# 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:** 319
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6361 "2012-08-13T12:24:46Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Ryan proposed a lot of bills in his Congressional career but virtually all of them were never enacted into law. His most important piece of actual legislation was lowering the federal tax on arrows. I thought you might have been referring to this when you used the word aquiver. No, I had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6362 "2012-08-13T13:27:53Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If I’m understanding this correctly, I have to think Ryan was making a valid argument. > > The Bush plan apparently was trying to reform welfare by pushing states get people on welfare into jobs. They established a percentage reduction as an easy metric to see if states were doing this. (Let’s put aside for the moment the argument over whether this reform was a good idea.) > > Ryan’s argument appears to be that Wisconsin had already made these reforms - it had found jobs for people on welfare and reduced its welfare rolls. But the Bush proposal didn’t differentiate between states that had reformed their welfare systems and those that hadn’t - it required all states to reduce their current numbers, regardless of what those current numbers were. Ryan’s proposal was that the states that had already reduced their numbers before Bush made his proposal should get credit for those reductions. Which I feel is reasonable. Point of information, please – I really don’t know the answer, and it will affect my ability to disparage Ryan or perhaps grudgingly accede the point to him. Do we know that Wisconsin had found jobs for people on welfare and thus reduced its welfare rolls? Or did Wisconsin just reduce its welfare rolls through other means, like perhaps changing eligibility requirements or something? The cite says only “Wisconsin had the third-biggest caseload drop between 1995 and 2001 — 76%.” Same for the other states in similar circumstance. I can think of a host of causes for a caseload drop that have little or nothing to do with finding jobs. I’d like to know what the actual situation was. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6363 "2012-08-13T14:43:19Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > I was just kinda shocked (not really sure why, though, considering the source) at how many times Ann Coulter called single moms ‘stupid’ here: > > "“I think it’s probably a good sign that Obama is so desperate just to get the base Democratic voter — stupid single women — to vote for him,” Coulter told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday. “This is good news that he needs to lock up that part of the Democratic vote.” > > “He’s trying to get the stupid single women voter, which is the Democratic Party base,” Coulter repeated. “And I would just say to stupid single women voters, your husband will not be able to pay you child support if Obamacare goes through and Obama is re-elected. You are talking about the total destruction of wealth. It is the end of America as we know it.” > > “Great, you will get free contraception; you won’t have to pay a $10 co-pay, but it will be the end of America. Think about that!” > > Read more: [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/09/coulter-obamas-base-is-stupid-single-women/?#ixzz23Pwa753P](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/09/coulter-obamas-base-is-stupid-single-women/?#ixzz23Pwa753P) Ann Coulter is correct. Under Obamacare, 100% of single women will not have husbands that pay for child support. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6364 "2012-08-13T15:09:40Z")
Can’t they just change their Facebook status to “Its complicated”? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6365 "2012-08-13T15:12:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Ryan is saying Obama’s plan would give states waivers even if they did not put people on welfare into jobs. Which is a lie. And the point. He has to lie about President Obama’s plan in order to make it appear as if he’s eliminating the work obligation when in fact he’s **increasing it** , just as Wisconsin had done when Ryan inserted _his_ waivers into the welfare reauthorization bill. > [@](#): > > Former GOP aide Haskins said the Obama administration was wrong to roll out its waiver plan without first getting the advice and consent of congressional Republicans. But he added, “There is merit to what the administration is proposing, and I don’t see how you can get to the conclusion that the waiver provision undermines welfare reform and it eliminates the work requirement.” > > It’s not a blanket waiver because states would have to apply one at time for exemptions from certain requirements of the welfare-to-work law. **And states must show their plans would move at least 20 percent more people to work.** > > Read more: [http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x1602171124/FOCUS-Obama-s-welfare-waiver-Gutting-rules-or-tweaking#ixzz23RIEVn4o](http://www.heraldnews.com/news/x1602171124/FOCUS-Obama-s-welfare-waiver-Gutting-rules-or-tweaking#ixzz23RIEVn4o) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6366 "2012-08-13T15:32:26Z")
So, people go on welfare because they don’t have jobs. Then, they are required to get jobs to keep getting welfare? Or the state will assign them work, but won’t pay them for this work, because they are on welfare? So, the plan then is to fire public sector workers and rid ourselves of their greedy unions, and then have the work done by fired public sector workers on welfare? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6367 "2012-08-13T16:31:32Z")
It means that when you try to pay for gas, you will have to wait behind the person who is asking for a receipt for the job application he just handed in, who in turn had to wait behind the person who was playing lottery tickets. ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6368 "2012-08-13T16:32:10Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > So, the plan then is to fire public sector workers and rid ourselves of their greedy unions, and then have the work done by fired public sector workers on welfare? Indentured servitude is such an ugly phrase…but the economic benefits\* are undeniable! \*: to those who are worthy, of course ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6369 "2012-08-13T16:35:56Z")
Austerity! That’s what we need here, some good old fashioned Calvinist austerity! Some noose-tightening would be good for the pampered poor! \* Belt\* tightening, I mean. Slip of the knot. Tongue, slip of the _tongue_. Anyway, austerity!.. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6370 "2012-08-13T16:41:31Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > I was just kinda shocked (not really sure why, though, considering the source) at how many times Ann Coulter called single moms ‘stupid’ here… Anyone consulted Laura Ingraham for her opinion? Also, there was a similar scheme in the UK from the Conservative party, which didn’t fare [too well](http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/feb/18/tesco-jobless-scheme-work-experience). ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6371 "2012-08-13T22:42:05Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > “Great, you will get free contraception; you won’t have to pay a $10 co-pay, but it will be the end of America. Think about that!” I had to reread this twice to figure out that she’s claiming ObamaCare would be the end of America. This is a brilliant tactic. I’m going to use this from now on.[sup]\*[/sup] I’m going to take boring least-we-could-have-done moderate bills and characterize them as. “THE END OF AMERICA!” Yeah, sure, you get to pay a lower tax on arrows, and that sounds great, but it’s the end of America! Hey, it’s what Ronnie Reagan would do.[sup]\*\*[/sup] [sup]\*[/sup] I’m really not. [sup]\*\*[/sup] It is, and he did. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6372 "2012-08-14T02:22:39Z")
John Boehner accused Obama of blaming everyone but himself for the drought. [http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/boehners-office-says-president-avoiding-personal-responsibility-for?ref=fpb](http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/boehners-office-says-president-avoiding-personal-responsibility-for?ref=fpb) He has subsequently revised his website to remove the charge. What was he supposed to do, a rain dance? ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6373 "2012-08-14T02:31:06Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > What was he supposed to do, a rain dance? Duh. Messiah. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6374 "2012-08-14T03:23:06Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Duh. > > Messiah. No, no no. That’s the [Jesus and Mary Chain](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5x1F9ohRa4). Silly Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6375 "2012-08-14T04:24:41Z")
I know what would end this drought, elimination of the capital gains tax. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6376 "2012-08-14T04:51:16Z")
Wait, I thought praying for rain was Rick Perry’s job? ---
**Author:** ![Baboonanza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f475e1/32.png) [@Baboonanza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baboonanza)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6377 "2012-08-14T09:34:42Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > John Boehner accused Obama of blaming everyone but himself for the drought. > > [http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/boehners-office-says-president-avoiding-personal-responsibility-for?ref=fpb](http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/boehners-office-says-president-avoiding-personal-responsibility-for?ref=fpb) > > He has subsequently revised his website to remove the charge. > > What was he supposed to do, a rain dance? Perhaps the drought is God’s repayment for being ignorant hypocritical assholes? Or does He only get credit for the good stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6378 "2012-08-14T10:52:02Z")
[Less a stupid idea than a WTF idea;](http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/08/13/685441/rick-perry-breaks-with-the-nra-and-the-supreme-court-suggests-states-should-be-allowed-to-ban-guns/) [QUOTE=Rick Perry] When it gets back to this issue of taking guns away from law abiding citizens and somehow know this will make our country safer, I don’t agree with that. I think most people in Texas don’t agree with that, and that is a state by state issue frankly that should be decided in the states and not again a rush to Washington, D.C. to centralize the decision making, and them to decide what is in the best interest for the citizens and the people of Florida and Texas. That’s for the people of these states to decide. [/QUOTE] I can’t begin to imagine the epic shitstorm that would emerge if a Democrat said states should have the power to “take guns away from law-abiding citizens”. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6379 "2012-08-14T13:15:09Z")
> [@Mekhazzio](#): > > Indentured servitude is such an ugly phrase…but the economic benefits\* are undeniable! > > \*: to those who are worthy, of course Gotta compete with those Chinese sweatshops, man. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6380 "2012-08-14T14:22:10Z")
Romney picks running mate who would lower his taxes: > [@](#): > > [Classwarfareexists.com](http://www.classwarfareexists.com/paul-ryans-tax-plan-would-cut-romneys-taxes-to-less-than-1/#ixzz23TTQm51i) > > And under Paul Ryan’s conservative tax plan … Mitt Romney would pay .82% in taxes. That’s less than 1% That’s right: less than one percent. Listen to me, Mittens. You know what you are? You’re a greedy little shit with too much money. That’s all you are. You know what you aren’t? You aren’t Albert Einstein expanding our understanding of the universe. You aren’t Dr. Paul Offit curing rotavirus in third world countries. You aren’t Isaac Newton or that Nobel prize winner in Burma bravely confronting the world’s worst government. You’re not a parent coping with a child with cystic fibrosis or the guy who wrote this year’s Pulitzer prize winning expose. You’re not the firefighter pulling the guy out of the burning building or the first grade teacher in the disadvantaged schools trying to teach little kids to read. You’re just a greedy little shit. So drop the fucking pretense. I am sick and tired of hearing people like yourself demanding to be worshipped by ordinary people and accorded a special place in the tax code. There are millions of others who serve this country and this world far more than you ever will. Stop throwing a temper tantrum, grow the fucking hell up and pay your fair share of taxes like the rest of us. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=318) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=320)