# 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:** 1923
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38442 "2018-08-01T20:37:37Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State of Kansas and candidate for Governor, has a long history of fighting against undocumented workers. He even has a history of visiting small cities and convincing them that they needed to implement laws against undocumented workers. Once the laws were implemented, and the cities were sued, Kobach then got hired on as the cities’ legal representative. He would invariably lose, but that didn’t keep him from pocketing large legal fees. > [Kris Kobach’s Lucrative Trail of Courtroom Defeats — ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/article/kris-kobachs-lucrative-trail-of-courtroom-defeats) That’s pretty goldang’d perverse. What an ass! ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38443 "2018-08-01T20:48:33Z")
Sessions wants a “Religious Liberty Task Force”. > **[Jeff Sessions' ludicrous "religious liberty" task force is the real threat to...](https://www.salon.com/2018/08/01/jeff-sessions-ludicrous-religious-liberty-task-force-is-the-real-threat-to-liberty/)** > > Attorney general claims he wants to protect religious freedom. History suggests he's excusing discrimination Some wag called this the “worst super-hero group ever”. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38444 "2018-08-01T22:14:30Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Sessions wants a “Religious Liberty Task Force”. > > [https://www.salon.com/2018/08/01/jeff-sessions-ludicrous-religious-liberty-task-force-is-the-real-threat-to-liberty/](https://www.salon.com/2018/08/01/jeff-sessions-ludicrous-religious-liberty-task-force-is-the-real-threat-to-liberty/) > > Some wag called this the “worst super-hero group ever”. Last night, Stephen Colbert showed an old Ghostbusters cartoon, altered to the RLTF, with Jeff Sessions suited up and bustin’ gays and such: > **[Stephen Colbert Recreates The Religious Liberty Task Force As A...](https://www.bustle.com/p/stephen-colbert-recreates-the-religious-liberty-task-force-as-a-ghostbusters-cartoon-its-unreal-9956667)** > > As soon as Attorney General Jeff Sessions' newest religious effort was announced, it instantly became fodder for comedians. After the 71-year-old Trump official declared he was putting together a task force to battle the cultural and political… ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38445 "2018-08-01T22:34:38Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State of Kansas and candidate for Governor, has a long history of fighting against undocumented workers. He even has a history of visiting small cities and convincing them that they needed to implement laws against undocumented workers. Once the laws were implemented, and the cities were sued, Kobach then got hired on as the cities’ legal representative. He would invariably lose, but that didn’t keep him from pocketing large legal fees. > [Kris Kobach’s Lucrative Trail of Courtroom Defeats — ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/article/kris-kobachs-lucrative-trail-of-courtroom-defeats) This isn’t stupid. It’s brilliant! ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38446 "2018-08-01T22:50:15Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > This isn’t stupid. It’s brilliant! But its brilliance depended on the city officials _hiring_ him being stupid. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38447 "2018-08-01T23:39:50Z")
OK, I plead ignorance. What the fuck is this “Womp Womp” shit? I’ve seen it on the boards here scattered about. Is this more of that cartoon frog “ok” hand sign nazi incel stuff? ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38448 "2018-08-01T23:43:51Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > OK, I plead ignorance. What the fuck is this “Womp Womp” shit? I’ve seen it on the boards here scattered about. Is this more of that cartoon frog “ok” hand sign nazi incel stuff? [Womp Womp’: Corey Lewandowski Mocks Child With Down Syndrome Separated From Mother](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/business/media/corey-lewandowski-womp-womp-down-syndrome.html) > [@](#): > > Of all the recent stories about the separation of immigrant children and parents at the United States’ border with Mexico, the Mexican foreign minister said on Tuesday that one story was particularly heartbreaking: A 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome was taken away from her mother in South Texas. > > But Corey Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, offered a different response when he heard about the girl while appearing on Fox News on Tuesday night. “Womp womp,” he said. > > Mr. Lewandowski was appearing on “The Story With Martha MacCallum” opposite Zac Petkanas, a Democratic strategist. Mr. Petkanas was telling the story of the girl when Mr. Lewandowski interrupted him with what amounted to a “sad trombone” sound effect. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38449 "2018-08-01T23:49:23Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State of Kansas and candidate for Governor, has a long history of fighting against undocumented workers. He even has a history of visiting small cities and convincing them that they needed to implement laws against undocumented workers. Once the laws were implemented, and the cities were sued, Kobach then got hired on as the cities’ legal representative. He would invariably lose, but that didn’t keep him from pocketing large legal fees. > [Kris Kobach’s Lucrative Trail of Courtroom Defeats — ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/article/kris-kobachs-lucrative-trail-of-courtroom-defeats) I live in Kansas and have registered Republican for the sole purpose of voting against Kobach in the Primary. I have never heard of these actions by Kobach, but it doesn’t surprise me. I will definitely be sharing this article to my fellow party members. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38450 "2018-08-01T23:49:54Z")
Wow. Republicans, in the words of Bob Dylan: Even Jesus would never forgive what you do. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38451 "2018-08-02T00:16:09Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > It is possible he never made a grocery purchase that did not include a fifth of vodka. He’s just an old out of touch white guy harkening back to the days when everyone paid for their groceries with a personal check. I know this because I’m old, too. > [@E-DUB](#): > > Sessions wants a “Religious Liberty Task Force”. > > [https://www.salon.com/2018/08/01/jeff-sessions-ludicrous-religious-liberty-task-force-is-the-real-threat-to-liberty/](https://www.salon.com/2018/08/01/jeff-sessions-ludicrous-religious-liberty-task-force-is-the-real-threat-to-liberty/) > > Some wag called this the “worst super-hero group ever”. Sigh…and when folks on the left push back against the horrible rules and regulations to come, I’ll have to listen to all the dumb-ass right wingers scolding about how “the left is concerned with identity politics instead of jobs.” Just remember who started it. Who always starts it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38452 "2018-08-02T01:21:29Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > OK, I plead ignorance. What the fuck is this “Womp Womp” shit? I’ve seen it on the boards here scattered about. Is this more of that cartoon frog “ok” hand sign nazi incel stuff? Look up Debbie Downer skits from SNL. It’s an onamatopoea for the trombone sound used therein, and in other comedic contexts. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38453 "2018-08-02T01:22:34Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Sessions wants a “Religious Liberty Task Force”. > > [https://www.salon.com/2018/08/01/jeff-sessions-ludicrous-religious-liberty-task-force-is-the-real-threat-to-liberty/](https://www.salon.com/2018/08/01/jeff-sessions-ludicrous-religious-liberty-task-force-is-the-real-threat-to-liberty/) > > Some wag called this the “worst super-hero group ever”. No, that’s the Civic-Minded Five. Let’s make a difference! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38454 "2018-08-02T01:27:42Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > OK, I plead ignorance. What the fuck is this “Womp Womp” shit? I’ve seen it on the boards here scattered about. Is this more of that cartoon frog “ok” hand sign nazi incel stuff? This has been bugging me as well, but for a slightly different reason. I always thought the sad trombone sound should be written out more like “Waw Waw”, but I’ve clearly been overruled in the court of public opinion. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38455 "2018-08-02T01:42:48Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > This has been bugging me as well, but for a slightly different reason. I always thought the sad trombone sound should be written out more like “Waw Waw”, but I’ve clearly been overruled in the court of public opinion. Aye; by the same sort of people who say “dittos to you, Rush” because back in the day they didn’t understand that the word “dittos” is not the word “kudos”. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38456 "2018-08-02T02:38:22Z")
Not surprisingly, Jeff Sessions’s religious liberty task force is pretty much run by “The Alliance Defending Freedom”, which SPLC calls an anti-gay hate group. > **[Hate groups are behind Jeff Sessions’ new ‘religious liberty’ task force](https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/08/hate-group-leader-first-member-trumps-religious-liberty-task-force/)** > > An anti-LGBTQ hate group was largely behind the task force's formation... The history of the Alliance Defending Freedom: > **[Alliance Defending Freedom](https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/alliance-defending-freedom)** > > Founded by some 30 leaders of the Christian Right, the Alliance Defending Freedom is a legal advocacy and training group that has supported the recriminalization of sexual acts between consenting LGBTQ adults in the U.S. and criminalization abroad;... ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38457 "2018-08-02T09:18:14Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State of Kansas and candidate for Governor, has a long history of fighting against undocumented workers. He even has a history of visiting small cities and convincing them that they needed to implement laws against undocumented workers. Once the laws were implemented, and the cities were sued, Kobach then got hired on as the cities’ legal representative. He would invariably lose, but that didn’t keep him from pocketing large legal fees. > [Kris Kobach’s Lucrative Trail of Courtroom Defeats — ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/article/kris-kobachs-lucrative-trail-of-courtroom-defeats) It’s like the plot of _The Music Man_ if Harold Hill were a lawyer, minus the bits where somebody loves him and he stops swindling people. “We got Trouble with a capital T that rhymes with P and that stands for, um, ‘pillegals’…” ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38458 "2018-08-02T12:06:35Z")
[quote=“wguy123, post:38440, topic:490897”] BTW, this was the president of the Spokane County GOP welcoming the white supremacist. Spokane County isn’t a small, back-woods county. And if there are any doubts about how bad this open-arms reception of white power shitheads is: > **[Shawn Vestal: Spokane GOP again in awkward embrace of white nationalist James...](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/aug/01/shawn-vestal-spokane-gop-again-in-awkward-embrace-/)** > > Last time we checked in on the most odious white nationalist on the Palouse and his relationship with the local Republican Party, we were assured that it was tragically unfair to tar the GOP with such an association. “Action is what the Republican Party needs so strongly,” an unidentified man says at the end of Allsup’s speech. “How’d you like to have a couple hundred people like James here in Spokane?” That is scary stuff. The GOP is openly welcoming white supremacists. Read the rest of that article. It contains more gems like: “ ‘Oh, what about these poor illegal alien children?’ ” Allsup said in a whiny voice. “He says, womp womp.” “You have transgenders teaching your kids, you have the gay agenda, you have all this social degradation going on,” Allsup said during his speech. If you have the stomach for it, here is the video of the GOP party welcoming a racist to talk at their meeting: [/QUOTE] She has since resigned. > **[Cecily Wright resigns as Spokane County GOP chair, calls Allsup defense a...](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/aug/01/cecily-wright-resigns-as-spokane-county-gop-chair-/)** > > A day after a video surfaced showing her defending a 22-year-old white nationalist, Cecily Wright resigned as chairwoman of the Spokane County Republican Party. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38459 "2018-08-02T14:10:46Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > She has since resigned. > > [Cecily Wright resigns as Spokane County GOP chair, calls Allsup defense a ‘serious mistake’ | The Spokesman-Review](http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/aug/01/cecily-wright-resigns-as-spokane-county-gop-chair-/) Good riddance! Too bad there are many more like minds around here waiting to fill her spot. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38460 "2018-08-02T14:21:33Z")
Republican state legislator resigns after it is revealed he used naked pictures of his girlfriend to catfish guys on Instagram. Oh, and of course he was a member of a task force combatting sexual harassment. > **[Illinois legislator resigns after ex-girlfriend says he used her naked photos...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/08/02/illinois-lawmaker-resigns-after-ex-girlfriend-says-he-used-her-naked-photos-to-catfish-men-on-instagram/?utm_term=.c63d36a8a090)** > > State Rep. Nick Sauer was accused of sharing an ex-girlfriend's private nude photos on an Instagram account to lure men into “graphic conversations of a sexual nature.” ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38461 "2018-08-02T16:04:05Z")
I hadn’t seen this mentioned yet: > **[What You Need to Know About Far-Right Conspiracy QAnon](https://fortune.com/2018/08/01/qanon-conspiracy-trump-tampa-rally/)** > > The QAnon movement is growing in popularity. Summary: > [@](#): > > The movement is led by an anonymous user or group of users on several platforms called “Q,” who claims that they are a government agent with high-level security clearance. Q posts pieces of information that followers, called “bakers,” then weave into what they think is an understanding of the “storm.” The Washington Post wrote that bakers took the term “storm” from Trump’s reference to “the calm before the storm” last year, to describe what they believe is an inevitable triumph of Trump over Democrats, elites, and saboteurs. Given that 4Chan is apparently one of the places that this first popped up, I’m leaning more towards “sophomoric joke” than “entirely serious”, but I guess you never know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1922) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1924)