# 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:** 2195
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43889 "2020-04-01T15:21:13Z")
All those people losing their jobs, and therefore their health insurance, because of the coronavirus? [Screw them, says Trump.](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/upshot/obamacare-markets-coronavirus-trump.html) [Possible paywall.] > [@The New York Times](#): > > Obamacare Markets Will Not Reopen, Trump Decides > > The move would have made it easier for people who have recently lost jobs to obtain health insurance. > > The Trump administration has decided against reopening the Affordable Care Act’s [Healthcare.gov](http://Healthcare.gov) marketplaces to new customers, despite broad layoffs and growing fears that people will be uninsured for the coronavirus. > > The option to reopen markets, in what is known as a special enrollment period, would have made it easier for people who have recently lost jobs or who had already been uninsured to obtain health insurance. The administration has established such special enrollment periods in the past, typically in the wake of natural disasters. Because nothing that Obama did can be allowed to remain in place, even if it means people die. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43890 "2020-04-01T15:52:51Z")
It would certainly have made it easier for people who have recently lost jobs to obtain health insurance if Trump had opened a special enrollment period and I wish he would have done it. Let’s remember that if there is a merciful path or a dick path, Trump will pick dick every time. However, I just want to point out that a change in work status such as the loss of a job is a Life Status Change sufficient to enable any person to enroll in the ACA. _No special enrollment period required_. They should simply [contact the ACA](https://www.healthcare.gov/get-coverage/) and enroll as soon as possible after they suffer the job loss. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43891 "2020-04-01T15:54:52Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > It would certainly have made it easier for people who have recently lost jobs to obtain health insurance if Trump had opened a special enrollment period and I wish he would have done it. Let’s remember that if there is a merciful path or a dick path, Trump will pick dick every time. > > However, I just want to point out that a change in work status such as the loss of a job is a Life Status Change sufficient to enable any person to enroll in the ACA. _No special enrollment period required_. They should simply [contact the ACA](https://www.healthcare.gov/get-coverage/) and enroll as soon as possible after they suffer the job loss. Right, but as the article explains, Trump’s move makes it harder. > [@](#): > > Under current law, people who lose job-based insurance already qualify to enroll for health insurance on the marketplaces, but are required to provide proof that they lost their coverage. A special enrollment period would have made it easier for such people to enroll, because it would not require that paperwork. It also would have provided a new option for people who chose not to buy health insurance this year but want it now. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43892 "2020-04-01T16:12:00Z")
Nunes is [still at it](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/politics/devin-nunes-coronavirus-schools/index.html). It is evidently “way overkill” to cancel school. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43893 "2020-04-01T16:32:30Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Right, but as the article explains, Trump’s move makes it harder. Hence the first sentence in my post: **It would certainly have made it easier for people who have recently lost jobs to obtain health insurance if Trump had opened a special enrollment period and I wish he would have done it.** I didn’t read the article because I am very familiar with the rules. I didn’t see anything in your post that reflects the information I shared in mine, that people can still enroll if they suffer a job loss even without a special enrollment period. Your post leaves the possible impression that people are not able to enroll except with a special enrollment period. People are confused enough about all this stuff, so I wanted to clarify that with my post. That’s all. It’s not a put-down of what you shared. I agree it’s a typical Trump dick move. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43894 "2020-04-01T18:11:30Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Nunes is [still at it](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/politics/devin-nunes-coronavirus-schools/index.html). > > It is evidently “way overkill” to cancel school. His wife is a school teacher. Is this just an end run towards getting her killed? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43895 "2020-04-01T18:18:03Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Hence the first sentence in my post: **It would certainly have made it easier for people who have recently lost jobs to obtain health insurance if Trump had opened a special enrollment period and I wish he would have done it.** > > I didn’t read the article because I am very familiar with the rules. I didn’t see anything in your post that reflects the information I shared in mine, that people can still enroll if they suffer a job loss even without a special enrollment period. Your post leaves the possible impression that people are not able to enroll except with a special enrollment period. > > People are confused enough about all this stuff, so I wanted to clarify that with my post. That’s all. It’s not a put-down of what you shared. I agree it’s a typical Trump dick move. +1 ---
**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:** [April 1, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43896 "2020-04-01T18:18:47Z")
> [@Rick Kitchen](#): > > His wife is a school teacher. Is this just an end run towards getting her killed? Cheaper than divorce most likely. Opens the way for a trophy wife like Dear Leader already has. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43897 "2020-04-01T18:24:59Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Hence the first sentence in my post: **It would certainly have made it easier for people who have recently lost jobs to obtain health insurance if Trump had opened a special enrollment period and I wish he would have done it.** > > I didn’t read the article because I am very familiar with the rules. I didn’t see anything in your post that reflects the information I shared in mine, that people can still enroll if they suffer a job loss even without a special enrollment period. Your post leaves the possible impression that people are not able to enroll except with a special enrollment period. > > People are confused enough about all this stuff, so I wanted to clarify that with my post. That’s all. It’s not a put-down of what you shared. I agree it’s a typical Trump dick move. Yes, and I realized too late that the “but” in my reply made it seem as if I was disagreeing with you. I simply wanted to provide the extra details. The fact that the Administration didn’t reopen the marketplaces, as has been done in the past, allows them to cynically claim that jobless people _can_ get coverage, while knowing that the obstacle of additional, unnecessary paperwork will keep a certain percentage of them from actually getting it, undoubtedly killing some of them. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43898 "2020-04-01T18:28:52Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Sebastian Gorka claims he had the coronavirus back in January. > [‘I had the longest cough’: Ex-Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka claims he had undiagnosed coronavirus in January - Washington Examiner](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/i-had-the-longest-cough-ex-trump-adviser-sebastian-gorka-claims-he-had-undiagnosed-coronavirus-in-january) Sebastian Gorka survived Coronavirus. Checkmake, theists. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43899 "2020-04-01T20:00:24Z")
Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse organization is setting up a field hospital in New York as an adjunct to Mount Sinai Hospital. But the organization is only accepting Christian medical professionals who adhere to the group’s anti-gay beliefs. > **[Group Behind Central Park Coronavirus Tent Hospital Asks Volunteers To...](https://gothamist.com/news/samaritans-purse-franklin-graham-anti-gay-evangelical-central-park)** > > Volunteers are required to agree to a statement of faith in which marriage is defined as "exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female" and the unrighteous are sentenced to "everlasting punishment in hell." Here is the pledge the workers must adhere to: > **[Statement of Faith](https://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/statement-of-faith/)** > > Statement of Faith > > > Samaritan's Purse bases its ministry on the following statement of faith: > > > 1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God revealing the love of God to the world. > 1 Thessalonians... ---
**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:** [April 1, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43900 "2020-04-01T20:51:21Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse organization is setting up a field hospital in New York as an adjunct to Mount Sinai Hospital. But the organization is only accepting Christian medical professionals who adhere to the group’s anti-gay beliefs. > [Group Behind Central Park Coronavirus Tent Hospital Asks Volunteers To Support Anti-Gay Agenda - Gothamist](https://gothamist.com/news/samaritans-purse-franklin-graham-anti-gay-evangelical-central-park) > > Here is the pledge the workers must adhere to: > [The Samaritan’s Purse statement of faith](https://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/statement-of-faith/) Right. I’m sure that’s EXACTLY how Jesus would handle the situation. :smack: Holy fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43901 "2020-04-01T21:07:52Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse organization is setting up a field hospital in New York as an adjunct to Mount Sinai Hospital. But the organization is only accepting Christian medical professionals who adhere to the group’s anti-gay beliefs. > [Group Behind Central Park Coronavirus Tent Hospital Asks Volunteers To Support Anti-Gay Agenda - Gothamist](https://gothamist.com/news/samaritans-purse-franklin-graham-anti-gay-evangelical-central-park) > > Here is the pledge the workers must adhere to: > [The Samaritan’s Purse statement of faith](https://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/statement-of-faith/) Yeah, I was unfamiliar with the organization when I went to volunteer after Hurricane Florence caused so much damage around here in 2018. I found a different organization that would let me help out without forcing me to sign something I found personally offensive. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43902 "2020-04-01T21:10:52Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Right. I’m sure that’s EXACTLY how Jesus would handle the situation. :smack: Holy fuck. If you came from a different planet, and looked at what Jesus taught, and what today’s Christians practice, you’d never think they were on the same team. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43903 "2020-04-01T21:16:40Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Wasn’t sure if this belonged here or in the Trump Clusterfuck thread, but it looks like Moscow Mitch is trying to blame Trump’s mismanagement of the coronavirus outbreak on the impeachment. Yeah, like he would have been right on top of it otherwise. :rolleyes: > [McConnell Blames Impeachment For Trump Admin’s Slow Response To Coronavirus](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/mcconnell-blame-impeachment-trump-administration-slow-response-coronavirus) Update: Trump says Mitch is wrong, “I would have fucked this up just as badly even without impeachment.” [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-response-coronavirus-not-better-without-impeachment-mcconnell](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-response-coronavirus-not-better-without-impeachment-mcconnell) (Obviously I’m paraphrasing. Trump would never admit that he fucked anything up.) ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43904 "2020-04-01T21:20:45Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > If you came from a different planet, and looked at what Jesus taught, and what today’s Christians practice, you’d never think they were on the same team. So true! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43905 "2020-04-01T21:26:52Z")
Hey, I’m from this planet and seems plain as day to me. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43906 "2020-04-01T21:33:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Right. I’m sure that’s EXACTLY how Jesus would handle the situation. :smack: Holy fuck. > [@bobot](#): > > If you came from a different planet, and looked at what Jesus taught, and what today’s Christians practice, you’d never think they were on the same team. [QUOTE=Frederick (Max von Sydow) in “Hannah and her Sisters”] If Jesus came back and saw what’s going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up. [/QUOTE] .. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43907 "2020-04-01T22:19:35Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > If you came from a different planet, and looked at what Jesus taught, and what today’s Christians practice, you’d never think they were on the same team. “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” ― Mahatma Gandhi ---
**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:** [April 1, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/43908 "2020-04-01T22:43:45Z")
I notice there’s not one reference in there to “When I was hungry, you gave me to eat, when I was thirsty, you gave me to drink, when I was sick, you cared for me, when I was naked, clothed me, when in prison, comforted me”. Nor to any of the many other times that Jesus expressed variants on that same theme. I’ll bet that even a lot of atheists wouldn’t have a hard time signing on to that. Instead, there’s some nonsense about there apparently only being one man and one woman in the entire world, without making it clear who the other seven billion are (“Man and woman are unique persons”? Really?). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2194) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2196)