# 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:** 604
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12061 "2013-12-15T02:05:36Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > **Rick Santorum: Government-Provided Health Care Is A Plot To Kill People Who Don’t Vote The Right Way** > > [http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/14/3066251/rick-santorum-government-provided-health-care-plot-kill-people-vote/](http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/14/3066251/rick-santorum-government-provided-health-care-plot-kill-people-vote/) > > So fighting against the Healthcare Act is no longer like fighting against apartheid, it’s more like fighting against soylent green. Funniest thing about that article is how [thinkprogress.org](http://thinkprogress.org) carefully lays out the evidence that Santorum is mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12062 "2013-12-15T03:33:10Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > So fighting against the Healthcare Act is no longer like fighting against apartheid, it’s more like fighting against soylent green. Soylent Green is **soybeans!** Tell the – get your hands off me – tell the world! Soylent Green is **soybeans!** ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12063 "2013-12-15T11:58:56Z")
This thread is so long, we need a Doper with great patience to compile a highlights reel. I nominate Santorum’s speech for the Top Ten Stupidest List: > [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > **Rick Santorum: Government-Provided Health Care Is A Plot To Kill People Who Don’t Vote The Right Way** > > [http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/14/3066251/rick-santorum-government-provided-health-care-plot-kill-people-vote/](http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/12/14/3066251/rick-santorum-government-provided-health-care-plot-kill-people-vote/) I guess that, unlike when Romney told his supporters about the 49% who were only “takers,” there was no rationalist spy in the room to capture this for Youtube. Too bad. ☹ This utterance is so disgusting it’s hard to believe that Santorum, even as rancid and putrid as he is, really said it. Still, the present-day GOP teaches us that “truth is stranger than fiction.” ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12064 "2013-12-15T13:07:05Z")
I guess the meaning is pretty clear, but was having a hard time parsing the quote. Then I realized he was channelling his inner Palin talking on Fox News. Try reading it in her voice, particularly with her trademark smirk: “It’s actually a pretty clever system,” the former [vice]-presidential candidate explained, “Take care of the people who can vote and people who can’t vote, get rid of them as quickly as possible by not giving them care so they can’t vote against you.” Now put it in context. She knows full well that voter-ID laws are wholly designed to suppress voting in predominantly Democratic segments, so she’s trying to pull a Rove and use criticism of those laws to descr- Wait, that’s not right. It was a _private_ meeting. Sorry. He was actually channelling his inner Romney, describing to his rich closed-door supporters how he’d implement Obamacare to address immigration. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12065 "2013-12-15T13:19:55Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Soylent Green is **soybeans!** Tell the – get your hands off me – tell the world! Soylent Green is **soybeans!** .and LENTILS! Don’t forget the lentils! That’s where the “-lent” part comes from, to go with the “soy-” from soybeans. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12066 "2013-12-15T16:55:21Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Mind, there might actually be something to the idea. How many Tea Partiers do you think are going to die, because they so irrationally terrified of the ACA that they avoid getting medical care? Hopefully a lot of them. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12067 "2013-12-15T17:44:27Z")
Larry Pratt, president of Gun Owners of America, was asked by Chris Wallace if background checks don’t prevent people with mental illnesses–people _who don’t have criminal records_–from getting guns, and if that might not prevent mass shootings sometimes. Here’s Larry’s answer: [QUOTE=Larry Pratt, who may have a mental illness, if you ask me] [If we’re really serious about people who’ve got some kind of problem, mental or criminal, they oughta be in jail! We oughta put 'em in jail!](http://videos.rawstory.com/embed/player/?content=1KK65Z35M2PHNJYF&content_type=content_item&layout=&playlist_cid=&widget_type_cid=svp&read_more=1) (go to 4:40 of the video) [/quote] Granted, he may think that going to a shrink, and the shrink putting you in prison is part of Obamacare, but someone should explain to him that’s not the case. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12068 "2013-12-15T18:20:39Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Wait, Obamacare is a plot to kill people who can’t vote, so they can’t vote against democrats. But if they can’t vote in the first place, what’s the point of killing them? > > Mind, there might actually be something to the idea. How many Tea Partiers do you think are going to die, because they so irrationally terrified of the ACA that they avoid getting medical care? I think most of them are already on Medicare anyway. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12069 "2013-12-15T20:32:26Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I think most of them are already on Medicare anyway. I bet there are the same that with indignation tell us to “Keep the government out of my Medicare”. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12070 "2013-12-16T00:25:42Z")
Just when you thought Paul Ryan had come to his senses by negotiating a bipartisan budget deal, [he says the GOP is planning to hold the debt ceiling hostage over Obamacare. Again.](http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/15/news/paul-ryan-debt-ceiling/index.html?hpt=hp_t2) > [@](#): > > We don’t want nothing out of this debt limit," Ryan said in a solo appearance on Fox. “We’re going to decide what it is we can accomplish out of this debt limit fight.” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12071 "2013-12-16T00:31:05Z")
Okay, someone needs to stop dropping Paul Ryan on his head. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12072 "2013-12-16T00:35:58Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Okay, someone needs to stop dropping Paul Ryan on his head. No, somebody needs to drop him on his head from a great height. \ And send McConnel, Boehner, Cruz, Issa, and Inhoffe along with him. Bloody assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12073 "2013-12-16T00:41:47Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > No, somebody needs to drop him on his head from a great height. \ And send McConnel, Boehner, Cruz, Issa, and Inhoffe along with him. Bloody assholes. Someone has to get dropped on his head from pretty high to make their assholes bleed. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12074 "2013-12-16T00:54:22Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Someone has to get dropped on his head from pretty high to make their assholes bleed. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12075 "2013-12-16T03:15:33Z")
“Mr. Ryan, sir? Its the police, your middle school English teacher is out on the ledge, threatening to jump…” ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12076 "2013-12-16T05:37:50Z")
“Take care of the people who can vote and people who can’t vote, get rid of them as quickly as possible by not giving them care so they can’t vote against you.” “We don’t want nothing out of this debt limit,” Ryan said in a solo appearance on Fox. “We’re going to decide what it is we can accomplish out of this debt limit fight.” Ok, is it just me or have these folks gone from just having stupid and/or evil ideas to being totally incomprehensible? The first quote, well, I can’t make sense of that at all. And is Ryan saying they “don’t want nothing” but are deciding what they want? Is it too much to ask that they present their Stupid Republican Idea of the Day in a clear and concise manner? (Not including Sarah Palin, of course, who is beyond hope.) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12077 "2013-12-16T05:50:13Z")
I read it as Ryan saying “We want something. What we don’t want is to get nothing.” Not “We don’t want anything.” ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12078 "2013-12-16T09:06:16Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > “We don’t want nothing out of this debt limit,” Ryan said in a solo appearance on Fox. This is Ryan’s effort to improve his image among intellectuals. To the GOP base, the double-negative sentence means “We don’t want anything”; but Ryan demonstrates his erudition, showing that he knows what the sentence means in educated English. I think the utterance still does qualify as Stupid. Those smart enough to parse educated English are unlikely to support Ryan or his ilk. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12079 "2013-12-16T16:13:46Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I read it as Ryan saying “We want something. What we don’t want is to get nothing.” > > Not “We don’t want anything.” I caught a clip of him actually saying it and realized it was indeed a double negative. :smack: Still, I stand by my issue that they need to be more precise in discussing their stupid ideas. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12080 "2013-12-16T16:21:09Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > This is Ryan’s effort to improve his image among intellectuals. To the GOP base, the double-negative sentence means “We don’t want anything”; but Ryan demonstrates his erudition, showing that he knows what the sentence means in educated English. No. You’re overthinking it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=603) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=605)