# 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:** 638
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12741 "2014-02-11T04:00:06Z")
> [@Mekhazzio](#): > > Considering it only became that after a very expensive post-Reagan refit, I’m not sure that’s helping the cause of justifying the project through the 70s and 80s. It ultimately did nothing that it was intended to do, and even finding recent utility as a bomb truck, is awfully overengineered for the task and thus nearly as costly to operate as the ancient B-52s. It’s a reasonably good example of a big government boondoggle. Cost a bunch - agreed - to dump the supersonic nuke perpetrator profile. But they did make something of it. Much better at certain missions than the B-52 (of which I’m a big fan). Payload, speed, direct attack, moving target find and hit, low radar cross section - lots of pluses. The B-2’s future is to be put on display at aeronautical museums. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12742 "2014-02-11T14:24:17Z")
For all that, USAF didn’t actually use the B-1 in the Balkans or in either Gulf War, even though everything else went, and it’s very hard to see any other actual engagement coming up in which it would be the preferred choice. It’s targeted for cancellation if the sequester budgets look permanent, which is the way to bet. Of course, Carter knew all that when he killed it the first time, only to have his intelligence and patriotism slammed by the Reagan adulators for it. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12743 "2014-02-11T14:59:39Z")
Congressman Ike Skelton of MO was instrumental in getting the B2 stationed in Missouri, of all places. And likely a key to keeping the thing in service at all. He served for a long time and was chairman of the House Armed Serviced Committee. He died a couple years ago, and without a champion like that I wouldn’t be surprised if the B2’s days are seriously numbered. Edit: Skelton was a Democrat, so not to pull him in as a stupid Republican…just commenting on the B2 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12744 "2014-02-11T15:52:18Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > [This story](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/10/lawmaker-suggests-duct-tape-strategy-for-gop-pols-shut-up-until-november-elections/) may be more amusing than stupid: Dude, this is the Stupid Idea thread, not the Unexpected Stroke Of Genius thread. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12745 "2014-02-11T16:10:20Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Would it be part of a meaningful and fully supportive relationship? That’s $50 extra, like always, you know that. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12746 "2014-02-11T22:26:39Z")
So ex-Chaplain Crazy Klingenschmitt is saying that combat soldiers have to wear diapers because … gay marriage? I think that’s what he’s saying. [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/11/ex-navy-chaplain-consequences-of-sin-force-gay-soldiers-to-wear-diapers-in-combat/](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/11/ex-navy-chaplain-consequences-of-sin-force-gay-soldiers-to-wear-diapers-in-combat/) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12747 "2014-02-12T00:32:57Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Dude, this is the Stupid Idea thread, not the Unexpected Stroke Of Genius thread. Honestly, anything that increases the likelihood of Republican idiots getting into office is strategically brilliant for them but _a stupid idea for the rest of the country_. So, yeah, ultimately stupid. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12748 "2014-02-12T00:38:12Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Dude, this is the Stupid Idea thread, not the Unexpected Stroke Of Genius thread. The stupid part was saying it in public. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12749 "2014-02-12T03:22:39Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > So ex-Chaplain Crazy Klingenschmitt is saying that combat soldiers have to wear diapers because … gay marriage? I think that’s what he’s saying. > > [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/11/ex-navy-chaplain-consequences-of-sin-force-gay-soldiers-to-wear-diapers-in-combat/](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/11/ex-navy-chaplain-consequences-of-sin-force-gay-soldiers-to-wear-diapers-in-combat/) _“Dr. Chaps”_?! Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12750 "2014-02-12T03:57:14Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > So ex-Chaplain Crazy Klingenschmitt is saying that combat soldiers have to wear diapers because … gay marriage? I think that’s what he’s saying. > > [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/11/ex-navy-chaplain-consequences-of-sin-force-gay-soldiers-to-wear-diapers-in-combat/](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/11/ex-navy-chaplain-consequences-of-sin-force-gay-soldiers-to-wear-diapers-in-combat/) Just because, and don’t go method on me, prima donna, it’s gay diaper-fetish porn and we all know your motivation. Ca-Ca Monster. Roll camera! ---
**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:** [February 12, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12751 "2014-02-12T04:51:50Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Ah yeah, I thought he was referring to the fake webpages, not to the real Sink campaign. > > And so I thought it was weird that **BAB** , who is one of the most prolific posters at finding crazy shit that Republicans are doing, would have this friend. 😕 I couldn’t understand why **Bucky** would have this friend at all, ya know what I’m saying’? Why wouldn’t people from NY and Florida know each other? Of course many more older New Yorkers move to God’s waiting room than the reverse migration, but people do move to NY from Florida. I know two of them. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2014, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12752 "2014-02-12T05:12:59Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Take your pick: > > 1. He (I will assume **Bucky** is male) finds value in having a source on the inside. > 2. Politics has always made strange bedfellows. > 3. I think we all have friends with whom we avoid certain topics. > 4. The woman working for Sink is hot. My friend is male. He mentioned a month or two ago that he was working for the Sink Campaign. And the story, for me, arose a few days before it became national when I tried to find her campaign website out of curiosity and stumbled upon the fraud. I mentioned that in the second or third paragraph of an e-mail and he got back to me the same day with: _As for Sink, I’m not too worried about them having a few domain names. Our team is taking care of that and we’re still out-fundraising the Republican campaign._ Turns out he was right and the Google anti-phishing feature was effective. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12753 "2014-02-12T16:30:09Z")
Is it Rape Month already? Conservative WSJ commentator James Taranto claims that [it’s unfair that only men get blamed if women get sexually assaulted when both parties are drunk](http://www.mediaite.com/online/wsjs-james-taranto-takes-his-war-on-men-to-college-campuses/). > [@](#): > > What is called the problem of “sexual assault” on campus is in large part a problem of reckless alcohol consumption, by men and women alike. (Based on our reporting, the same is true in the military, at least in the enlisted and company-grade officer ranks.) > > Which points to a limitation of the drunk-driving analogy. **If two drunk drivers are in a collision, one doesn’t determine fault on the basis of demographic details such as each driver’s sex. But when two drunken college students “collide,” the male one is almost always presumed to be at fault.** His diminished capacity owing to alcohol is not a mitigating factor, but her diminished capacity is an aggravating factor for him. I think that analogy needs a little work there, James. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12754 "2014-02-12T17:15:52Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Is it Rape Month already? > > Conservative WSJ commentator James Taranto claims that [it’s unfair that only men get blamed if women get sexually assaulted when both parties are drunk](http://www.mediaite.com/online/wsjs-james-taranto-takes-his-war-on-men-to-college-campuses/). I think that analogy needs a little work there, James. Even if the duct-tape option is going too far, I’m thinking the GOP/RW could benefit from a general election-year moratorium on mentioning the “r” word ever under any circumstances in any connection. It never helps. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12755 "2014-02-12T17:43:12Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Is it Rape Month already? > > Conservative WSJ commentator James Taranto claims that [it’s unfair that only men get blamed if women get sexually assaulted when both parties are drunk](http://www.mediaite.com/online/wsjs-james-taranto-takes-his-war-on-men-to-college-campuses/). I think that analogy needs a little work there, James. Well, he’s sort of right. But it’s always a stupid idea for Republicans to talk about rape. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12756 "2014-02-12T17:58:07Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, he’s sort of right. No, he’s not, AFAICT. Now if we’re talking about a situation where we can’t figure out whether or not rape actually occurred, because both parties were drunk and they remember it differently and their accounts are all we have to go on, then I agree it’s unfair to automatically presume that the one being blamed is at fault. (The one being blamed is usually but not always male, and the one accusing them is usually but not always female.) But if a rape **did** actually occur, then it should definitely be blamed on the person who did it, drunk or not, rather than the person who failed to adequately defend themselves against it, drunk or not. Being too drunk to protect yourself successfully from rape is unfortunate and stupid but not criminal. Being too drunk to stop yourself from raping somebody is unfortunate and stupid AND criminal. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12757 "2014-02-12T18:26:25Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > But if a rape **did** actually occur, then it should definitely be blamed on the person who did it, drunk or not, rather than the person who failed to adequately defend themselves against it, drunk or not. The argument I hear is not that someone is too drunk to defend herself (or himself), but that someone consents but is too impaired for the consent to be meaningful. If the couple are both drunk, who raped who? ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12758 "2014-02-12T18:28:22Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Is it Rape Month already? It would appear that in the GOP, it’s _always_ Rape Month. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12759 "2014-02-12T18:29:07Z")
There is an assumption out there that a person can claim that they were raped because they were too drunk to competently give consent. And in doing so, the courts and legal system have a tendency to side with the person making the claim and not give much credence to the defendant’s claim that they were both drunk. There are a couple large assumptions in there. \*Has \*there been a successful prosecution under these–and no other extenuating–circumstances? ---
**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:** [February 12, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12760 "2014-02-12T18:31:09Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > But if a rape **did** actually occur, then it should definitely be blamed on the person who did it, drunk or not, rather than the person who failed to adequately defend themselves against it, drunk or not. Thing is, in most jurisdictions drunk intercourse is rape _by definition_ because an intoxicated person can’t give consent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=637) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=639)