# 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:** 359
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7161 "2012-10-09T13:50:52Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > I dislike Ryan, I think he’s a sleezy, out of touch, big business whore, but I’m not faulting him for that one bit. The interviewer was confrontational and the question that ended it was not to get information at all, but rather to try to score some kind of political point. That whole thing is on the interviewer, not on Ryan. Totally agree. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7162 "2012-10-09T14:01:15Z")
I think that the interviewer could have phrased it better, but it’s not exactly a gotcha ya question. It takes money to enforce laws. A trivial amount of money compared to the budget, sure, but many people suggest trivial budget cuts in the name of austerity. ETA: Especially if Ryan has previously come out in favor of massively cutting back on non-old-people non-medical non-defense programs. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7163 "2012-10-09T14:09:15Z")
Going back to the rebellious child thing, I wonder if there is a way we could use this to keep abortion legal in a new American theocracy… In all seriousness, how can this person be termed pro life? ---
**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:** [October 9, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7164 "2012-10-09T14:15:12Z")
Well, if you’ve ever been stuck on a transatlantic flight with a screaming child… ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7165 "2012-10-09T14:18:45Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > In all seriousness, how can this person be termed pro life? The same way we get things like The “Patriot” Act. Frankluntzification… ---
**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:** [October 9, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7166 "2012-10-09T15:04:58Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > Hey, once born, sanctity of life means nothing. Once they got that original sin all over them, they’re fair game. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7167 "2012-10-09T16:32:46Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > It would be an incentive to run away from home! > > Who said anything about the rebellious son being a gluttonous drunkard? Sounds like Mom and Dad tacked that on at the last minute! Hey! solution to the childhood obesity epidemic. Just kill all the fat kids. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7168 "2012-10-09T17:07:07Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, if you’ve ever been stuck on a transatlantic flight with a screaming child… …you’d want to open a window, too. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7169 "2012-10-09T17:29:20Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Hey! solution to the childhood obesity epidemic. Just kill all the fat kids. Eat them and solve the hunger epidemic too. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7170 "2012-10-09T18:07:31Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > Eat them and solve the hunger epidemic too. I find your proposal, though modest, intriguing, and would like to subscribe to your broadsheet. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7171 "2012-10-09T18:30:43Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > I find your proposal, though modest, intriguing, and would like to subscribe to your broadsheet. Dear Reader is far too swift for me to be able to claim credit for the idea. The essay actually written by another does contain, I believe, a Paul Ryan\* mention. > [@](#): > > I have been assured by a very knowing American\* of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout. Not only delicious, nourishing, and wholesome but also terrific for maintaining washboard abs. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7172 "2012-10-09T18:49:24Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > Not only delicious, nourishing, and wholesome but also terrific for maintaining washboard abs. And hedges and driveways, too! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7173 "2012-10-09T21:47:48Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Once they got that original sin all over them, they’re fair game. Solution! Original Sin begins at conception! A winner! ---
**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:** [October 9, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7174 "2012-10-09T22:22:38Z")
[More from the Arkansas state house.](http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/10/09/975021/arkansas-state-rep-if-slavery-were-so-god-awful-why-didnt-jesus-or-paul-condemn-it/) > [@](#): > > If slavery were so God-awful, why didn’t Jesus or Paul condemn it, why was it in the Constitution and why wasn’t there a war before 1861? ---
**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:** [October 9, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7175 "2012-10-09T22:43:08Z")
Hat tip to Arkansas from Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7176 "2012-10-09T23:02:36Z")
“…while the bottle of vodka looked full it had been diluted to a homeopathic extent.” Nice turn of phrase, **Dropzone**! Ryan was right, it was a bullshit question. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7177 "2012-10-10T00:30:58Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > [The Maine GOP shows it skill at digging up Democrats’ deep dark secrets:](http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ingame/republicans-out-democrat-world-warcraft-witch-hunt-6283586) > [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Apparently the Maine GOP attack site is returning on-and-off “site unreachable” errors. Must be hackers. Or an overflow of point-and-laugh traffic. 😛 They’re still up. Either I got lucky or they’ve taken steps. Colleen is being gracious about the whole thing. Most of her response is pointing out how off topic the attack is and educating people about gaming. Since she’s a publically funded candidate, she can’t accept donations, but she lists three ways to help her campaign here: [http://www.colleenlachowicz.com/?p=114](http://www.colleenlachowicz.com/?p=114) The third way to help is to request that her race be declared one of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee’s 2012 Essential Races. The race is Maine State Senate District 25, if you’re interested. They will, of course, ask for a donation to the committee. Personally, I’d like to donate to a Someone Is Being Stupid On The Internet ad committee. If they sell t-shirts, perhaps Plognark would allow them to use [The Image](http://www.plognark.com/?q=node/1129). ---
**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:** [October 10, 2012, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7178 "2012-10-10T11:04:05Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > Ryan was right, it was a bullshit question. How so? It seems to me that it was a legitimate question about how he intends to reconcile his social agenda with his fiscal agenda. That he responded by throwing a tantrum and calling off the interview suggests that he can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7179 "2012-10-10T11:56:48Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > How so? > > It seems to me that it was a legitimate question about how he intends to reconcile his social agenda with his fiscal agenda. That he responded by throwing a tantrum and calling off the interview suggests that he can’t. There is no way asking “and we can do all that by cutting taxes” is, in any way shape or form, a legitimate question about “reconciling his social agenda and his fiscal agenda”. It was a bullshit question, meant only to score a political point, and had nothing to do with Ryan’s response to the previous question. Ryan gave a long, detailed response on how he (naively) wants to solve the problem of crime in the inner cities, and the interviewer comes back with an off topic, plainly dumb, question that ignored the great majority of what Ryan said, and instead was just a shot at his stance on taxes. The interviewer ignored all that Ryan said and went for a cheap potshot instead of an actual question meant to garner a response. I would have walked out of the interview too. Now, stop making me defend Ryan. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2012, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/7180 "2012-10-10T12:29:45Z")
Given that his stance on taxes appears to be directly at odds with his stance on inner city crime, I fail to see how asking him to justify the one in the context of the other is “bullshit”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=358) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=360)