")
The GOP’s latest plan to punish the poors; [cut everyone’s food stamps by half and replace it with a box of nonperishables that gets mailed to you](http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/12/news/economy/food-stamps-box-blue-apron/index.html), which will no doubt be cookie-cutter, low-quality, and unappealing (remember government cheese?) This one could get some pushback from business; food stamps are a major source of revenue for grocery stores (especially budget stores like Walmart, Winco, or Aldi) and a cut that large would cut into their profits severely. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36593 "2018-02-13T08:30:21Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > That one-knee thing is Catholic, and you know how those Indiana Protestants feel about Catholics… > [@eschereal](#): > > I was trying to imply a disgusting image and here you go spoiling it with pedantry. Better than spoiling it with pederasty… ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36594 "2018-02-13T08:36:55Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The GOP’s latest plan to punish the poors; [cut everyone’s food stamps by half and replace it with a box of nonperishables that gets mailed to you](http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/12/news/economy/food-stamps-box-blue-apron/index.html), which will no doubt be cookie-cutter, low-quality, and unappealing (remember government cheese?) Mailed? BOO-YA! HELLO, JOB SECURITY! 😃 ( **kaylasdad99** , postal worker) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36595 "2018-02-13T09:15:54Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The GOP’s latest plan to punish the poors; [cut everyone’s food stamps by half and replace it with a box of nonperishables that gets mailed to you](http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/12/news/economy/food-stamps-box-blue-apron/index.html), which will no doubt be cookie-cutter, low-quality, and unappealing (remember government cheese?) > > This one could get some pushback from business; food stamps are a major source of revenue for grocery stores (especially budget stores like Walmart, Winco, or Aldi) and a cut that large would cut into their profits severely. Years ago, I was working in the County Food Stamps data processing. Due to computer problems, and then a post office mixup, the monthly food stamp mailings were several days late in arriving one month. Several million dollars arriving late. One County Commissioner had a friend of his, owner of 3 grocery stores in the poorer section of town, walk into his office and show him a large bill, saying "that’s the bill for the extra shipments of produce I had delivered the first week of the month. Yesterday, I threw most of that in the garbage, because it was outdated. But I still had to pay the bill for it. And pay the extra staff I hire for the that week. It cost me a whole lot of money! Including the money I would usually contribute to your campaign. That person had barely stalked out of the County Commissioners office when the Commissioner was on the phone to the department head, demanding to know what had happened and especially what they were doing to make sure it didn’t happen again. There were a whole lot of businesses who felt the impact of that problem, and it was just a slight delay – a 50% cut would probably kill some small businesses. And that ‘government cheese’ was reasonably good cheese. It’s just that it came in 10-pound blocks. What’s a single mother supposed to do with all that? There’s only so much grilled cheese sandwiches & macaroni and cheese etc. that you can feed the kids in a month. And then another 10-pound block the next month? > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Mailed? > > BOO-YA! HELLO, JOB SECURITY! 😃 > > ( **kaylasdad99** , postal worker) Nah – they’re Republicans. They would have them shipped via UPS, FedEx or other private enterprise companies, who can make campaign contributions. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36596 "2018-02-13T10:44:05Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The GOP’s latest plan to punish the poors; [cut everyone’s food stamps by half and replace it with a box of nonperishables that gets mailed to you](http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/12/news/economy/food-stamps-box-blue-apron/index.html), which will no doubt be cookie-cutter, low-quality, and unappealing (remember government cheese?) > > This one could get some pushback from business; food stamps are a major source of revenue for grocery stores (especially budget stores like Walmart, Winco, or Aldi) and a cut that large would cut into their profits severely. It’s when you see what the Republican party is proposing (fiscally) to do to the federal government as we’ve come to know it that the GOP’s behavior really starts to make sense. They’re actively colluding with Russia because they want Putin to help them destroy the modern version of American democracy, which will help them destroy public power and the power of public institutions to defend public interests. The GOP members of congress are employees of their billionaire donor class. They’re on their payroll (legally). Destroying the federal government - and its ability to defend public interests - is what they’ve been instructed to do, and it doesn’t matter how they do it. “Treason” isn’t really a crime in their view because treason is a crime against the nation-state - they’re basically trying to destroy or redefine America, the nation-state. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36597 "2018-02-13T10:45:32Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Mailed? > > BOO-YA! HELLO, JOB SECURITY! 😃 > > ( **kaylasdad99** , postal worker) But what if they replace you with private couriers? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36598 "2018-02-13T13:07:38Z")
In the medium term, that would work against your postulated strategy, if indeed they are following that. Because having the postal service around is better than getting rid of it because they can make it seem to be very inefficient by loading it up with a lot of pre-loaded expenses and use it as an excuse to get rid of other spending in the guise of “private efficiency”. If they actually got rid of it people would realize that the replacement wasn’t actually more efficient. In the long term of course it is one of the final things they will get rid of. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36599 "2018-02-13T14:09:14Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > And that ‘government cheese’ was reasonably good cheese. It’s just that it came in 10-pound blocks. What’s a single mother supposed to do with all that? There’s only so much grilled cheese sandwiches & macaroni and cheese etc. that you can feed the kids in a month. And then another 10-pound block the next month? It came in 5 pound blocks. At least when I was getting it. As a single person on a tight budget I had no problem going through 5-10 pounds of cheese a month. 10 pounds a month is about 6 ounces per day. I eat about 4 ounces of cheese most days, even now, usually for breakfast. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36600 "2018-02-13T14:30:03Z")
Cost effective drone air drop delivery of cost effective 5 and 10 pound bricks of cheese made even more cost effective by not using chutes. Just another offensive offensive in the war on [del]poverty[/del] poor people. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/36601 "2018-02-13T18:43:34Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Nah – they’re Republicans. They would have them shipped via UPS, FedEx or other private enterprise companies, who can make campaign contributions. Which is the point of the whole enterprise. Hey Nabisco, how would you like Nutter Butters to be included in the Box o’ Nutrition we are sending out. All it takes is a $20 million contribution to my superpac. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1829) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1831)