# 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:** 2177
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43529 "2020-02-19T09:15:54Z")
Devin Nunes (remember him?) participates in water forum with Secretary of Interior (a big issue in the San Joaquin Valley); blacklists hometown (Fresno) reporters from attending. [What happened at Devin Nunes water forum with Interior Secretary? We can’t tell you. Here’s why](https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article240285026.html) > [@](#): > > Rep. Devin Nunes held a major water forum in Tulare County on Tuesday afternoon that excluded The Fresno Bee. > > U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, the nation’s top ranking administrator of federal waterways, was a speaker. His department manages the Central Valley Project, which delivers water from Shasta Dam to San Joaquin Valley farms. > > Nunes has routinely concealed his public schedules in California for the past several years and rescheduled fundraising events when logistical details have leaked. The water forum on Tuesday was not a private fundraiser. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43530 "2020-02-19T09:43:43Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Republicans in Tennessee are [worried that women will abuse the privilege](https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/02/11/tampon-tax-break-faces-resistance-tennessee/4727662002/) of buying pads and tampons tax-free during the upcoming tax holiday. The GOP has become so petty and vindicative it would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad. Just like blacks, browns, reporters and teachers, _Women are Enemies._ (If only women’s votes were counted, the D’s would win in landslides – except in states like Alabama with very bad education.) The GOP likes to think of itself as **Soprano** ’s gang, or a top Mafiosa Family. In fact their behavior resembles slapstick like _Police Academy_. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2020, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43531 "2020-02-19T13:02:00Z")
**[Homeland Security drops contractor laws for border wall](http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/SanAntonioExpressNews/default.aspx#_)** By Elliot Spagat ASSOCIATED PRESS > [@](#): > > SAN DIEGO — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is waiving federal contracting laws to speed construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, moving the president closer to fulfilling a signature campaign promise in an election year but sparking criticism about potential for fraud, waste and abuse. > > The Department of Homeland Security said waiving procurement regulations will allow 177 miles of wall to be built more quickly in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. **The 10 waived laws include a requirement for open competition and giving losing bidders a chance to protest decisions.** > > The acting Homeland Security secretary, Chad Wolf, is exercising authority under a 2005 law that gives him sweeping powers to waive laws for building border barriers. > > “We hope that will accelerate some of the construction that’s going along the southwest border,” Wolf told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.” > > The Trump administration said the waivers will allow at least 94 miles of wall to be built this year, bringing the Republican leader closer to his goal of about 450 miles since he took office and made it one of his top domestic priorities. It said the other 83 miles covered by the waivers may get built this year. > > “Under the president’s leadership, we are building more wall, faster than ever before,” the department said in a statement. > > **Critics say the waivers do away with key taxpayer safeguards. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said the president’s “cronies are likely to be the beneficiaries.”** > > Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, said waiving a law for contractors to provide the government with certified cost data — such as how much they pay for labor or parts — could lead to grossly inflated prices. > > “It’s equivalent to buying a car without seeing a sticker price,” Amey said. “This could be a recipe for shoddy work and paying a much higher price than they should.” > > **Administration officials say providing cost data can be onerous and difficult.** > … My bold. Yeah, this Administration doesn’t do “onerous and difficult.” :smack: They specialize in quick and dirty, emphasis on the _dirty_. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43532 "2020-02-19T13:30:36Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **[Homeland Security drops contractor laws for border wall](http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/SanAntonioExpressNews/default.aspx#_)** > By Elliot Spagat ASSOCIATED PRESS > My bold. > > Yeah, this Administration doesn’t do “onerous and difficult.” :smack: They specialize in quick and dirty, emphasis on the _dirty_. Got a better way to raid those yummy, yummy tax dollars that were previously (UNFAIR!) out of reach? ---
**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:** [February 19, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43533 "2020-02-19T16:16:18Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Got a better way to raid those yummy, yummy tax dollars that were previously (UNFAIR!) out of reach? Indeed. Kickbacks on construction projects are certainly within this administration’s understanding and familiarity. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2020, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43534 "2020-02-19T21:06:22Z")
Doug Collins is butthurt that the Governor of Georgia named contributor Kelly Loeffler to be the Senator from Georgia instead of him. Loeffler is running for reelection now, and she’s running an ad where she’s walking along a country lane with a shotgun over her shoulder talking about how pro-2nd Amendment she is. Collins is pointing out that she doesn’t have a hunting license. I love it when Republicans attack each other. > **[Doug Collins slams GOP incumbent opponent for wearing '$990' jeans in hunting ad](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/doug-collins-slams-gop-incumbent-opponent-for-wearing-990-jeans-in-hunting-ad)** > > Rep. Doug Collins ripped into Sen. Kelly Loeffler over her campaign ad featuring her hunting while wearing expensive jeans and despite not having a hunting license. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43535 "2020-02-19T21:17:11Z")
Doug Collins is butthurt that the Governor of Georgia named contributor Kelly Loeffler to be the Senator from Georgia instead of him. Loeffler is running for reelection now, and she’s running an ad where she’s walking along a country lane with a shotgun over her shoulder talking about how pro-2nd Amendment she is. Collins is pointing out that she doesn’t have a hunting license. I love it when Republicans attack each other. > **[Doug Collins slams GOP incumbent opponent for wearing '$990' jeans in hunting ad](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/doug-collins-slams-gop-incumbent-opponent-for-wearing-990-jeans-in-hunting-ad)** > > Rep. Doug Collins ripped into Sen. Kelly Loeffler over her campaign ad featuring her hunting while wearing expensive jeans and despite not having a hunting license. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43536 "2020-02-19T21:18:11Z")
Gerore Zimmermann is suing Buttigieg and Sanders for calling him mean names. [George Zimmerman Sues Warren and Buttigieg, Claims They Branded Him as Racist in Trayvon Martin Tribute to Garner Black Votes](https://www.newsweek.com/george-zimmerman-pete-buttigieg-elizabeth-warren-lawsuit-black-voters-1487948)? ---
**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:** [February 19, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43537 "2020-02-19T22:14:30Z")
It’s worse than that: he’s suing because they implied that Trayvon was a victim of gun violence (which he clearly was). ---
**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:** [February 19, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43538 "2020-02-19T23:08:16Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Just like blacks, browns, reporters and teachers, _Women are Enemies._ (If only women’s votes were counted, the D’s would win in landslides – except in states like Alabama with very bad education.) It is not the edumacation, though. We went through Alabama one time. Just about every town we came into, there was a big billboard with a grinning Jesus on it next to the words, “_Have You Beaten Your Wife Today?_” Women voting for Ds in those areas would be properly in bruises for weeks. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43539 "2020-02-20T00:00:17Z")
This is why we have secret ballots. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43540 "2020-02-20T09:06:42Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Gerore Zimmermann is suing Buttigieg and Sanders for calling him mean names. > [George Zimmerman Sues Warren and Buttigieg, Claims They Branded Him as Racist in Trayvon Martin Tribute to Garner Black Votes](https://www.newsweek.com/george-zimmerman-pete-buttigieg-elizabeth-warren-lawsuit-black-voters-1487948)? Not so! The tweets by Buttigieg and Warren (I didn’t see anything about any tweet by Sanders) were eulogies for Trayvon Martin, noting that he’d be 25 years old now. They said nothing about Zimmerman; didn’t even mention him. But just saying something nice about Martin was enough to trigger Z into having a paranoid meltdown and think he’s been defamed, thus this absurd lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43541 "2020-02-20T15:05:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > This is why we have secret ballots. But how many battered women are forced to vote via (non-secret) mail-in ballots? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43542 "2020-02-20T15:14:53Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > It is not the edumacation, though. We went through Alabama one time. Just about every town we came into, there was a big billboard with a grinning Jesus on it next to the words, “_Have You Beaten Your Wife Today?_” Women voting for Ds in those areas would be properly in bruises for weeks. So, uh, I have spent a lot of time in Alabama and have never seen these signs. Unless I’m being wooshed (likely!), and I do know this is the Pit, but… cite? ---
**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:** [February 20, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43543 "2020-02-20T15:52:43Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > So, uh, I have spent a lot of time in Alabama and have never seen these signs. Unless I’m being wooshed (likely!), and I do know this is the Pit, but… cite? Oh, come on, can you not just let a person make shit up without harassing them? I am merely following the example of our national leader. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43544 "2020-02-20T16:19:45Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Not so! The tweets by Buttigieg and Warren (I didn’t see anything about any tweet by Sanders) were eulogies for Trayvon Martin, noting that he’d be 25 years old now. They said nothing about Zimmerman; didn’t even mention him. That’s why he’s mad. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43545 "2020-02-22T03:19:54Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > That’s why he’s mad. Mad as in Hatter? ---
**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:** [February 23, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43546 "2020-02-23T18:11:48Z")
It looks like Devin Nunes just got his lawsuit against Fusion GPS [shoved right up his mouth](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/21/devin-nunes-lawsuit-trump-dossier-116675), hard, the judge intimating that attempting to continue on this avenue could result in sanctions. _moo_ ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43547 "2020-02-24T15:04:35Z")
The Heartland Institute, a right-wing think tank based in Chicago, has configured their very own white European teenage girl to advocate for ignoring climate change. She _could_ be an android, considering that lead photo. In any case, they’re hoping she will cancel out Greta. > **[Right-Wing Think Tank Hopes Its Greta Thunberg Knock-Off Will Convince People...](https://www.wonkette.com/right-wing-think-tank-hopes-their-greta-thunberg-knock-off-will-convince-people-to-torch-the-planet)** > > It's so crazy, it just might ... nah. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43548 "2020-02-24T19:14:43Z")
Fox analyst blames today’s 1000 point stock drop on Bernie winning in Nevada, and not at all on the coronavirus panic. [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fox-business-host-charles-payne-bernie-sanders-dow-plunge](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fox-business-host-charles-payne-bernie-sanders-dow-plunge) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2176) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2178)