# 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:** 40
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/781 "2009-10-21T03:49:57Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I don’t know if this is a very, very stupid Republican idea or some expansive and wicked hoax. People have been receiving [this survey](http://web.campaignsolutions.com/rnc/2009surveycensus/?initiativekey=F5BMW17GUXCG) sent out by [this company](http://www.campaignsolutions.com/homepage.html) in the mail. > > Real push polling or push polling TO THE MAX! Can anybody explain to me exactly (or even approxiamately) what a poll like this proves, how the information will be used and if anybody with an IQ over 35 would give any credence to the results? I know what it hopes to achieve - but by doing it as a poll, they hope to use the results somehow right? Anybody using these results to support an argument or make any decisisons may as well go looking for a gas leak with a candle… ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/782 "2009-10-21T03:59:57Z")
It’s not a push poll. It’s a fundraising effort. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/783 "2009-10-21T04:04:12Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > It’s not a push poll. It’s a fundraising effort. I have to agree. The Republican party’s branding is up front and very clear. The most deceptive thing I can see that they can do with this is to trumpet “X% of Americans think Y!” The polled themselves certainly aren’t being deceived. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/784 "2009-10-21T05:11:10Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > > [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > > > It’s not a push poll. It’s a fundraising effort. > > I have to agree. The Republican party’s branding is up front and very clear. The most deceptive thing I can see that they can do with this is to trumpet “X% of Americans think Y!” The polled themselves certainly aren’t being deceived. And I have a feeling that the object of the “poll” is not so much to measure public opinion as to raise the potential donor’s FUD level to the point that he/she digs that much deeper into his/her dwindling resources in order to help stave off the SocialistCommunistLiberalFascist Apocalypse that looms on the horizon. . . . ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/785 "2009-10-21T05:12:15Z")
Welp. “Michael Steele” just responded. Selected “No” on every question, with the exception of the ones about whether he voted in the last three elections. He punted on the Registration Number and voting District Code (selected plausible-looking character strings from the last bit in the address bar: /?initiativekey= **F5BMW17GUXCG** ), so it might not make it through the verification process. Oh, and his address appears to be at some state University in Maryland. ETA: He also declined to make a donation to the RNC. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/786 "2009-10-21T05:24:25Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Welp. “Michael Steele” just responded. > > Selected “No” on every question, with the exception of the ones about whether he voted in the last three elections. > > He punted on the Registration Number and voting District Code (selected plausible-looking character strings from the last bit in the address bar: /?initiativekey= **F5BMW17GUXCG** ), so it might not make it through the verification process. > > Oh, and his address appears to be at some state University in Maryland. > > ETA: He also declined to make a donation to the RNC. Hmmm… I see that if you make a donation, you get to see the results. I wonder if they track ip or similiar. It would be quite fun to do a “google bomb” type experiment on them and see just how far the results could be skewed by a populace like those here (everybody posting replies for an hour solid has gotta a good number of responses right?) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/787 "2009-10-21T05:44:27Z")
New poll: [3/4 of Republicans don’t believe that Obama loves America](http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/new-poll-48-of-republicans-say-obama-does-not-love-america----27-say-he-does.php). :sigh: ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/788 "2009-10-21T13:43:46Z")
My submission today is S.C Republican Party County Chairmen Edwin Merwin (Bamberg County) and James Ulmer (Orangeburg), wrote in a letter to the editor of The Times and Democrat (the Orangeburg, SC paper) that Senator James DeMint was like a Jew “watching our nation’s pennies.” I mentioned this to my wife yesterday. She, not believing that someone could be so dumb, thought that maybe they were going for some obscure biblical reference. Yeah - They could only wish. They went straight for the offensive stereotype. [QUOTE=The letter] There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves. By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation’s pennies and trying to preserve our country’s wealth and our economy’s viability to give all an opportunity to succeed. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/789 "2009-10-21T13:49:33Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > My submission today is S.C Republican Party County Chairmen Edwin Merwin (Bamberg County) and James Ulmer (Orangeburg), wrote in a letter to the editor of The Times and Democrat (the Orangeburg, SC paper) that Senator James DeMint was like a Jew “watching our nation’s pennies.” > > I mentioned this to my wife yesterday. She, not believing that someone could be so dumb, thought that maybe they were going for some obscure biblical reference. Yeah - They could only wish. They went straight for the offensive stereotype. I don’t understand how that’s an offensive stereotype. Isn’t frugality and financial planning a good thing? And doesn’t the letter suggest Jews are good? Do you mean it’s offensive because it suggests non-Jews are inferior? Because, I mean… they just are. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/790 "2009-10-21T13:54:20Z")
**Eternal** , From the executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition: > [@](#): > > They “apparently believed that the image of the Jew as penny-pincher was a praise of Jewish frugality,” Matthew Brooks said. “In fact, it dates back to the centuries of anti-Jewish persecution in Europe, when Jews were forbidden to own land or conduct any business other than money-lending, which was closed to Christians by Church law. It is an image of a kind and of a time with forcing Jews to wear a badge on their clothing or enclosing them in ghettos, cutting them off from religious, social, and economic freedom.” ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/791 "2009-10-21T13:57:25Z")
**Maus Magill** , there’s some tough competition today for stupidity. From [Gregg Harper](http://www.politico.com/click/stories/0910/get_to_know_a_congressman4.html)(R-MS), in reference to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus: > [@](#): > > **What in the world does the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus do?** > > We hunt liberal, tree-hugging Democrats, although it does seem like a waste of good ammunition. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/792 "2009-10-21T14:04:17Z")
> [@C3](#): > > **Eternal** , > > From the executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition: So the Republican Jewish Coalition said that, which means he’s wrong and I’m right? Or is he right because he’s a Jew and jews are superior? In which case I agree with you and him because that is true. I still don’t see how it’s offensive. I thought you were supposed to hate Republicans, not be offended by them. ---
**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 21, 2009, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/793 "2009-10-21T14:06:06Z")
He also took John Grisham over William Faulkner. Yeah, people will be flocking to see _his_ birthplace one day. > [@](#): > > I don’t understand how that’s an offensive stereotype. Isn’t frugality and financial planning a good thing? And doesn’t the letter suggest Jews are good? Do you mean it’s offensive because it suggests non-Jews are inferior? Because, I mean… they just are. One, it’s not necessarily a _good_ stereotype; one man’s sound financial planner is another man’s skinflint. Anyway, racial stereotypes are always offensive, regardless of whether or not they’re “good ones”. Ask a Southeast Asian guy if he likes it when people assume he knows calculus. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/794 "2009-10-21T14:12:47Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > He also took John Grisham over William Faulkner. Yeah, people will be flocking to see _his_ birthplace one day. > > One, it’s not necessarily a _good_ stereotype; one man’s sound financial planner is another man’s skinflint. Anyway, racial stereotypes are always offensive, regardless of whether or not they’re “good ones”. > > Ask a Southeast Asian guy if he likes it when people assume he knows calculus. Until I see some proof you’re Jewish or not a Republican, I can’t take your word on any of this. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/795 "2009-10-21T14:14:27Z")
> [@Eternal](#): > > So the Republican Jewish Coalition said that, which means he’s wrong and I’m right? Or is he right because he’s a Jew and jews are superior? In which case I agree with you and him because that is true. > > I still don’t see how it’s offensive. I thought you were supposed to hate Republicans, not be offended by them. The executive director of the RJC is right because historical facts are on his side - the tightfistedness of Jews is an offensive stereotype born of medieval persecution. It’s rarely seen as a complimentary personality trait, and using it as such is not considered in the best of taste. _ETA: Bah._ ---
**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 21, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/796 "2009-10-21T14:30:48Z")
> [@Eternal](#): > > Until I see some proof you’re Jewish or not a Republican, I can’t take your word on any of this. You want me to prove I’m not a Republican before you’ll accept my contention that something a Republican said was offensive? Er… okay. See my posting history. I think that ought to spell it out fairly clearly. I’m not Jewish, incidentally, though I fail to see what that has to do with anything either. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/797 "2009-10-21T14:52:30Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > My submission today is S.C Republican Party County Chairmen Edwin Merwin (Bamberg County) and James Ulmer (Orangeburg), wrote in a letter to the editor of The Times and Democrat (the Orangeburg, SC paper) that Senator James DeMint was like a Jew “watching our nation’s pennies.” > > I mentioned this to my wife yesterday. She, not believing that someone could be so dumb, thought that maybe they were going for some obscure biblical reference. Yeah - They could only wish. They went straight for the offensive stereotype. This sounded so crazy I went to the online website and looked, and sweet Jews for Jesus, there was the proof. And now they’ve written apology letters. One just kind of apologizes and shuts up, and the other dumber one talks about hearing it as a child and meaning it as a compliment, etc. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/798 "2009-10-21T16:29:31Z")
[PA Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R)](http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/20/climate-traitors/): > [@](#): > > “As a veteran, I believe that any veteran lending their name, to promote the leftist propaganda of global warming and climate change, in an effort to control more of the wealth created in our economy, through cap and tax type policies, all in the name of national security, is a traitor to the oath he or she took to defend the Constitution of our great nation!” Mr. Metcalfe’s email reads. “Remember Benedict Arnold before giving credibility to a veteran who uses their service as a means to promote a leftist agenda. Drill Baby Drill!!!” ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/799 "2009-10-21T16:36:31Z")
> [@Eternal](#): > > I don’t understand how that’s an offensive stereotype. Isn’t frugality and financial planning a good thing? That’s an excellent point. Like, I was just pointing out to some black people how I’m like blacks because I’ve got rhythm, and you’d think I’d said something offensive! I mean, having rhythm’s a good thing, right? ---
**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 21, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/800 "2009-10-21T16:39:16Z")
Representative Metcalfe may be descended from the apes like the rest of us, but clearly his evolutionary curve was a gentle one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=41)