# 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:** 471
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9401 "2013-05-02T14:52:27Z")
> [@Running\_with\_Scissors](#): > > Did you even read any part of this thread (hint: see #9312)? It’s a new twist. She was on a radio show explaining why she thought it was black ops - the victim with his legs blown off was not in shock or in pain. Now, much of the state knows who the victim is from local media – he worked in NH and his father lives in Concord, about 20 miles from her district. So now she’s going to have to come up with more bizarre theories to explain the existence of this double amputee that everyone knows about, or issue a public “I was Just Asking Questions” non-apology in a hurry. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9402 "2013-05-02T22:02:50Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Michele Bachmann: "And so it reminds me of the Shakespeare line: ‘Thou protestest too much.’ " “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Hamlet. At least your Elizabethan grammar was correct! My favorite gasper was “Canst it be? A demon trys to rescueth me!” Ouch! ---
**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:** [May 3, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9403 "2013-05-03T14:00:35Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Hamlet. > > At least your Elizabethan grammar was correct! My favorite gasper was “Canst it be? A demon trys to rescueth me!” Ouch! My grammar? Just to be clear, that was a quote from Michele Bachmann. I was making fun of her for botching the line. ETA: Although I do have to admit that I misremembered the play that it was from. And I also have come to take it to mean something other than it originally did. The shame of it all. ---
**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 3, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9404 "2013-05-03T14:13:51Z")
IME, it’s mostly used nowadays to say, “that bitch wants it,” which is a significant departure from the original meaning. Gertrude was using the word _protest_ to mean _promise_. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9405 "2013-05-03T14:27:12Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > IME, it’s mostly used nowadays to say, “that bitch wants it,” which is a significant departure from the original meaning. Is this a joke? This is a joke, right? I’ve _never_ heard it or taken it to mean that. I was taking it to mean something like “To overstate one’s protests of innocence to such a degree that one’s guilt is actually suggested.” Because of this, I was falsely recalling it as coming from MacBeth. ---
**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 3, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9406 "2013-05-03T14:34:11Z")
Yes, that’s sort of the same thing. “No, I’m not interested in you”, “stop bothering me” = playing hard to get. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9407 "2013-05-03T14:52:51Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yes, that’s sort of the same thing. “No, I’m not interested in you”, “stop bothering me” = playing hard to get. No, it’s not at all the same thing. The connotation I am talking about has nothing to do with sexual behavior, and can be applied equally to either gender. As the Wiki page on the quote says: "The phrase has come to mean that one can “insist so passionately about something not being true that people suspect the opposite of what one is saying.” Applying this to the issue of sexual behavior and sex shaming is a pretty specific and unusual application of the phrase, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9408 "2013-05-03T15:03:42Z")
Lamar Smith wants any research done using federal funds to be reviewed and approved by the House and Senate committees on science and technology, and if they don’t like the research, [they can take it away from the scientists and dispose of it as they see fit](http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/02/republican-congressman-introduces-bill-to-require-political-approval-of-scientific-papers/). ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9409 "2013-05-03T15:54:39Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Lamar Smith wants any research done using federal funds to be reviewed and approved by the House and Senate committees on science and technology, and if they don’t like the research, [they can take it away from the scientists and dispose of it as they see fit](http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/02/republican-congressman-introduces-bill-to-require-political-approval-of-scientific-papers/). Oh, let me guess before I read it - he’s from Arizona, Texas, or Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9410 "2013-05-03T15:58:15Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > Oh, let me guess before I read it - Arizona, Texas, or Kansas. Texas! Where they think if they don’t like the US government, they can just declare independence for a while ---
**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:** [May 3, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9411 "2013-05-03T16:29:29Z")
Add [North Carolina](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/opinion/collins-cooling-on-warming.html?hp&_r=1&) to the list: > [@](#): > > When it comes to rising-sea-level denial, the champion may be North Carolina, where the Legislature has voted to base state coastal management policy on historic trends rather than anything the current experts have to say. “This means that even though North Carolina scientists predict 39 inches of sea-level rise within the century, North Carolina, by its own law, is only allowed to prepare for 8. King Canute would be so proud,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island in a recent speech. I won’t be surprised when they hold out their hands for federal flood relief funding. ---
**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 3, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9412 "2013-05-03T16:54:41Z")
I will be surprised, but delighted, when the federal government only gives them $8,000 based on how much it cost to repair flood damage in 1877. ---
**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 3, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9413 "2013-05-03T19:46:06Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Add [North Carolina](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/opinion/collins-cooling-on-warming.html?hp&_r=1&) to the list: > > I won’t be surprised when they hold out their hands for federal flood relief funding. Virginia did something similar. We discussed them last summer. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15160729&postcount=5663](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15160729&postcount=5663) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15162134&postcount=5666](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15162134&postcount=5666) The willful blindness to facts is mind boggling. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9414 "2013-05-03T20:03:11Z")
Well, admittedly, whether the sea level change follows historical trend or really recent historical trend is less certain in the scientific world than the simple greenhouse effect. [The historical trend for sea levels has already been rising](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trends_in_global_average_absolute_sea_level,_1870-2008_%28US_EPA%29.png), and it’s hard to say the trend for the next hundred years will follow a particular model that someone has blessed. Still, to base the future on the rosier sea level picture rather than the one that seems more plausible - more melted ice from the land equals more stuff in the ocean - is pretty blockheaded. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9415 "2013-05-03T20:06:50Z")
The Republican solution would be to invest in property about a half a mile to a mile from the shoreline, it will be beachfront real estate before long. Profit! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9416 "2013-05-04T01:37:09Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > My grammar? Just to be clear, that was a quote from Michele Bachmann. I was making fun of her for botching the line. > > ETA: Although I do have to admit that I misremembered the play that it was from. And I also have come to take it to mean something other than it originally did. The shame of it all. OOPS! My embarrassment; I didn’t realize you were quoting her misquotation. Apologies. Well, fair is fair, then: credit to her for getting the grammar right, even if the quote isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9417 "2013-05-04T06:30:07Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Lamar Smith wants any research done using federal funds to be reviewed and approved by the House and Senate committees on science and technology, and if they don’t like the research, [they can take it away from the scientists and dispose of it as they see fit](http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/02/republican-congressman-introduces-bill-to-require-political-approval-of-scientific-papers/). “We had to destroy science in order to save it.” ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9418 "2013-05-04T12:43:48Z")
The problem with Smith’s bill (ok, one of the problems) is that there are some real dimwits on Congress’ science and tech committees. Some of them don’t even believe in evolution. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9419 "2013-05-04T22:45:54Z")
It’s worse then that. What I read between the lines here is to defund any research which involves anthropomorphic global warming and any other “inconvenient truths” Congressman Lamar Smith believes that there is an ideological component to “science” and he wishes to slant that viewpoint more conducive to his worldview along with his cronies. As for the consequences of implementing his world view, “[Lysenkoism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism)” and “[Jewish Physics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Physik)” come to mind. Sadly, I no longer view this thread as “Stupid Republican Idea of the Day”; rather “Cultic,” “Depraved,” and 'Nihilistic" seem much more fitting, but I can’t make it sound snappy enough for a thread title. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/9420 "2013-05-04T23:00:54Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > anthropomorphic global warming Nitpick: anthropogenic global warming. Anthropomorphic global warming would say that global warming was caused by the Heat Miser 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=470) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=472)