# 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:** 2203
**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:** [April 17, 2020, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44049 "2020-04-17T20:45:42Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I know he’s not an actual doctor, and the guy he was rebutting is. Hence, Stupid and Republican. I won’t defend Dr. Phil, but I do debunk incorrect information. Dr. Phil is in fact a real doctor of psychology, although as was noted earlier, he is no longer licensed to practice. He certainly is not a **medical** doctor, so I don’t know the thinking, other than **It’s Fox News** , as to why they had him on. ---
**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 17, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44050 "2020-04-17T21:44:34Z")
Holy fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44051 "2020-04-17T22:26:48Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Dr. Phil is a psychologist, not an MD, and his license to practice psychology was rescinded in Texas and he isn’t licensed in any other state. Rescinded? There must be a story behind that. ---
**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 17, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44052 "2020-04-17T22:36:05Z")
According to Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > McGraw no longer holds a license to practice psychology of any kind in Texas or any other state in the United States. McGraw has been involved in several controversies which put his license to practice at risk. He was brought up on ethics charges for having an inappropriate non-physical relationship with a patient in Texas in January 1989 and had a formal criminal complaint filed against him in California in 2008 for practicing psychology without a professional license or certification and violating doctor-patient confidentiality in connection with an incident with Britney Spears in 2008. You know, just the usual professional pit-falls involved in psychiatry. ETA: Wiki also says he “voluntarily surrendered” his license in 2006 ---
**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:** [April 18, 2020, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44053 "2020-04-18T01:34:37Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > You know, just the usual professional pit-falls involved in psychiatry. Come on, please do not call him a psychiatrist. He is a _psychologist_ (at least, in the sense that he has a degree). Psychiatrists are actual medical professionals who are licensed to write prescriptions and usually focus on treating physiological maladies. Psychologists are experts at listening to your personal problems and offering you advice on how to go about stopping having them. I mean, for the Cheeto-Faced ShitGibbon, having a psychologist try to deal with his problems would not be a sensible approach, because the patient has to recognize that there is a problem and want to get better. A psychiatrist might be able to help (I would prescribe a regimen involving very large hourly dosage of Thorazine), but really, to make him truly functional (not saying that would necessarily be a good idea), one would probably be best advised to refer him to a neurologist – the clumsier the better. ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44054 "2020-04-18T01:50:40Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Headline says it all: > **After Fauci urged caution in reopening the economy, Fox News turned to Dr. Phil for a second opinion** > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/17/dr-phil-fauci-coronavirus/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/17/dr-phil-fauci-coronavirus/) > > "He acknowledged that the novel [coronavirus](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/28/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus/?tid=lk_inline_manual_4&itid=lk_inline_manual_4) is killing Americans — more than 33,000 as of early Friday — but also wondered why the economy would shut down over the pandemic but continues to function as people die from lung cancer, car crashes and pool drownings. > “We don’t shut the country down for that,” said Dr. Phil, after he cited inaccurate statistics on accidental deaths. “Yet we are doing it for this and the fallout is going to last for years because people’s lives are being destroyed.” Bonus Question: What do lung cancer, car crashes and pool drownings have in common? A: THEY’RE NOT FCKING CONTAGIOUS DISEASES, YOU TROGLODYTE. :mad: If the guy next door is dying of lung cancer, that’s sad, but it’s NOT a threat to my health. ---
**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 18, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44055 "2020-04-18T18:16:01Z")
Ton Cotton and Dan Crenshaw have introduced a bill to allow people to sue China over the Coronavirus. > **[GOP Congressmen Pen Bill to Allow Americans to Sue China Over Coronavirus](https://www.newsweek.com/gop-congressmen-pen-bill-that-would-allow-americans-sue-chinese-government-over-coronavirus-1498720)** > > Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) insist that China is to blame for the massive number of U.S. coronavirus cases, while introducing a bill that would make it easier for Americans to sue China's government for the pandemic on... ---
**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 18, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44056 "2020-04-18T18:19:59Z")
A staffer for the Governor of New Mexico tweeted that people who want to reopen businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic are a “death cult.” The state GOP demanded the staffer apologize. The spokesperson for the Governor tweeted, “The tweet in question does not reference any person, group, or organization specifically by name — if someone seems to think it’s about them, I’d say they’ve placed that upon themselves.” > **[GOP wants apology after gov. spokesman’s ‘death cult’ tweet](https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/coronavirus/gop-wants-apology-after-gov-spokesman-s-death-cult-tweet/article_335f4666-801d-11ea-b849-cb3371e4c3b4.html)** > > The party called the tweet "absurd," "offensive" and "disgusting" and asked for the governor's chief spokesman to apologize. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44057 "2020-04-18T23:19:54Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Ton Cotton and Dan Crenshaw have introduced a bill to allow people to sue China over the Coronavirus. > [GOP Congressmen Pen Bill That Would Allow Americans to Sue Chinese Government Over Coronavirus Pandemic](https://www.newsweek.com/gop-congressmen-pen-bill-that-would-allow-americans-sue-chinese-government-over-coronavirus-1498720) Those idiots seem to be unaware that following their logic, the jackass in the White House should also be sued for the harm caused by the virus in the United States. > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > A staffer for the Governor of New Mexico tweeted that people who want to reopen businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic are a “death cult.” The state GOP demanded the staffer apologize. The spokesperson for the Governor tweeted, “The tweet in question does not reference any person, group, or organization specifically by name — if someone seems to think it’s about them, I’d say they’ve placed that upon themselves.” > [GOP wants apology after gov. spokesman’s ‘death cult’ tweet](https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/coronavirus/gop-wants-apology-after-gov-spokesman-s-death-cult-tweet/article_335f4666-801d-11ea-b849-cb3371e4c3b4.html) I like that the spokesperson operates under the theory of “If you chuck a rock into a pack of wolves, the one who yelps is the one you hit”. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44058 "2020-04-19T02:25:37Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > “The tweet in question does not reference any person, group, or organization specifically by name — if someone seems to think it’s about them, I’d say they’ve placed that upon themselves.” This variety of own goal seems to be a Republican specialty. A while ago, I saw a comic about a woman of colour befriending a neo-Nazi and helping him get out of that life. One of the first responses - ‘so all Republicans are Nazis, huh?’ Literally nothing in the comic suggested he was a Republican, unless you take the Nazi\<=\>Republican equivalence as a given. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44059 "2020-04-19T05:02:18Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Ton Cotton and Dan Crenshaw have introduced a bill to allow people to sue China over the Coronavirus. > [GOP Congressmen Pen Bill That Would Allow Americans to Sue Chinese Government Over Coronavirus Pandemic](https://www.newsweek.com/gop-congressmen-pen-bill-that-would-allow-americans-sue-chinese-government-over-coronavirus-1498720) Does this mean Canadians can sue the US? Lots of our cases come from the States. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44060 "2020-04-19T07:51:09Z")
I think your parliament will have to introduce their own bill on that. ---
**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 20, 2020, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44061 "2020-04-20T02:24:34Z")
Gym Jordan wants investigations into governors who issued shut down orders. > **[On Fox News, Republican Jim Jordan calls for Congress to investigate...](https://www.salon.com/2020/04/19/on-fox-news-republican-jim-jordan-calls-for-congress-to-investigate-governors-who-ordered-shutdowns_partner/)** > > Jim Jordan tells Fox News he wants a congressional investigation into governors for coronavirus shutdown orders ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44062 "2020-04-20T03:30:54Z")
Correct me if I’m wrong but the US Congress doesn’t actually have oversight of governors, right? Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk ---
**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:** [April 20, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44063 "2020-04-20T03:36:47Z")
And you think Trump and his toadies care about–Hell, even know about–that? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44064 "2020-04-20T09:32:20Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong but the US Congress doesn’t actually have oversight of governors, right? Correct. The problem is the last the last time this many States and the Feds were in conflict over who had the authority to do what to whom we wound up with 620,000 dead and a whole lot of people maimed for life. ---
**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:** [April 20, 2020, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44065 "2020-04-20T10:41:33Z")
It turns out that Kellyanne Conway isn’t the only right winger nut who believes the COVID-19 had 18 predecessors. I give you [Rush Limbaugh](https://youtu.be/dRFbwjwQ4VE?t=332). ---
**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:** [April 20, 2020, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44066 "2020-04-20T10:49:18Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > > > Correct me if I’m wrong but the US Congress doesn’t actually have oversight of governors, right? > > Correct. > > The problem is the last the last time this many States and the Feds were in conflict over who had the authority to do what to whom we wound up with 620,000 dead and a whole lot of people maimed for life. I guess having that many Americans, or even more, die is one way to celebrate that heritage. Damn. “People are stupid” is understating the case big time. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44067 "2020-04-20T11:27:29Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > It turns out that Kellyanne Conway isn’t the only right winger nut who believes the COVID-19 had 18 predecessors. I give you [Rush Limbaugh](https://youtu.be/dRFbwjwQ4VE?t=332). “…Shouting into C-3PO’s penis.” _snerk_ ---
**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 20, 2020, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44068 "2020-04-20T12:37:33Z")
Uh, guys, while I’m sure that some people calling for the restrictions to be relaxed are just heartless bastards, some folks calling for that are doing so because they want to save lives. Yes, covid-19 kills people. So do the shutdowns. Overreact, and more people die than if you react the right amount. And you ever notice that the people calling for the extreme measures to fight the virus are never volunteering to be the ones to die from their overreactions? I know that it’s hard to figure out the right amount of reaction. That’s why we have professionals who have been working on that problem for a very long time, and in great detail. Nobody’s listening to them. Like, at the time that Gov. DeWine of Ohio shut down all schools in the state indefinitely, the CDC’s recommendation was to close down a school for three weeks, if there was a diagnosis of a student or staff member. Shutting down one school at a time, for three weeks, when there’s a diagnosis at that school, is very, very different from shutting down all of them, forever, when there were only five diagnoses in the entire state. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2202) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=2204)