# 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:** 1924
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38462 "2018-08-02T16:12:11Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > 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. > > [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](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) Catfish šŸ˜• ---
**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, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38463 "2018-08-02T16:19:26Z")
Oh, and of course as soon as I typed out my last post, it turns out thereā€™s already a MPSIMS thread on the whole ā€œQAnonā€ thing: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21123577&posted=1#post21123577](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21123577&posted=1#post21123577) ---
**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, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38464 "2018-08-02T16:45:22Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Catfish šŸ˜• Catfishing is the practice of pretending to be someone you are not, usually on the internet to pursue romantic encounters. Some guys like to pretend to be women and talk dirty with other guys. > **[Catfishing](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catfishing?wprov=sfla1)** > > Catfishing refers to the creation of a fictitious online persona, or fake identity (typically on social networking platforms), with the intent of deception, usually to mislead a victim into an online romantic relationship or to commit financial fraud. Perpetrators, usually referred to as catfish, generally use fake photos and lie about their personal lives to present themselves as more attractive for financial gain, personal satisfaction, evasion of legal consequences, or to troll.\[citation The t... ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38465 "2018-08-02T17:55:35Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I hadnā€™t seen this mentioned yet: > > [What You Should Know About Far Right Conspiracy Theory QAnon | Fortune](http://fortune.com/2018/08/01/qanon-conspiracy-trump-tampa-rally/) > > Summary: > > Given that 4Chan is apparently one of the places that this first popped up, Iā€™m leaning more towards ā€œsophomoric jokeā€ than ā€œentirely seriousā€, but I guess you never know. Wish I could remember where I was reading, but it _ **was** _ a joke. But then it spread from its 4chan cellar and, of course, a certain significant subset of troglodyte far-righties believe it. How these people have lasted into adulthood is beyond me. Tell them anything anti-leftie, no matter how far-fetched, and theyā€™ll take it in hook, line, and sinker. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38466 "2018-08-03T00:13:41Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Catfishing is the practice of pretending to be someone you are not, usually on the internet to pursue romantic encounters. Some guys like to pretend to be women and talk dirty with other guys. > > [Catfishing - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catfishing?wprov=sfla1) Their possible motives are discussed here: [Why do men pretend to be women online? - Salon.com](https://www.salon.com/2013/05/22/why_do_men_pretend_to_be_women_online/) > [@D\_Odds](#): > > Wish I could remember where I was reading, but it _ **was** _ a joke. But then it spread from its 4chan cellar and, of course, a certain significant subset of troglodyte far-righties believe it. How these people have lasted into adulthood is beyond me. Tell them anything anti-leftie, no matter how far-fetched, and theyā€™ll take it in hook, line, and sinker. The fact that it started as a 4chan troll joke is obvious. But the right wing media has picked up on it. One Breitbart nutcase tweets: [INDENT]Iā€™ve been asked about the ā€œQā€ for a few months now. Not really knowing who or what it was in any sort of detail. Started researching this movement a few weeks ago and someone sent this to me today. Pretty much impossible to stop watching once you start [/INDENT] The ever helpful [Vox.com](http://Vox.com) offers a QAnon explainer: [What is QAnon? The pro-Trump conspiracy theory movement, explained | Vox](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/8/1/17253444/qanon-trump-conspiracy-theory-reddit) [INDENT] The Russia investigation is a sham. Itā€™s actually a cover story for special counsel Robert Mueller and Donald Trump working together to expose thousands of pedophiles hidden in plain sight ā€” including Hillary Clinton (and Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama), who will soon be under arrest. (Or perhaps already have been and are on their way to Guantanamo Bay.) The GOP lost the Alabama special election for Jeff Sessionsā€™s Senate seat on purpose ā€” a plan devised years ago to reveal the use of fraudulent voting machines and, ultimately, take down none other than George Soros. Or the Rothschilds. Or the Illuminati. And thereā€™s no White House chaos at all; in fact, despite legal scandals and special counsel investigations and bile-laden tweets, everything, absolutely everything, is going just as Donald Trump intended it. Welcome to QAnon, sometimes referred to as ā€œthe Storm.ā€ Itā€™s a conspiracy theory thatā€™s swept social media and is starting to break into the mainstream, with Trump rally attendees in Florida on July 31 holding signs and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with ā€œWe are Qā€ and the conspiracy theoryā€™s main catchphrase, ā€œWhere we go one, we go all.ā€ [/INDENT] ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38467 "2018-08-03T00:28:38Z")
Makes me want to go to a Trump rally with a shirt that says: I AM Q te ---
**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 3, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38468 "2018-08-03T00:47:49Z")
This will end up in multiple threads, because I want to be sure that no one misses it. It goes here because 1) itā€™s Republicans and B) itā€™s stupid. [Trump wants the ACLU to do the governmentā€™s job and fix the child separation issue, because the Trump administration canā€™t figure out how the government could do it](https://apnews.com/06cbb79a77ba4b07964a801c108cef84/US-wants-ACLU-to-take-lead-on-reuniting-separated-families). > [@](#): > > The Trump administration and the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday revealed widely divergent plans on how to reunite hundreds of immigrant children with parents who have been deported since the families were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. > > President Donald Trumpā€™s administration puts the onus on the ACLU, asking that the organization use its ā€œconsiderable resourcesā€ to find parents in their home countries, predominantly Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing that the State Department has begun talks with foreign governments on how the administration may be able to aid the effort. Iā€™m sure the vast resources of the ACLU dwarf the capabilities of the United States federal government. :rolleyes: The ACLU said. effectively, ā€œFuck off; weā€™re happy to help these families but this is _your_ mess.ā€ > [@](#): > > The ACLU, which sued on behalf of separated parents, called for the government to take ā€œsignificant and prompt stepsā€ to find the parents on its own. > > ā€œPlaintiffs have made clear that they will do whatever they can to help locate the deported parents, but emphasize that the government must bear the ultimate burden of finding the parents,ā€ the ACLU said in a filing. ā€œNot only was it the governmentā€™s unconstitutional separation practices that led to the crisis, but the United States government has far more resources.ā€ > [@](#): > > The ACLU said it takes ā€œa degree of detective workā€ to track down contact information for deported parents, some of whom may be hiding from persecutors. > > The group said the government provided home-country addresses in U.S. immigration databases with no useful information for about 120 parents. Other addresses had limited use ā€” for example, some had ā€œcalle sin nombreā€ (ā€œstreet without a nameā€) or six addresses connected to one Honduran child, all in the Mexican city of San Luis Potosi. What kind of numbers are we talking about? Good question; hereā€™s the answer: > [@](#): > > As of July 26, 431 children whose parents were outside the country were in the custody of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Helluva supply of _chutzpah_, eh? To create a problem and then draw a plan for others to fix it? Sounds like something only the nuclear energy industry or the military or petro/chemical companies or drycleaners or the paper industry orā€¦ hmmm, I guess there is precedent in America for that after all. Still: I donā€™t like it. The Trump administration should fix their own messes as long as they are still in control. Messing things up, letting Democrats fix them and then bitching about the fix is a GOP staple for the past 30 years and I think itā€™s time to end that game. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38469 "2018-08-03T00:59:10Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The Trump administration should fix their own messes as long as they are still in control. Thereā€™s a certain unspoken assumption in thisā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38470 "2018-08-03T14:09:30Z")
Latest stupid idea from a Republican (in this case, former exec director of the SC GOP): believing he is Jesus Christ reborn and sacrificing his dog. > **[Police Report: Ex-GOP Official Calls Himself Second Christ, Sacrifices Dog](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/police-report-says-ex-gop-official-calls-himself-second-christ-sacrifices-dog)** > > Matt Shuham contributed reporting. Todd Kincannon, former executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party, has reportedly killed his dog due to his belief that he is Jesus Christ and neededā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38471 "2018-08-03T14:16:27Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Latest stupid idea from a Republican (in this case, former exec director of the SC GOP): believing he is Jesus Christ reborn and sacrificing his dog. > > [Police Report: Ex-GOP Official Calls Himself Second Christ, Sacrifices Dog - TPM ā€“ Talking Points Memo](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/police-report-says-ex-gop-official-calls-himself-second-christ-sacrifices-dog) It is hard to tell the difference sometimes between a Republican and a crazy person, but I think insanity has more to do with this story than Republicanism. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38472 "2018-08-03T17:12:08Z")
South Carolina: Too small for a republic, to large for an insane asylum. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38473 "2018-08-03T17:25:57Z")
Speaking of which, howā€™s [Alvin Greene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Greene) doing these days? (Yes, heā€™s a Dem, I know) ---
**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 3, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38474 "2018-08-03T20:52:10Z")
Orrin Hatch: ā€œIā€™m tired of partisanship and frankly, we didnā€™t treat their candidates for these positions the way theyā€™re treating ours,ā€ > Merrick Garland who? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38475 "2018-08-03T21:01:47Z")
[Manafortā€™s lawyer](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2018/08/03/paul-manafort-trial-day-4-what-to-expect-from-testimony-today/?utm_term=.7c191787292c) : > [@](#): > > Essentially, he argued that if Manafort had known he was doing something illegal, he wouldnā€™t have been so easy to catch. > ā€œNobody intending to violate the law would leave the evidence around for his accountant to find it,ā€ Downing said in court. > Judge T.S. Ellis III made the same point, summarizing the defense as, ā€œThereā€™s a trail in these documents that would lead to the truth, and somebody who violated the law wouldnā€™t have done that.ā€ The old ā€œDo you think Iā€™d be dumb enough to keep the gun I shot my wife with ? I mean that she was shot with ?ā€ defence. I donā€™t think that one ever worked, even on TV. ---
**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 4, 2018, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38476 "2018-08-04T01:17:32Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > [Manafortā€™s lawyer](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2018/08/03/paul-manafort-trial-day-4-what-to-expect-from-testimony-today/?utm_term=.7c191787292c) : > > > [@](#): > > > > Essentially, he argued that if Manafort had known he was doing something illegal, he wouldnā€™t have been so easy to catch. > > ā€œNobody intending to violate the law would leave the evidence around for his accountant to find it,ā€ Downing said in court. > > Judge T.S. Ellis III made the same point, summarizing the defense as, ā€œThereā€™s a trail in these documents that would lead to the truth, and somebody who violated the law wouldnā€™t have done that.ā€ > > The old ā€œDo you think Iā€™d be dumb enough to keep the gun I shot my wife with ? I mean that she was shot with ?ā€ defence. I donā€™t think that one ever worked, even on TV. I agree; it seems like an unsupportable conclusion from Ellis. Which folder would be appropriate for discussing Ellisā€™ rulings, anyway? Great Debates? Heā€™s making some that seem pretty shakyā€“even amounting to reversible error, perhaps. Iā€™d be interested to know what others make of them. For example, Iā€™m thinking of his outlawing of the term ā€œoligarch.ā€ Also, his refusal to let the jury see any visuals that would demonstrate Manafortā€™s spending (photos of his Persian rugs and wardrobe and houses and landscaping, etc.). To make the case that Manafort had a bunch of money he wasnā€™t declaring for the purpose of paying taxes, and to make the case that Manafort had expensive tastes and therefore needed money badly, these images would be very helpful. Ellisā€™ claim that showing them would only prove that ā€˜Manafort is rich and heā€™s not on trial for being richā€™ (basically) seems, again, shaky. ---
**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:** [August 4, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38477 "2018-08-04T01:41:33Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I agree; it seems like an unsupportable conclusion from Ellis. > > Which folder would be appropriate for discussing Ellisā€™ rulings, anyway? Great Debates? Heā€™s making some that seem pretty shakyā€“even amounting to reversible error, perhaps. Iā€™d be interested to know what others make of them. Is the concern that Ellis is making rulings that will tend to favor conviction, or that they will tend to favor acquittal? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38478 "2018-08-04T04:43:52Z")
My nickel says the evidence is so strong the prosecution can handle the most restricting conditions. Cut them no slack at all, and they still win, and he doesnā€™t get all restless dreaming of appeals and reversals. ---
**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:** [August 4, 2018, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38479 "2018-08-04T07:45:11Z")
New York man flying Nazi flag outside his house claims heā€™s not racist [and was only flying the flag because he was ā€œhackedā€.](https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/new-york-man-flew-nazi-flag-house-now-claims-hacked/) > [@](#): > > ā€œItā€™s a distress call,ā€ the Preble resident said. ā€œItā€™s to get attention so I can tell people whatā€™s going on and that someone is hacking me.ā€ > > Fish told the Post-Standard that as soon as someone helps him ā€œcorrectā€ his hacking, heā€™ll take the flag down. You just canā€™t fix this level of stupid. ---
**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 4, 2018, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38480 "2018-08-04T08:44:03Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > New York man flying Nazi flag outside his house claims heā€™s not racist [and was only flying the flag because he was ā€œhackedā€.](https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/new-york-man-flew-nazi-flag-house-now-claims-hacked/) > > You just canā€™t fix this level of stupid. Thereā€™s a guy who, every couple days or so, shows up on the freeway overpass that leads to my place of work and displays a huge confederate battle flag to the passing vehicles below. I wonder what his excuse is. Er, not enough to stop and ask him, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2018, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/38481 "2018-08-04T08:48:31Z")
I was _wondering_ why my copy of Windows 10 came with a Nazi flagā€¦ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1923) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=1925)