# 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:** 272
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5421 "2012-05-15T23:20:19Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > So, a Republican House Speaker kicks out a Republican legislator…and somehow the Democrats were at fault? I blame me. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5422 "2012-05-15T23:35:17Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > So, a Republican House Speaker kicks out a Republican legislator…and somehow the Democrats were at fault? It’s a classic bully line: “Well, I wouldn’t have had to punch him if he hadn’t been looking all weird and everything. It’s all his fault. Little weirdo.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5423 "2012-05-15T23:44:20Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It’s a classic bully line: > > “Well, I wouldn’t have had to punch him if he hadn’t been looking all weird and everything. It’s all his fault. Little weirdo.” That’s the weird thing, though. A Republican spazzed out at another Republican. The Republicans got all offended and insulted (rightly so, I think). Other than the voting to allow the spaz Republican to make an apology, only Republicans were involved in every step of the way. But for some folks, it’s anathema to criticize their own side. So a random Republican who was not involved in the initial spaz-out made a snarky remark about Democrat partisanship during the voting. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5424 "2012-05-16T01:29:39Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > That’s the weird thing, though. > > A Republican spazzed out at another Republican. The Republicans got all offended and insulted (rightly so, I think). > > Other than the voting to allow the spaz Republican to make an apology, only Republicans were involved in every step of the way. But for some folks, it’s anathema to criticize their own side. So a random Republican who was not involved in the initial spaz-out made a snarky remark about Democrat partisanship during the voting. Get this: he snarked the Democrats because _it was Democratic lawmakers who defended the spazzing-out Republican’s right to say what he said_: > [@](#): > > The House debate over Vaillancourt’s comments elicited strong reactions on both sides of the aisle, with Democrats defending the lawmaker while Republicans described Vaillancourt’s Nazi reference as offensive to the people of the Granite State. […] > > One Democratic member said that Vaillancourt’s statement was only a German phrase. “All he said was victory in German,” the lawmaker said. […] > > New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Wayne McDonald released a statement Tuesday afternoon praising House Speaker William O’Brien’s decision to seek an apology from Vaillancourt and placed blame with Democrats. > > “Especially in the face of such a reprehensible and inappropriate remark, it’s my hope that the House could be united in resolving such an offensive comment,” McDonald said. “Democrats often talk about the sharp partisanship in Concord, and today Rep. [Terie] Norelli’s decision to divide along party lines Speaker O’Brien’s efforts to seek an apology from Rep. Vaillancourt prove once again that it’s her Democrat party that is responsible for the partisanship.” In other words, the Democrats kept their panties sufficiently untwisted to vote against demanding a formal apology from the offending Republican before letting him back in the chamber, and the Republican party chairman decided to try to make that the focus of the outrage. Not “One of our guys acted like a rude aggressive asshole to another one of our guys in a legislative session”. Not “Our guys couldn’t keep proper order in the session they were leading”. But rather “Your guys were insufficiently angry and punitive about our guy being a rude aggressive asshole in a legislative session! You nasty PARTISANS you!!!” ETA: Oh, and get this: > [@](#): > > CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Rep. Steve Vaillancourt is a Republican not a Democrat. Nooooooo comment. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5425 "2012-05-16T03:21:50Z")
[http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside\_track/view/20220515inside\_track\_headline/srvc=home&position=also](http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view/20220515inside_track_headline/srvc=home&position=also) Scott Fitzgerald, Republican - State Senate majority leader in Wisconsin aside from claiming the little woman opposing him in his recall election was the tool of her husband or the unions, decided the Drop Kick Murphys would be good walk up music to use at the state Republican convention. Dropkicks’ main man Ken Casey said: > [@](#): > > “We find it ironic and ridiculous that one of Scott Walker’s cronies is using our song,” Casey told the Track. “We hate everything the guy stands for.” Why an extreme rightwing nut would use music from a truly lefty band is almost beyond comprehension. Try this: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d8sRTWySo4A/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHUBoAC4AOKAgwIABABGFEgZShdMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBHlqAx8IP2NmMca8Jw9sWu1ingCQ "Take 'em Down - Dropkick Murphys") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8sRTWySo4A) Back to Fitz’ comment on his opponent: > **[Senate recall challenge by Compas is giving 'Fitz' fits](https://madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/senate-recall-challenge-by-compas-is-giving-fitz-fits/article_fa31b11e-9c43-11e1-b492-0019bb2963f4.html)** > > Senate Republican leader Scott Fitzgerald didn't expect to be on the campaign trail in May, but then Lori Compas showed up. > [@](#): > > For the record, Fitzgerald said he doesn’t buy Compas’ Pollyanna image. He knows some people are painting the race as a David-vs.-Goliath contest. But Fitzgerald said he thinks her husband is one of the main forces behind her campaign, as well as unions and protest groups. > > “I don’t for one minute believe she is the organizing force behind this whole thing,” he said. > > When told of Fitzgerald’s statement, Compas was audibly stunned. > > “That is pretty insulting, but it does seem in keeping with his general views on women,” she said. “He doesn’t seem to have a lot of respect for them. That’s OK; he can keep underestimating me.” Here is Campas’s brilliant reply: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LO3FWw_XriE/maxresdefault.jpg "Fitzgerald, welcome to the 21st Century") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO3FWw_XriE) ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5426 "2012-05-16T03:41:46Z")
Aw, it was just “Shipping Up To Boston.” I was hoping he’d gone way back into the Dropkicks’ past and went for “Which Side Are You On?” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5427 "2012-05-16T03:55:02Z")
Never forget the first time I heard Reagan use Springsteen’s _Born in the USA_ for inspirational music. Jaw dropped into lap. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5428 "2012-05-16T03:58:50Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > That’s the weird thing, though. > > A Republican spazzed out at another Republican. The Republicans got all offended and insulted (rightly so, I think). > > Other than the voting to allow the spaz Republican to make an apology, only Republicans were involved in every step of the way. But for some folks, it’s anathema to criticize their own side. So a random Republican who was not involved in the initial spaz-out made a snarky remark about Democrat partisanship during the voting. OK, that is truly strange… ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5429 "2012-05-16T04:07:04Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > OK, that is truly strange… I’m wondering if the article got the parties reversed throughout, not just Vaillancourt. Then it would make more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5430 "2012-05-16T04:26:42Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > I’m wondering if the article got the parties reversed throughout, not just Vaillancourt. Then it would make more sense. Well, it’s not as if these guys are difficult to look up. Vaillancourt (the Sieg Heil dude): [Republican](http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/member.aspx?member=376171) O’Brien (the guy who got Sieg Heiled): [Republican](http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/member.aspx?member=376610) Kingsbury (the vet pissed off at the Sieg Heil): [Republican](http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/member.aspx?member=376958) MacDonald (the one angry about partisanship): [Republican](http://www.nhgop.org/pages/detail/107) Norelli (the one blamed for being partisan): [Democrat](http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/member.aspx?member=376154) I suppose it’s possible the actual players reported are wrong, but that’s going a little far, I think. Okay, they kind of were difficult to look up. I had to cross-reference the Wikipedia list with the NH HoR website to make sure the info was accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5431 "2012-05-16T06:08:11Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > OK, that is truly strange… I tried to read between the lines, and this is what I came up with: The Republicans were trying to push through another voter suppression law. This one originally allowed student ID to be used, but a committee had added an amendment further restricting the types of ID allowed. Vaillancourt didn’t like something about what was being done. The article doesn’t go into what it was, but he wanted to talk about the whole committee discussion, not just what they put in their report. The Speaker, O’Brien, forbade him to talk about it, which pissed off Vaillancourt enough to say “Sieg Heil”; from the context, I would guess this was sarcasm, mocking O’Brien as a dictator crushing dissent. Since he wasn’t being a good little lockstep soldier, O’Brien kicked him out. Debate broke out over O’Brien’s action, and over letting Vaillancourt back in. The Democrats came down on Vaillancourt’s side. Ostensibly, they did so on the (not unreasonable) grounds that O’Brien overreacted and violated Vaillancourt’s First Amendment rights; it’s also possible that Vaillancourt was actually on their side, or at least indirectly helping them, in fighting the amendment. I could be completely off-base, of course, but it seems possible that the Republican who yelled “Sieg Heil” was trying to take a principled stand against his own caucus, and got frustrated enough at their obstructionism to express it in a politically foolish way, which they are using to smear him. Oh, and they’re taking a nonsensical swipe at the Democrats out of sheer reflex. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5432 "2012-05-16T07:15:50Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Well, it’s not as if these guys are difficult to look up. > > Vaillancourt (the Sieg Heil dude): [Republican](http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/member.aspx?member=376171) > O’Brien (the guy who got Sieg Heiled): [Republican](http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/member.aspx?member=376610) > Kingsbury (the vet pissed off at the Sieg Heil): [Republican](http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/member.aspx?member=376958) > MacDonald (the one angry about partisanship): [Republican](http://www.nhgop.org/pages/detail/107) > Norelli (the one blamed for being partisan): [Democrat](http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/member.aspx?member=376154) > > I suppose it’s possible the actual players reported are wrong, but that’s going a little far, I think. > > Okay, they kind of were difficult to look up. I had to cross-reference the Wikipedia list with the NH HoR website to make sure the info was accurate. No fair using Google!:mad: ---
**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:** [May 16, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5433 "2012-05-16T14:34:54Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > Who wants to put money on [this woman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nMANMIe0ZZI) being a Democrat? Access to the video appears to have been removed from Youtube. Can anyone post a brief description? ---
**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:** [May 16, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5434 "2012-05-16T14:37:54Z")
While I think the use of the phrase to poke fun at the speaker is amusing, I can’t really blame the other Pubs for kicking him out. I certainly can’t blame anyone for shitting on the Dem who said “he just used a German phrase.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5435 "2012-05-16T14:42:23Z")
> [@waterj2](#): > > Aw, it was just “Shipping Up To Boston.” I was hoping he’d gone way back into the Dropkicks’ past and went for “Which Side Are You On?” Or “Do or Die”. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5436 "2012-05-16T14:53:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > While I think the use of the phrase to poke fun at the speaker is amusing, I can’t really blame the other Pubs for kicking him out. I certainly can’t blame anyone for shitting on the Dem who said “he just used a German phrase.” Yeah, I’d probably want to shit on that Democrat myself. But it ain’t “partisanship” that’s the problem there. It’s just plain old “idiotic to the point of offensiveness.” ---
**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:** [May 16, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5437 "2012-05-16T15:21:17Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Access to the video appears to have been removed from Youtube. Can anyone post a brief description? IIRC that was the (literally) [crazy Nebraska woman](http://www.samesame.com.au/news/international/8405/The-strangest-anti-gay-rant-ever.htm)who went on a creative rant about gay people at a council meeting. The “He just used a german phrase” comment reminds me of Sideshow Bob’s parole hearing where it is revealed he has “Die Bart Die” tattooed on his chest. He claims it’s German, whereupon one person remarks “no one who speaks German could ever be evil”. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5438 "2012-05-16T17:15:32Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Or “Do or Die”. For a Republican candidate, _Barroom Hero_ seems apropos. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5439 "2012-05-16T18:23:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > IIRC that was the (literally) [crazy Nebraska woman](http://www.samesame.com.au/news/international/8405/The-strangest-anti-gay-rant-ever.htm)who went on a creative rant about gay people at a council meeting. Yeesh, it’s like somebody put Sarah Palin, Boomhauer from _King of the Hill_, and the _South Park_ version of Johnnie Cochran and set it on “scramble”. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/5440 "2012-05-16T18:25:00Z")
These are from Thisweek Flipbook (or something like that – I lost the link). > [@](#): > > (1) A Wisconsin man was hospitalized after trying to stop his wife from voting for a Democrat to replace Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Jeffrey Radle, a Walker supporter, jumped in front of wife Amanda’s Dodge Durango to block her from going to the polls to select a recall-vote opponent. He suffered head and back injuries. “These crazy liberal nuts are always pulling this crap,” said Radle’s brother, Mike, also a Walker supporter. > … > (22) In Laurens County, S.C., Republican candidates must henceforth sign a pledge that they did not or will not have sex before marriage, are not gay, and will not watch pornography. The pledge — approved unanimously by the GOP executive committee — contains 24 other moral requirements that chairman Bobby Smith says are “essential to try and protect the party’s reputation.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=271) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=273)