# 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:** 2165
**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:** [January 7, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43289 "2020-01-07T23:06:02Z")
Duncan Hunter has pled guilty to misuse of campaign funds, and has resigned from Congress. > **[Rep. Duncan Hunter Resigns From Office After Guilty Plea](https://www.thedailybeast.com/duncan-hunter-resigns-from-office-after-guilty-plea)** > > The California representative will be sentenced in March after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to misuse campaign funds. Not exactly a stupid idea … ---
**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:** [January 7, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43290 "2020-01-07T23:11:31Z")
Sebastian Gorka calls Gr3ta Thunberg “thunder thighs”. [https://www.mediamatters.org/sebastian-gorka/sebastian-gorka-calls-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-thunder-thighs](https://www.mediamatters.org/sebastian-gorka/sebastian-gorka-calls-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-thunder-thighs)? ---
**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:** [January 7, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43291 "2020-01-07T23:18:40Z")
nm ---
**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:** [January 8, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43292 "2020-01-08T02:39:40Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Duncan Hunter has pled guilty to misuse of campaign funds, and has resigned from Congress. > [Duncan Hunter Resigns From Office After Guilty Plea](https://www.thedailybeast.com/duncan-hunter-resigns-from-office-after-guilty-plea) > Not exactly a stupid idea … I thoroughly enjoyed reading that jerk’s resignation letter: > [@](#): > > Since the day I joined the Marines in the aftermath of 9/11, I have had the honor of serving my country, both at home and abroad. [Mister Subliminal]And what a joy it was to serve yourself, too.[/MrS] > [@](#): > > After three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, I was elected to the House and brought with me the lessons I learned during my service in the Marine Corps and the values instilled by my father who held this seat before me. Growing up in East County San Diego, I learned from an early age the importance of liberty, the value of patriotism, and what a strong and secure border can bring to a community. [Mister Subliminal]So, it was the USMC that taught you to be dishonest, to be a felon?[/MrS] > [@](#): > > It has been an honor to serve the people of California’s 50th District, and I greatly appreciate the trust they have put in me over these last 11 years. [Mister Subliminal]Those fools![/MrS] > [@](#): > > I helped shine light on a broken military awards process that failed to recognize true heroism, and I fought for warriors like Clint Lorance, Eddie Gallagher and Matt Golsteyn that were treated unjustly by an abusive military justice system. [Mister Subliminal]Are you shitting me? They’re as heroic as you are honest! Gotta love you some war criminals, huh?[/MrS] By the way, exactly how many Republican office-holders, senior administration members, and party functionaries does this make convicted of or pleading guilty to felonies since Trump slithered across the White House’s threshold? ---
**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:** [January 8, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43293 "2020-01-08T03:03:08Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Sebastian Gorka calls Gr3ta Thunberg “thunder thighs”. > [https://www.mediamatters.org/sebastian-gorka/sebastian-gorka-calls-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-thunder-thighs](https://www.mediamatters.org/sebastian-gorka/sebastian-gorka-calls-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-thunder-thighs)? Conversing with who, Andrew Klavan? What an odd name. It sounds like a gathering of guys in pointy white hoods. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43294 "2020-01-08T03:14:05Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Sebastian Gorka calls Gr3ta Thunberg “thunder thighs”. > [https://www.mediamatters.org/sebastian-gorka/sebastian-gorka-calls-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-thunder-thighs](https://www.mediamatters.org/sebastian-gorka/sebastian-gorka-calls-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-thunder-thighs)? What a dick. I swear, these people are the schoolyard bullies who grew up but never matured. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43295 "2020-01-08T05:24:41Z")
“Gorka” ls Serbian for “perv”. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43296 "2020-01-08T19:11:23Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Conversing with who, Andrew Klavan? What an odd name. It sounds like a gathering of guys in pointy white hoods. Andrew Klavan is the clown shoe who recently had a whinefest about the Witcher series because there were women fighting with swords in it and as you know that just isn’t possible at all. I’d bet they’d love them some pointy hats but I think the two of them have a hat they put on first. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43297 "2020-01-09T14:45:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > That doesn’t necessarily mean he believes it – only that he wants others to believe it. > [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > Personally I don’t think Trump believes a lot of the shit he says (such as that Obama wasn’t born in the US, since he was actually an Obama supporter until he decided to join the GOP). I don’t think he cares either; as has been shown many times, he’ll say whatever he thinks is best to preserve his base. That’s not to say he doesn’t believe a lot of bizarre shit. Not necessarily, but take a look at it. Everyone with a lick of sense knows the “Biden in Ukraine” CT is nonsense. And yet, Trump goes out of his way to pressure Ukraine into launching an investigation. If he knows the CT is BS, what outcome of that investigation did he expect? “Great news, everybody! I’ve cleared the leading Democrat nominee of corruption charges!” No way. He expected them to find dirt on Biden. Same thing with the even stupider “Crowdstrike” CT. The only possible outcome of a legitimate investigation would be proving the CT is BS. This is exactly what happened earlier with the “voter fraud” investigation. He sets up a committee to investigate his claims of voter fraud, and they actually do an honest investigation, and come back with the conclusion that voter fraud is virtually non-existent. Get that - he didn’t even _try_ to put his thumb on the scale and produce his desired result. He, and everyone he hired to do this job, apparently honestly thought they’d find the evidence of massive fraud they were sure was out there. Not faking the investigation from the outset only makes sense if they really believed that the fraud they were complaining about was real. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43298 "2020-01-09T15:26:22Z")
My impression is that he really didn’t care what the Ukrainian investigation found, or indeed whether there was actually an investigation at all. What he insisted on was an announcement (specifically on CNN) that Ukraine was launching an investigation — a clip that he could use to pummel Biden at will: “See??? See??? Where there’s smoke there must be fire!!!” The same may apply to the other issues as well. It’s all about selling the sizzle; the fact that the “steak” is actually six-month-old Alpo is irrelevant. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43299 "2020-01-09T15:44:25Z")
Sort of like an OTC snake-oil I saw advertised as “Contains clinically-studied ingredients!”. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43300 "2020-01-09T16:05:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Sort of like an OTC snake-oil I saw advertised as “Contains clinically-studied ingredients!”. I’ll do you one better : saw a ready-made lunch “Made with real ingredients !”. Needless to say, I strongly suspect it was made out of radioactive plastic or somesuch. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43301 "2020-01-09T16:08:35Z")
Well, to be fair, it didn’t say “100% real ingredients.” ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43302 "2020-01-09T16:34:17Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > My impression is that he really didn’t care what the Ukrainian investigation found, or indeed whether there was actually an investigation at all. What he insisted on was an announcement (specifically on CNN) that Ukraine was launching an investigation — a clip that he could use to pummel Biden at will: “See??? See??? Where there’s smoke there must be fire!!!” > > The same may apply to the other issues as well. It’s all about selling the sizzle; the fact that the “steak” is actually six-month-old Alpo is irrelevant. Except that you could make the same argument for the voter fraud CT. He could have appointed a lackey who would make big noise about “investigating the fraud”, but who understood that they were never, ever supposed to actually come to a conclusion. The old powers that be of the GOP did essentially that with their endless Benghazi investigations, after all. But he didn’t do that - he created a real committee that actually went out and proved the opposite of what he wanted to prove. And that was a process he had almost complete control over. With the Ukraine, he would have had to deal with an entire foreign government that he has at best tenuous influence over. Now, maybe he really is just fractally incompetent like that. But it’s simpler if you assume he’s really just stupid enough to believe his own BS. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43303 "2020-01-09T17:19:41Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Everyone with a lick of sense knows the “Biden in Ukraine” CT is nonsense. And yet, Trump goes out of his way to pressure Ukraine into launching an investigation. If he knows the CT is BS, what outcome of that investigation did he expect? He expected the outcome to be news coverage along the lines of: _(Now)_ _ **BIDEN UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR CORRUPTION!!!** _ _(Later)_ investigation finds nothing ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43304 "2020-01-09T17:38:06Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Now, maybe he really is just fractally incompetent like that. But it’s simpler if you assume he’s really just stupid enough to believe his own BS. Can’t it be both? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43305 "2020-01-09T17:45:53Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > He expected the outcome to be news coverage along the lines of: > > _(Now)_ _ **BIDEN UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR CORRUPTION!!!** _ > > _(Later)_ investigation finds nothing Exactly. This is how Trump ALWAYS does it: He accuses someone else of doing what he’s doing, often even before anyone knows what he’s doing. The strategy is to muddle the public discourse. If and when Trump gets exposed, the public, who are mostly too lazy or stupid to really read up about the facts, end up saying, “Wait a minute–I heard that they other guy was doing that. I’m confused. Oh, to hell with it–they’re all doing it, so it doesn’t really matter.” Later on, after a careful investigation shows that Trump was lying, it doesn’t matter anymore, because the lazy and stupid public either ignore it, or think, “Oh, that? That’s old news. Why are they still talking about that?” This is a constant tactic of the administration, and Fox News in general. ---
**Author:** ![slumtrimpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@slumtrimpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slumtrimpet)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43306 "2020-01-09T18:40:04Z")
It’s called disinformation and it works like a charm. Butheremails Benghazi Pizzagate Swiftboat etc etc etc ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43307 "2020-01-09T18:58:51Z")
Garry Kasparov says the goal is to exhaust your critical thinking abilities by flooding them with disinformation. By the time you’ve gotten around to calling “bullshit” on the latest stupid thing Republicans have said, they’ve done or said ten other things just as stupid and/or mean. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43308 "2020-01-09T20:18:00Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > This is exactly what happened earlier with the “voter fraud” investigation. He sets up a committee to investigate his claims of voter fraud, and they actually do an honest investigation, and come back with the conclusion that voter fraud is virtually non-existent. Get that - he didn’t even _try_ to put his thumb on the scale and produce his desired result. He, and everyone he hired to do this job, apparently honestly thought they’d find the evidence of massive fraud they were sure was out there. Not faking the investigation from the outset only makes sense if they really believed that the fraud they were complaining about was real. Where do people get the idea that the [voter fraud investigation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Advisory_Commission_on_Election_Integrity) concluded that there was no voter fraud. After the commission asked for voter data, including voter rolls, from every state, the states told them to pound salt. Enough people figured that the voter fraud commission was just a voter suppression commission, and they refused to play ball with them. Once the true purpose was sufficiently exposed, Trump shut it down. There was no honest investigation, and there certainly weren’t any honest people on the commission. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2164) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2166)