# 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:** 2169
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43369 "2020-01-29T08:57:44Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Sandy Hook denier and Alex Jones guest arrested in Florida for possession of another person’s ID. The ID belongs to the father of a Sandy Hook victim. > [Sandy Hook denier charged with having victim's dad's ID info | AP News](https://apnews.com/da09f08ef3aad4c7eb149962387005c2) Let’s really make sure that people understand this. Noah Pozner was shot ELEVEN FUCKING TIMES by the basic sort of weapon that a soldier like me fired in battle. His lower jaw was shot off. So was his left hand. The weapon used to kill him can inflict, at close range, the same sort of injuries one associates with IEDs Complete amputation of parts of limbs is common. So is complete shredding of internal organs, skin, extremities, and bone, particularly in individuals with smaller frames. I am speaking of adult bodies here. If you are a parent… This is how Alex Jones makes his money. Fuck him and anybody who minimizes this. I dare you. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2020, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43370 "2020-01-29T10:08:00Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Darrell Issa is making sure that all of the voters in his district know that his Republican primary opponent is gay. > [https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/01/24/issa-defends-himself-from-accusations-of-gay-baiting-in-campaign-ad-1254753](https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/01/24/issa-defends-himself-from-accusations-of-gay-baiting-in-campaign-ad-1254753) > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Dems currently hold that seat. Pubbies can’t have it back. If I read that correctly, they’re fighting over Duncan Hunter’s old seat, not the one that Issa lost. It would be nice for Campa-Najjar to pick it up after all the racist bullshit he had thrown at him during the last election. And because I am completely immature, I giggled because they ended an article about “gay-baiting” with the phrase “It’s a race to the bottom.” ---
**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 29, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43371 "2020-01-29T15:13:41Z")
West Virginia lawmakers have introduced resolutions inviting certain Virginia counties to secede and join their state instead. [Larry Sabato (of Crystal Ball) has a good joke.](https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/status/1222328200446918656) Interestingly, this could be done legally. But it would require passage from the Virginia General Assembly, which recently turned majority Democrat. Hence the suggestion by such esteemed Commonwealth intellectuals like Jerry Falwell, Jr. ---
**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 29, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43372 "2020-01-29T15:28:14Z")
> [@margin](#): > > This is how Alex Jones makes his money. > > Fuck him and anybody who minimizes this. I dare you. Is there a site somewhere listing Alex Jones’ sponsors? I don’t have the stomach to watch it myself and take notes. ---
**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 29, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43373 "2020-01-29T16:11:22Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Is there a site somewhere listing Alex Jones’ sponsors? I don’t have the stomach to watch it myself and take notes. Most of his money comes for shilling alt-med and disaster-prepper crap to his idiot listeners. So you’re probably already boycotting his sponsors. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43374 "2020-01-29T17:13:03Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > West Virginia lawmakers have introduced resolutions inviting certain Virginia counties to secede and join their state instead. [Larry Sabato (of Crystal Ball) has a good joke.](https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/status/1222328200446918656) > > Interestingly, this could be done legally. But it would require passage from the Virginia General Assembly, which recently turned majority Democrat. Hence the suggestion by such esteemed Commonwealth intellectuals like Jerry Falwell, Jr. Ignoring the bad optics and bad precedent this would set, from a purely political and practical view point it might make sense for Virginia Democrats to support this. By kicking out Frederick county, the Democrats increase their liklihood of holding onto the state house and senate. Also the median per capita income of Frederick county is about half of the per capita income of the rest of the state, so taking them off the books is likely to improve Virginia’s fiscal standing. Then, of course, there is the IQ thing. ---
**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 29, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43375 "2020-01-29T18:00:01Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Ignoring the bad optics and bad precedent this would set, from a purely political and practical view point it might make sense for Virginia Democrats to support this. By kicking out Frederick county, the Democrats increase their liklihood of holding onto the state house and senate. Also the median per capita income of Frederick county is about half of the per capita income of the rest of the state, so taking them off the books is likely to improve Virginia’s fiscal standing. Then, of course, there is the IQ thing. Frederick County is just one of many Virginia border counties that would meet West Virginia’s, er, standards. The only one that might not would be Loudoun. And in that neck of the woods, Jefferson Co., WV might even be interested in a move in the opposite direction. I would enjoy (perhaps too much) a thread devoted to the premise “what would happen if border counties in the US could vote every ten years to move to another state?” ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43376 "2020-01-29T18:09:16Z")
Reminds me of the every-so-often floated idea that the southern half of Illinois should break away and for their own state. It’s usually pretty quick that it’s pointed out that the southern half of the state would be in pretty big trouble without the Chicagoland tax base. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43377 "2020-01-29T18:39:50Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Reminds me of the every-so-often floated idea that the southern half of Illinois should break away and for their own state. It’s usually pretty quick that it’s pointed out that the southern half of the state would be in pretty big trouble without the Chicagoland tax base. We occasionally hear similar things regarding New York State, upstate vs downstate. NYC provides a huge tax base that supports many other counties. ---
**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 29, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43378 "2020-01-29T18:51:28Z")
Residents of Garrett and Allegany counties (MD) might be pretty culturally comfortable changing their affiliation to the Mountain State. Until they realized that they would then probably rank among the richest counties in their new home state. ---
**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 29, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43379 "2020-01-29T19:36:13Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Reminds me of the every-so-often floated idea that the southern half of Illinois should break away and for their own state. It’s usually pretty quick that it’s pointed out that the southern half of the state would be in pretty big trouble without the Chicagoland tax base. This is the same problem that the people in Northern California need to face when talking about splitting off and forming the State of Jefferson. They don’t have the tax base to keep them afloat. ---
**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 29, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43380 "2020-01-29T19:45:49Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > This is the same problem that the people in Northern California need to face when talking about splitting off and forming the State of Jefferson. They don’t have the tax base to keep them afloat. So just build a federal prison and/or weapons factory, Jesus ! Do I have to do all the thinking here ?! ---
**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 29, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43381 "2020-01-29T20:22:39Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > This is the same problem that the people in Northern California need to face when talking about splitting off and forming the State of Jefferson. They don’t have the tax base to keep them afloat. Same situation for Washington east of the Cascades (“Liberty”). The main thing they would be liberated from is the Puget Sound tax base. > [@Kobal2](#): > > So just build a federal prison and/or weapons factory, Jesus ! Do I have to do all the thinking here ?! They already have the primary state prison at Walla Walla. And the only thing the proponents despise more than the federal gummint\* is Seattle. On the other hand, they’d have [Matt Shea](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/matt-shea-washington-state-lawmaker-who-engaged-in-domestic-terrorism-refuses-to-resign/) all to themselves. Maybe he could be their first governor. \*Except, of course, for handouts. ---
**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 29, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43382 "2020-01-29T20:36:06Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > So just build a federal prison and/or weapons factory, Jesus ! Do I have to do all the thinking here ?! Pelican Bay State Prison is up there. A particularly dire prison, from what I’ve heard. ---
**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 29, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43383 "2020-01-29T20:49:14Z")
The WV resolution is about counties moving to another, existing state, not creating a new one. For example, what if southern Illinois border counties wished to join Indiana, Kentucky or Missouri? This hypothesis doesn’t help northern California secessionists, however, because their only choices would be to join Nevada or Oregon. What would be the benefits for them? ---
**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 29, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43384 "2020-01-29T20:57:39Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Pelican Bay State Prison is up there. A particularly dire prison, from what I’ve heard. Well then why would they want to dilute all them free federal votes and grants with Southern Cali ? Idiots ! Just stop feeding or guarding the inmates, report them twice on the polls for both Congress seats and funding, Bob’s your uncle ! ---
**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 29, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43385 "2020-01-29T22:10:47Z")
House Republicans think an income of $450,000 a year is middle class. > **[The 1 Percenters Are Middle Class: House Republicans](https://www.newsweek.com/tax-cuts-republicans-middle-class-trump-701094)** > > A tax reform highlight sheet circulated by House Republicans referred to taxpayers earning $450,000 a year as "low- and middle-income." ---
**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 29, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43386 "2020-01-29T22:41:06Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Unanimously? He even voted to expel himself? He was convicted of felony tax fraud. apparently, by Idaho state law, that disqualifies him from being able to cast a vote in the state legislature. Kind of like the way convicted felons[sup]\*[/sup] are not allowed to vote in elections. \*or, in some states, people whose names resemble those of convicted felons ---
**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 29, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43387 "2020-01-29T22:50:03Z")
Doug Collins is feuding with the National Republican Senatorial Committee because they’re calling him out for announcing his candidacy for the Senate even though there is an incumbent (appointed) Republican Senator. He calls their arguments against his candidacy FAKE NEWS. [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/480504-collins-fires-back-at-head-of-senate-gops-campaign-arm-fake-news](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/480504-collins-fires-back-at-head-of-senate-gops-campaign-arm-fake-news)? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43388 "2020-01-29T23:46:13Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Same situation for Washington east of the Cascades (“Liberty”). The main thing they would be liberated from is the Puget Sound tax base. Maybe, but they would also be liberated from paying for stadiums in Seattle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2168) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2170)