# 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:** 2029
**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 6, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40563 "2019-03-06T20:04:34Z")
Rand Paul, an opthalmologist who is certified by a certifying organization that he created himself, pontificates that vaccines are actually dangerous, that not having them is a good thing, and requiring them is a violation of people’s rights. Bill Campbell, another Republican, is a medical doctor, and he schools Paul on vaccines right there during a Senate hearing. [Sen. Bill Cassidy, an actual physician, schools Rand Paul over anti-vaxxer claims | Salon.com](https://www.salon.com/2019/03/06/sen-bill-cassidy-an-actual-physician-schools-rand-paul-over-anti-vaxxer-claims/)? ---
**Author:** ![slumtrimpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@slumtrimpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slumtrimpet)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40564 "2019-03-06T20:45:01Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > So, by extension we are the Nazis? [“Hans, are we the baddies?”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU) ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40565 "2019-03-06T21:40:20Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Fair or not, right or not, Americans are going to look at the hijab she’s wearing and assume that she’s an anti-semite whenever she criticizes Israel… I’d cynically suggest that it’s “assume that she’s _the wrong kind of_ anti-Semite…”. There are more than a few pasty-faced anti-Semitic folk that one side of the US political spectrum doesn’t appear to have too many problems with. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40566 "2019-03-06T21:52:56Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Rand Paul, an opthalmologist who is certified by a certifying organization that he created himself, pontificates that vaccines are actually dangerous, that not having them is a good thing, and requiring them is a violation of people’s rights. Bill Campbell, another Republican, is a medical doctor, and he schools Paul on vaccines right there during a Senate hearing. > [https://www.salon.com/2019/03/06/sen-bill-cassidy-an-actual-physician-schools-rand-paul-over-anti-vaxxer-claims/](https://www.salon.com/2019/03/06/sen-bill-cassidy-an-actual-physician-schools-rand-paul-over-anti-vaxxer-claims/)? Paul’s statements without woven narratives and spin: “As we contemplate forcing parents to choose this or that vaccine, I think it’s important to remember that force is not consistent with the American story, nor is force consistent with the liberty our forefathers sought when they came to America,” he said. “I don’t think you have to have one or the other, though. I’m not here to say don’t vaccinate your kids. If this hearing is for persuasion I’m all for the persuasion. I’ve vaccinated myself and I’ve vaccinated my kids. For myself and my children I believe that the benefits of vaccines greatly outweigh the risks, but I still don’t favor giving up on liberty for a false sense of security.” “It is wrong to say that there are no risks to vaccines,” Paul said. “Even the government admits that children are sometimes injured by vaccines.” “Now proponents of mandatory government vaccination argue that parents who refuse to vaccinate their children risk spreading these diseases to the immunocompromised community,” he declared. “There doesn’t seem to be enough evidence of this happening to be recorded as a statistic.” Where did Paul say that not having vaccines is a good thing? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40567 "2019-03-06T22:15:10Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > … > Fair or not, right or not, Americans are going to look at the hijab she’s wearing and assume that she’s an anti-semite whenever she criticizes Israel -even in a measured tone. > … ANYONE who criticizes Israel is called antisemitic. AIPAC is ridiculously overpowered in US politics, too the point that Netanyahu has bragged in the past about him dictating US foreign policy. Calling politicians antisemitic is one of their most effective weapons (other than $$$). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40568 "2019-03-06T22:27:12Z")
So, **WillFarnaby** , you agree that people shouldn’t be allowed to force innocent kids to catch measles? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40569 "2019-03-06T22:51:33Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > “Now proponents of mandatory government vaccination argue that parents who refuse to vaccinate their children risk spreading these diseases to the immunocompromised community,” he declared. “There doesn’t seem to be enough evidence of this happening to be recorded as a statistic.” This seems like an incredibly naive and ill-informed remark. Is Paul actually trying to argue that herd immunity isn’t important, and that if vaccination rates fall below herd immunity thresholds it doesn’t pose a serious health risk to people who can’t get vaccinated? Or is he just claiming that particular **existing** disease outbreaks due to low vaccination rates haven’t been conclusively shown to have harmed immunocompromised people? (Even that more restricted statement would be AFAIK wrong, though.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40570 "2019-03-07T02:02:52Z")
Rand Paul and our own Will have the strong Libertarian belief that if you just give them freedom, germs, bacteria and diseases will make the right choices for the betterment of society. Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40571 "2019-03-07T02:42:35Z")
I, for one, am firmly in favor of parent’s being allowed to chose NOT to vaccinate their kids. Of course, their kids should then be completely banned from contact with any other person who hasn’t had full disclosure that said child is an unvaccinated disease-carrying spawn of ignoramuses. This includes school, parks, camps, colleges, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40572 "2019-03-07T03:16:45Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Republican Rep. Mike Rounds: Trump paid off porn star because “The President loves his family”. > > [GOP Senator: Trump Paid Off Stormy Daniels While in Office Because ‘The President Loves his Family’](https://www.mediaite.com/tv/republican-rep-mike-rounds-trump-paid-off-stormy-daniels-while-in-office-because-the-president-loves-his-family/) The president keeps divorcing his family and keeps fucking porn stars. Who do you think he loves more? ---
**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 7, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40573 "2019-03-07T03:18:45Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > The president keeps divorcing his family and keeps fucking porn stars. Who do you think he loves more? Himself. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2019, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40574 "2019-03-07T03:27:48Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > I, for one, am firmly in favor of parent’s being allowed to chose NOT to vaccinate their kids. > > Of course, their kids should then be completely banned from contact with any other person who hasn’t had full disclosure that said child is an unvaccinated disease-carrying spawn of ignoramuses. This includes school, parks, camps, colleges, etc. While I agree with the root of the sentiment, kids shouldn’t have to suffer due to the rank stupidity of their parents. I mean, they already will until the fucking idiots thankfully die. A lot. Let’s not pile more onto their undeservedly shitty lot in life. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40575 "2019-03-07T03:37:37Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Himself. I lol’ed but it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40576 "2019-03-07T04:34:04Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > While I agree with the root of the sentiment, kids shouldn’t have to suffer due to the rank stupidity of their parents. I mean, they already will until the fucking idiots thankfully die. A lot. Let’s not pile more onto their undeservedly shitty lot in life. Other people’s kids shouldn’t have to suffer _and die_ because of those kids’ parents’ stupidity. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2019, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40577 "2019-03-07T09:59:23Z")
Yes. So make vaccination mandatory like it fucking should, no need to do the public shaming thing. ---
**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 7, 2019, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40578 "2019-03-07T10:46:36Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Yes. So make vaccination mandatory like it fucking should, no need to do the public shaming thing. Sorry-can’t find the magic wand that would shut up the fraudsters and the deliberately ignorant from applying public pressure on those that pass laws. Do you happen to have one I can borrow? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40579 "2019-03-07T11:35:17Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Washington Post, sorry it it’s paywalled but it really is worth a subscription… Open it in Private/Incognito mode. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40580 "2019-03-07T11:36:58Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > The president keeps divorcing his family and keeps fucking porn stars. Who do you think he loves more? That flag at CPAC, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40581 "2019-03-07T13:02:40Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Yes. So make vaccination mandatory like it fucking should, no need to do the public shaming thing. And if states are going to continue to allow exemptions for idiot parents, then make public the record of who has been vaccinated and who hasn’t. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2019, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/40582 "2019-03-07T13:05:18Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > And if states are going to continue to allow exemptions for idiot parents, then make public the record of who has been vaccinated and who hasn’t. Also, they should be made to ring a bell as they walk around in public and shout “Unclean! Unclean!”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2028) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2030)