# 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:** 342
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6821 "2012-09-14T01:34:26Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > …Fucking dickhead… Statistics show that 18% of American men are subject to phallocranialism. Strangely, 38% of married women report being married to one. Scientists are baffled. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6822 "2012-09-14T15:16:42Z")
I think there is a separate birther nonsense thread around here somewhere, but: > [@](#): > > \*\*TOPEKA \*\*— Kansas election officials said Thursday that they want more information before deciding whether to remove President Obama from the state’s November ballot. > > The all-Republican State Objections Board heard arguments Thursday on a claim from a Manhattan resident that Obama is not eligible to be president because his father was from Kenya. The resident, Joe Montgomery, also questions whether Obama has a valid birth certificate. > > Read more here: [http://www.kansas.com/2012/09/14/2488381/kansas-board-delays-decision-on.html#storylink=cpy](http://www.kansas.com/2012/09/14/2488381/kansas-board-delays-decision-on.html#storylink=cpy) And everyone’s favorite Attorney General Kris Kobach has taken time off from his busy schedule of immigrant bashing to help determine (yet again) that Obama was born in the US. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6823 "2012-09-14T15:21:25Z")
Not a stupid idea per se, just blatant obnoxiousness from Gov. Mittens: [I plan to poison the well in the debates](http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-romney-debates-obama-things-arent-true-105805916--abc-news-politics.html) ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6824 "2012-09-14T15:30:32Z")
> [@Boggette](#): > > Santorum. Eww. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6825 "2012-09-14T16:06:16Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Not a stupid idea per se, just blatant obnoxiousness from Gov. Mittens: > > [I plan to poison the well in the debates](http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-romney-debates-obama-things-arent-true-105805916--abc-news-politics.html) > [@linked article](#): > > Democrats say Romney’s plan would cause a $2000 tax hike on the middle class - something Romney disputes and points to a number of studies that say his plan to cut taxes will not increase the deficit, including one by Harvard professor Martin Feldstein. > > Feldstein says Romney’s math will work, but he would have to eliminate the home mortgage, charitable, state and local tax deductions for incomes greater than $100,000. > > When I pressed Romney on that point, he conceded that he actually hadn’t read the Feldstein report that he and Paul Ryan cite on the campaign trail. > > “I haven’t seen his precise study,” he said. > > “I said that there are five different studies that point out that we can get to a balanced budget without raising taxes on middle income people. Let me tell you, George, the fundamentals of my tax policy are these. Number one, reduce tax burdens on middle-income people. So no one can say my plan is going to raise taxes on middle-income people, because principle number one is keep the burden down on middle-income taxpayers,” he said. > > Romney defined middle income as $200,000 to $250,000 a year. What an asshole. In the middle of charging that Obama lies, he cites a study that is contrary to his own assertion and then acknowledges that he hasn’t read it. Then he defines middle income as between $200,000 to $250,000 per year? That’s not even close. That’s not even in the realm of reality. Median income is approximately $50,020. This guy is a major league douchebag who can’t even give the impression of being able to relate to the average person. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6826 "2012-09-14T16:13:00Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Then he defines middle income as between $200,000 to $250,000 per year? That’s not even close. That’s not even in the realm of reality. Median income is approximately $50,020. I’m shocked, shocked, that a multimillionaire has no clue what average people make. Completely, royally out of touch. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6827 "2012-09-14T17:17:31Z")
“Literature being handed out at the Values Voter Summit on Friday attacks women for being “immodest” and extolled them to “go home and put some clothes on!”” [http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/09/14/851401/values-voters-women/](http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/09/14/851401/values-voters-women/) "…excerpts: ``` - From the “Modesty: It’s nothing to be ashamed of” pamphlet:“Since men are particularly visual, immodesty in church can trigger lustful thoughts.” “My men’s bible study group talks frequently about controlling our lust, thoughts, and eyes. Yes the problem and responsibility are ours, but is it really reasonable for the women of the church to make it THIS difficult for us?” - From the “True Woman Manifesto”: “All women, whether married of single, are to model femininity in their various relationships, by exhibiting a distinctive modesty, responsiveness, and gentleness of spirit.”" ``` So, are Republicans trying to lose the male vote along with the female vote? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6828 "2012-09-14T17:26:36Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Then he defines middle income as between $200,000 to $250,000 per year? That’s not even close. That’s not even in the realm of reality. Median income is approximately $50,020. **Hentor** , i agree with your politics in general, and i also agree that Romney is an out-of-touch douchebag. But we liberals and leftists shouldn’t sink to Republican and conservative levels of dishonesty in order to make our point. In your last post, you quoted the article linked by **jsc1953** , and in your quoted material you included the following: > [@](#): > > Romney defined middle income as $200,000 to $250,000 a year. This is, i believe, a dishonest representation of what the article says, which is: > [@](#): > > Romney defined middle income as $200,000 to $250,000 a year and less. Those last two words, in my opinion, change quite substantially the thrust of Romney’s point. I still agree that it’s unreflective of reality to include people making a quarter of a million dollars in the definition of “middle income,” but we wasn’t saying that the $200-250K group was in the middle by themselves; he was including people below them as well. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6829 "2012-09-14T17:32:16Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Those last two words, in my opinion, change quite substantially the thrust of Romney’s point. I still agree that it’s unreflective of reality to include people making a quarter of a million dollars in the definition of “middle income,” but we wasn’t saying that the $200-250K group was in the middle by themselves; he was including people below them as well. Under a Romney administration, there will be no poor people in America. Everybody will be middle income and above. Won’t that be nice. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6830 "2012-09-14T17:33:57Z")
Hardly the point. I have the same criticisms of Romney as most people in this thread, but i think that what he says is bad enough without distorting it to make it appear even worse. We’re better than they are. That’s one of the reasons for this thread, and we should try to maintain the standard. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6831 "2012-09-14T17:44:08Z")
I agree with you, **mhendo** , up to a point. **Hentor** did not completely quote Romney’s definition of “middle income”, and it was unfair to the candidate to do so. But Romney’s definition was, itself, incomplete. So middle income starts at $200,000 (to use his own lower figure, in the spirit of fairness) and lower. How much lower, Mr. Romney? Give us a lower bound, in you please; without it, the statement doesn’t mean much. If we’re going to hold message board posters to a standard in how they quote people, let’s hold presidential candidates to a standard for their rhetoric. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6832 "2012-09-14T17:51:52Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > **Hentor** , i agree with your politics in general, and i also agree that Romney is an out-of-touch douchebag. But we liberals and leftists shouldn’t sink to Republican and conservative levels of dishonesty in order to make our point. > > In your last post, you quoted the article linked by **jsc1953** , and in your quoted material you included the following:This is, i believe, a dishonest representation of what the article says, which is:Those last two words, in my opinion, change quite substantially the thrust of Romney’s point. I still agree that it’s unreflective of reality to include people making a quarter of a million dollars in the definition of “middle income,” but we wasn’t saying that the $200-250K group was in the middle by themselves; he was including people below them as well. I did no such fucking thing. [http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-romney-debates-obama-things-arent-true-105805916--abc-news-politics.html](http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-romney-debates-obama-things-arent-true-105805916--abc-news-politics.html) > [@](#): > > (Correction, 11:34 am: A previous version of this article said that Mitt Romney defined middle income as between $200,000 and $250,000 a year. In fact, Romney defined middle income as that salary range “and less.”) ---
**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:** [September 14, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6833 "2012-09-14T18:10:49Z")
While awaiting **mhendo’s** apology for his attack on my character, I thought it would be informative to consider the revised statement of Romney’s estimate of middle income starts at approximately the top **4%** of US household incomes: [http://www.wealthandwant.com/issues/income/income\_distribution.html](http://www.wealthandwant.com/issues/income/income_distribution.html) top 4% - $148,423 and $382,593 (2006) When considering distributions, I know of nobody who would consider the “middle” to be top-bounded at the 96% mark. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6834 "2012-09-14T18:45:09Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I agree with you, **mhendo** , up to a point. **Hentor** did not completely quote Romney’s definition of “middle income”, and it was unfair to the candidate to do so. But Romney’s definition was, itself, incomplete. So middle income starts at $200,000 (to use his own lower figure, in the spirit of fairness) and lower. How much lower, Mr. Romney? Give us a lower bound, in you please; without it, the statement doesn’t mean much. [The question to which he was replying](http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0914/Romney-promises-middle-income-tax-cut-for-people-making-200-000-250-000) puts a $100,000 floor on Romney’s definition of “middle income”: > [@](#): > > George Stephanopoulos asked Romney: “Is $100,000 middle income?” > > “No, middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less,” Romney replied. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6835 "2012-09-14T19:25:59Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > I did no such fucking thing. > > [http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-romney-debates-obama-things-arent-true-105805916--abc-news-politics.html](http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-romney-debates-obama-things-arent-true-105805916--abc-news-politics.html) Fair enough. I did not see the correction. I apologize. The original author was the one who was dishonest. That’s the sort of mistake that they should not make when reporting on a candidate’s comments. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6836 "2012-09-14T19:28:34Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > When considering distributions, I know of nobody who would consider the “middle” to be top-bounded at the 96% mark. I should add that i agree with this completely, as i suggested in my earlier post. The term “middle income” becomes either completely meaningless or, in Romney’s case, nothing more than a dishonest rhetorical device, if it is defined to encompass people in the richest twentieth or twenty-fifth of the population. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6837 "2012-09-14T19:38:20Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Fair enough. I did not see the correction. I apologize. Thank you. If I don’t have a reputation for integrity as an anonymous persona on an internet message board, what do I have? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6838 "2012-09-14T20:04:41Z")
Pizza? ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6839 "2012-09-14T20:13:14Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > “Literature being handed out at the Values Voter Summit on Friday attacks women for being “immodest” and extolled them to “go home and put some clothes on!”” > > [http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/09/14/851401/values-voters-women/](http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/09/14/851401/values-voters-women/) > > "..excerpts: > > ``` > - From the “Modesty: It’s nothing to be ashamed of” pamphlet:“Since men are particularly visual, immodesty in church can trigger lustful thoughts.” > > “My men’s bible study group talks frequently about controlling our lust, thoughts, and eyes. Yes the problem and responsibility are ours, but is it really reasonable for the women of the church to make it THIS difficult for us?” > > - From the “True Woman Manifesto”: “All women, whether married of single, are to model femininity in their various relationships, by exhibiting a distinctive modesty, responsiveness, and gentleness of spirit.”" > > ``` Proof they are the American Taliban. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/6840 "2012-09-14T20:17:37Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > When considering distributions, I know of nobody who would consider the “middle” to be top-bounded at the 96% mark. Bingo. Only someone who was completely out of touch with reality would do so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=341) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=343)