# 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:** 2188
**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 19, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43749 "2020-03-19T00:34:28Z")
Rand Paul calls people without social security numbers “non people”. > **[Rand Paul: ‘Non-People’ Shouldn’t Get Federal Tax Credit](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rand-paul-says-non-people-shouldnt-get-federal-tax-credit)** > > “It has nothing to do with not liking immigrants. It has to do with saying, taxpayer money shouldn’t go to non-people,” GOP senator said during virus financial package debate. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43750 "2020-03-19T00:42:10Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > So far, people have been more or less keeping him within the lines. Of course, if he wangles some kind of excuse to stay in the WH, the SCotUS will most likely hand him a 5-4 favorable ruling. > > However, if the situation gets out of hand, if there is a great deal of social/economic turmoil over the next few months, the opposition could well exceed the limits of the Republican Shell Game. Right now, we are kind of in uncharted territory – no one in a position of any weight has any real memories of what the GD, or even in large part WWII, was like. > > If this pandemic situation leads to a lot of instability, we could see him completely lose control of the military, in which case an actual coup situation might develop, and no one can guess what would be on the other side of that. That all looks like sound prognostication to me. > [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > This is likely the most racist thing I’ve heard a Republican say since this morning: > > [QUOTE+Senator John Cornyn] > “China is to blame because the culture where people eat bats & snakes & dogs & things like that, these viruses are transmitted from the animal to the people and that’s why China has been the source of a lot of these viruses like SARS, like MERS, the Swine Flu.” > [/QUOTE] > [@Slash1972](#): > > Wow, I didn’t know that China was in the Middle East. Learn something new everyday! The right is all-in on blaming China for everything. Partly this serves as a good distractor----there is no room for stories on the Trump Administration’s botched response to COVID-19 if all the room is taken up with stories about Republicans claiming China is a very, very bad country, and with stories about right-wing news consumers obediently committing acts of racism, some violent, against Asian-Americans. So there’s the ‘stop people from blaming Trump’ factor. And there’s also the ongoing trade war with China (lest we forget–it’s still very much in play). Trump probably believes getting masses of Americans to hate China will give him a competitive advantage in trade negotiations. And if all else fails, he could get us into an actual hot war with China. That would certainly crowd out all those “Trump bungled the pandemic” stories! ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43751 "2020-03-19T00:45:34Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Rand Paul calls people without social security numbers “non people”. > [Rand Paul Says ‘Non-People’ Shouldn’t Get Federal Tax Credit](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rand-paul-says-non-people-shouldnt-get-federal-tax-credit) OMG. I bet his hairpiece is shrinking as the rubber (or whatever) gets older—cutting off the flow of blood to his brain. That, or he’s just pure 100% asshole. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43752 "2020-03-19T04:05:00Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > OMG. > > I bet his hairpiece is shrinking as the rubber (or whatever) gets older—cutting off the flow of blood to his brain. > > That, or he’s just pure 100% asshole. I am told that the hairs encircling my anus are curly, so I will go with the second thing. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43753 "2020-03-19T07:19:53Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > I got interested and asked the question: If > > . . . > > 1. the Governor of each state selected the EC members for that state, and > > . . . > > Who would win the Presidency? > > Answer: The Democratic candidate. While only 24 states have Democratic governors, they account for 288 EC members. It’s the _state legislatures_, not the governor, that gets to choose the electors. The governors have no say in it. So it depends on which states have legislatures fully controlled by Republicans. I don’t have the numbers at my fingertips, but I believe there are a few states with Democrat governors but highly partisan Republican legislatures. Wisconsin comes immediately to mind, for example. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43754 "2020-03-19T11:09:00Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > OMG. > > I bet his hairpiece is shrinking as the rubber (or whatever) gets older—cutting off the flow of blood to his brain. > > That, or he’s just pure 100% asshole. I’ve been binge-watching _The Expanse_, and am reminded of this scene: > [@The Expanse](#): > > **Doctor:** Part of his temporal lobe has been effectively erased. > **Holden:** Which part? > **Doctor:** The part that governs empathy. > **Amos:** You can do that with a magnet? > **Doctor:** I’ve only read about the procedure. It’s not that simple, but it’s not complicated either. It’s non-invasive. > **Holden:** So someone waves a magnet at the right side on my head, and suddenly I can watch a hundred thousand people die in agony and not give a shit? ---
**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 19, 2020, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43755 "2020-03-19T11:49:46Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > This is likely the most racist thing I’ve heard a Republican say since this morning: > > > [@Senator John Cornyn](#): > > > > “China is to blame because the culture where people eat bats & snakes & dogs & things like that, these viruses are transmitted from the animal to the people and that’s why China has been the source of a lot of these viruses like SARS, like MERS, the Swine Flu.” > > [https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1240364608390606850](https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1240364608390606850) I believe Cornyn is from Texas, where they have been known to eat rattlesnake and fried alligator. Probably not bats and dogs but still, not much room to criticize there. ---
**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 19, 2020, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43756 "2020-03-19T12:16:04Z")
Not to mention that it’s interesting to see Cornyn thinks China is in the Middle East. ---
**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 19, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43757 "2020-03-19T12:58:07Z")
And in Mexico. ---
**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 19, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43758 "2020-03-19T12:58:22Z")
And in Mexico. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43759 "2020-03-19T13:42:04Z")
Well, you never know about all those Mexican countries. ---
**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 19, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43760 "2020-03-19T14:21:05Z")
So, what about the fried armadillo? Is Cornyn against that, too? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43761 "2020-03-19T15:22:26Z")
Republican senator Richard Burr was privately telling people that COVID had the potential to be a disaster (l[eaked audio](https://www.newsandguts.com/link/npr-burr-recording-sparks-questions-about-private-comments-on-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR3U9tIX_5xuE2OhDZj9CojqdK-iWkCx-IGGlbS0PEKaAZc6b6vLJMHjlqE)), yet publicly said nothing of the sort. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43762 "2020-03-19T21:39:32Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Republican senator Richard Burr was privately telling people that COVID had the potential to be a disaster (l[eaked audio](https://www.newsandguts.com/link/npr-burr-recording-sparks-questions-about-private-comments-on-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR3U9tIX_5xuE2OhDZj9CojqdK-iWkCx-IGGlbS0PEKaAZc6b6vLJMHjlqE)), yet publicly said nothing of the sort. While also[selling off a bunch of stock](https://www.propublica.org/article/senator-dumped-up-to-1-6-million-of-stock-after-reassuring-public-about-coronavirus-preparedness)… ---
**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:** [March 19, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43763 "2020-03-19T21:40:56Z")
[A development worthy of its own Pit thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=892113). ---
**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 20, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43764 "2020-03-20T18:14:12Z")
Chairman of the Riley County, Kansas Board of Commissioners didn’t want to issue a shutdown because of the virus because there aren’t very many Chinese people there. > **[Kansas official: Pandemic isn’t a problem here because there are few Chinese...](https://amp.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article241353836.html)** > > Does he understand why it’s dangerous to Asian Americans to talk like that, and that there has been an increase in reported attacks? ---
**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 20, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43765 "2020-03-20T18:18:00Z")
Who could have ever thought that Doug Collins would be the lesser of the two evils when it comes to Republican candidate for Senate from Georgia? ---
**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 20, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43766 "2020-03-20T18:24:41Z")
Laura Ingraham: “Americans need to know date certain when this will end. The uncertainty for businesses, parents and kids is just not sustainable.” > Somebody asked her if she wanted to speak to the virus’s manager. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43767 "2020-03-21T06:51:47Z")
I noticed that some right wing sources are following the stupid talking point from the White House that while the “Chinese Virus Invaded America, Democrats Were Focused on Impeachment”. Well, thanks again for reminding all that the President is not capable of chewing gum and walking at the same time. ---
**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 21, 2020, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43768 "2020-03-21T07:42:47Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I noticed that some right wing sources are following the stupid talking point from the White House that while the “Chinese Virus Invaded America, Democrats Were Focused on Impeachment”. > > Well, thanks again for reminding all that the President is not capable of chewing gum and walking at the same time. Yeah. The whole reason the Democrats were focused on impeachment is because, unlike the disgrace we have for a president now, they were upholding their constitution duty. Now, if said disgrace were not a criminal, then there would have been no need to focus on that. Speaking of that disgrace, did you see how he’s referring to the US State Department now? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2187) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2189)