# 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:** 2161
**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:** [December 29, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43209 "2019-12-29T23:57:54Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > A Connecticut firefighter got his truck stolen. The cops found it and gave it back to him, but he didn’t want it because minorities might have sat in it, so he set it on fire. > [Connecticut firefighter torched recovered SUV because minorities may have driven it: cops](https://nypost.com/2019/12/24/firefighter-allegedly-set-recovered-suv-on-fire-because-minorities-may-have-driven-it/) While the odds are extremely high that this man is a conservative, how is this a SRIotD? Virulent racism isn’t a “Republican Idea”, it is a flaw of human design pre-dating current political ideology. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43210 "2019-12-30T00:17:11Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > While the odds are extremely high that this man is a conservative, how is this a SRIotD? Virulent racism isn’t a “Republican Idea”, it is a flaw of human design pre-dating current political ideology. 1. The Republicans are cornering the market on it. 2. Gotta post it somewhere, and this is as good a place as any. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2019, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43211 "2019-12-30T00:25:40Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > A Connecticut firefighter got his truck stolen. The cops found it and gave it back to him, but he didn’t want it because minorities might have sat in it, so he set it on fire. > [Connecticut firefighter torched recovered SUV because minorities may have driven it: cops](https://nypost.com/2019/12/24/firefighter-allegedly-set-recovered-suv-on-fire-because-minorities-may-have-driven-it/) It wasn’t even his truck, right? Maybe he thought their tainted derrières would somehow contaminate that lovely flower of American womanhood lucky enough to be his girlfriend. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43212 "2019-12-30T00:37:37Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Wow. but really, those wingnuts were around before a Trump presidency. … That’s right. We’ve all seen the photos of massive Klan rallies of the 1920s and 1930s—the 20,000+ who filled Madison Square Garden, for example (described in this NPR story: [When Nazis Took Manhattan : Code Switch : NPR](https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/02/20/695941323/when-nazis-took-manhattan) Huge numbers of white supremacists have made their presence known over the decades; they’ve never gone away. What’s new is the seal of official approval that Trump’s presidency has given them. Before 2016, they hid their faces. But as we saw in 2017 in Charlottesville, Trump’s ascension has given them courage: > [@](#): > > I first met Richard Spencer, one of the organizers of Saturday’s white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in Cleveland during last year’s Republican National Convention. He was one of several alt-right figures who’d descended on the city to network and celebrate Donald Trump’s ascension. “Trump seems to be emotionally connected to us,” he told me. “Not really intellectually connected to us, but emotionally connected to millions of white people who think like I do.” … > > …[profiled Spencer fan J.P.] Sheehan spoke with shining eyes about how embracing whiteness salved his spirit, made him feel like he wasn’t just an isolated consumer adrift in a shopping mall as big as the world. What shocked me most about this conversation was that Sheehan, the president of his school’s college Republican chapter, didn’t hesitate to let me quote him by name. He wasn’t just a white nationalist—he was a wholly unashamed one. > > Trump’s election let middle-class racists like Sheehan—men who nurture fantasies of ethnic separatism but aren’t going to tattoo swastikas on their faces or don white hoods—come out of the closet. The president ran a campaign saturated with racial grievance. … > **[The Middle-Class, Clean-Cut Racism of Richard Spencer’s Acolytes](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/08/the-middle-class-clean-cut-racism-of-richard-spencers-acolytes.html)** > > Want to listen to this article out loud? Hear it on Slate Voice. > [@D\_Odds](#): > > While the odds are extremely high that this man is a conservative, how is this a SRIotD? Virulent racism isn’t a “Republican Idea”, it is a flaw of human design pre-dating current political ideology. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > 1. The Republicans are cornering the market on it. > … Yes; though not every racist is a registered Republican, Republicans have offered racists a home. They’ve been doing it for decades (since the Nixon-era Southern Strategy), and they’re even more open about it now. They own it. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2019, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43213 "2019-12-30T01:34:45Z")
The Connecticut man’s racism is no more a Republican Idea than Pres. Woodrow Wilson’s racism was a Democratic Idea. That the Republican Party openly and happily condones it is abhorent, but they don’t own it, didn’t start it, and are not the only ones engaged in it. Some random racist asshole lighting his own vehicle on fire because a minority might have been in it is no more a Republican Idea than whatever rando allegedly verbally berated a lawn-mowing **Shodan** was a Democratic Idea. It’s trying to box something that defies boxes (just like anti-vaxx ideology, where I’ve seen both sides saying it’s the other side). In the Democratic Idea thread, it was often brought up that the ideas being tossed around as stupid were just random people on social media or who popped up in the news for whatever silly reason. This is the same. Jewish families are being attacked by black men here in NYC in acts of racism. Will that also be a Republican Idea? There are more than enough SRI to keep this thread going for a long, long time; ideas promulgated by those in positions of influence. Car-burning Connecticut man is not one of them - he’s just an extreme of the hateful bigotry that sadly will always be with us. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43214 "2019-12-30T02:02:10Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > The Connecticut man’s racism is no more a Republican Idea than Pres. Woodrow Wilson’s racism was a Democratic Idea. That the Republican Party openly and happily condones it is abhorent, but they don’t own it, didn’t start it, and are not the only ones engaged in it. Some random racist asshole lighting his own vehicle on fire because a minority might have been in it is no more a Republican Idea than whatever rando allegedly verbally berated a lawn-mowing **Shodan** was a Democratic Idea. It’s trying to box something that defies boxes (just like anti-vaxx ideology, where I’ve seen both sides saying it’s the other side). In the Democratic Idea thread, it was often brought up that the ideas being tossed around as stupid were just random people on social media or who popped up in the news for whatever silly reason. This is the same. Jewish families are being attacked by black men here in NYC in acts of racism. Will that also be a Republican Idea? > > There are more than enough SRI to keep this thread going for a long, long time; ideas promulgated by those in positions of influence. Car-burning Connecticut man is not one of them - he’s just an extreme of the hateful bigotry that sadly will always be with us. Your point is noted. But there is a difference: > [@Sherrerd](#): > > …Huge numbers of white supremacists have made their presence known over the decades; they’ve never gone away. What’s new is the seal of official approval that Trump’s presidency has given them. … THIS is different from the past. And it’s important to recognize that. Yes, there are wing-nuts on both sides. But both sides haven’t encouraged and legitimized this behavior. Only one side has done that. And only one president has done that. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43215 "2019-12-30T02:17:29Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Some random racist asshole lighting his own vehicle on fire because a minority might have been in it is no more a Republican Idea than whatever rando allegedly verbally berated a lawn-mowing **Shodan** was a Democratic Idea. . That was **Clothahump**. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43216 "2019-12-30T02:24:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That was **Clothahump**. It was his finest moment. And it was completely imaginary. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43217 "2019-12-30T03:38:42Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > A Connecticut firefighter got his truck stolen. The cops found it and gave it back to him, but he didn’t want it because minorities might have sat in it, so he set it on fire. > [Connecticut firefighter torched recovered SUV because minorities may have driven it: cops](https://nypost.com/2019/12/24/firefighter-allegedly-set-recovered-suv-on-fire-because-minorities-may-have-driven-it/) He looks like Stephen Miller’s dumber brother. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2019, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43218 "2019-12-30T12:04:38Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That was **Clothahump**. Mea culpa, Shodan ---
**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:** [December 30, 2019, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43219 "2019-12-30T12:12:50Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Your point is noted. But there is a difference: > THIS is different from the past. And it’s important to recognize that. Yes, there are wing-nuts on both sides. But both sides haven’t encouraged and legitimized this behavior. Only one side has done that. And only one president has done that. Sadly, it’s not different. But it does clearly point out what era is meant when Cheeto says it wants to Make America Great Again. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43220 "2019-12-30T17:36:29Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Even as a kid I looked askance at how the pilgrims left England because they couldn’t practice religion the way they wanted to, then set up their colony to be intolerant of anybody else’s flavor of Christianity. 400 years of zero empathy. Now, now, let’s be fair here. Not all of them left England of their own accord. Many were plain kicked out for being giant nuisances, too ! ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43221 "2019-12-30T20:22:23Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > Wow. but really, those wingnuts were around before a Trump presidency. They’re not going to do shit. If they were, they’d have already done so. Trump pardoned Eddie Gallagher and punished the military personnel who upheld the UCMJ in trying him. _They_were stripped of awards and commendations; Trump fought to make sure Gallagher kept his. This guy was such a murderous asshole that his fellow SEALS would fire warning shots to let civilians know he was coming. Shooting somebody is a whole different ballgame from what Gallagher did. He killed somebody with a _knife._ He looked into this kid’s eyes from inches away, saw and felt how skinny and small and young he was, knew he was obviously wounded and _in custody._ He smelled him. All this is broad daylight, in front of witnesses. Stabbing somebody or even cutting their throat isn’t an instant death. Gallagher had numerous chances to back off and cool off. Furthermore, at that rank and position, he was supposed to set an example. _That_ is who Trump is crowing he saved from whatever childish insult he’s using on Dems these days. He used to say that he’d pay for the defense of anybody who hurt a protester at one of his rallies. Trump and his deranged fans see themselves as Gallagher. They want to be able to put Dems in the position of Gallagher’s victim. That’s their fantasy. Trump is telling them he’ll pardon them if they do. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43222 "2019-12-30T22:53:47Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Mea culpa, Shodan It’s cool. He sucks too. Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43223 "2019-12-30T23:08:47Z")
> [@margin](#): > > Trump pardoned Eddie Gallagher and punished the military personnel who upheld the UCMJ in trying him. _They_were stripped of awards and commendations; Trump fought to make sure Gallagher kept his. > > This guy was such a murderous asshole that his fellow SEALS would fire warning shots to let civilians know he was coming. > > Shooting somebody is a whole different ballgame from what Gallagher did. He killed somebody with a _knife._ He looked into this kid’s eyes from inches away, saw and felt how skinny and small and young he was, knew he was obviously wounded and _in custody._ He smelled him. All this is broad daylight, in front of witnesses. > > Stabbing somebody or even cutting their throat isn’t an instant death. Gallagher had numerous chances to back off and cool off. Furthermore, at that rank and position, he was supposed to set an example. > > _That_ is who Trump is crowing he saved from whatever childish insult he’s using on Dems these days. He used to say that he’d pay for the defense of anybody who hurt a protester at one of his rallies. > > Trump and his deranged fans see themselves as Gallagher. They want to be able to put Dems in the position of Gallagher’s victim. That’s their fantasy. Trump is telling them he’ll pardon them if they do. Gallagher is trump’s idea of a “hero.” Makes me sick. :mad: ---
**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:** [December 31, 2019, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43224 "2019-12-31T00:02:40Z")
> [@margin](#): > > Trump pardoned Eddie Gallagher and punished the military personnel who upheld the UCMJ in trying him. _They_were stripped of awards and commendations; Trump fought to make sure Gallagher kept his. > > This guy was such a murderous asshole that his fellow SEALS would fire warning shots to let civilians know he was coming. > …Trump and his deranged fans see themselves as Gallagher. They want to be able to put Dems in the position of Gallagher’s victim. That’s their fantasy. **Trump is telling them he’ll pardon them if they do**. This is under-covered and under-examined. Trump is coming as close to openly inciting violent acts as anyone in public life ever has. He is saying ‘_ **do violence in my name-----and I will not only pardon you, I will uplift you to a position of glory at my right hand** _.’ This is going to make a big impression on people with an unstable hold on reality. _This is going to get people killed._ (emphasis in quote is mine) ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43225 "2019-12-31T00:05:26Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Gallagher is trump’s idea of a “hero.” Makes me sick. :mad: My CO was a hero. He did every convoy----over 300 in 355 days----and he never succumbed to fear or distrust. He trusted his troops, he fought for us in the face of horribly callous higher-ups, and he fought to protect the civilian population. The first casualty in some wars is humanity. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43226 "2019-12-31T01:11:03Z")
> [@margin](#): > > My CO was a hero. He did every convoy----over 300 in 355 days----and he never succumbed to fear or distrust. He trusted his troops, he fought for us in the face of horribly callous higher-ups, and he fought to protect the civilian population. > > The first casualty in [del]some[/del] \*\*\*all \*\*\* wars is humanity. Fixed it for you. And kudos to your CO. I worked (civilian) for the US army for 34 years and saw the bad and the good–and the good ones were well into the majority. Not that Our Dear Leader recognizes that… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43227 "2019-12-31T01:38:33Z")
And I was just reminded that I’m not supposed to edit quotes…Mea Culpa to the mods, I’ll be good in the future. But it still all… ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43228 "2019-12-31T14:18:52Z")
> [@margin](#): > > Trump and his deranged fans see themselves as Gallagher. They want to be able to put Dems in the position of Gallagher’s victim. That’s their fantasy. Trump is telling them he’ll pardon them if they do. Can’t pardon someone if he’s dead. Just sayin’ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2160) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2162)