# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/121 "2009-05-02T07:04:14Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > And this bitch had the nerve to say all this while Shepard’s mother sat in the chamber? What the fuck kind of people DO that? What the fuck kind of brain damage are we talking about here? For a little break from Starving Artist babbling on to himself about Clintonian conspiracy theories, [Matthew Shepard’s mother was on Rachel Maddow](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/01/judy-shepard-responds-to_n_194483.html), responding to Congresswoman Foxx, who kinda sorta “apologized,” saying she “misspoke.” [QUOTE=Starving Artist] The big lie propagated around here is that Bush, knowing full well that Hussein didn’t have any WMD, lied and told the American people that he did and that going to war against Iraq was therefore justified and necessary. To date I have seen no probative (i.e., proving) evidence that he knew or did any such thing, [/QUOTE] Look up “Joe Wilson” (which, if you’re the kind who follows links just to see where they will lead, will also lead you to “Valerie Plame” which makes for some crackin’ interesting reading). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/122 "2009-05-02T07:05:59Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I knew a woman once whose philosophy, if caught red-handed at something she shouldn’t be doing, was to deny, deny, deny…under the belief that blatant and continued denials whould eventually cause the accuser to doubt what they’d seen with their own eyes. > > That won’t work with me. > > To wit, from William Safire in the _New York Times_: [bolding mine] > > (1) Foster’s body is discovered July 20. White House aides, unobserved, are in and out of his office that night and next day. **His possession of the Whitewater file is kept secret.** (2) On Thursday, July 22, White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum, with intimidated cops nearby, **gives Foster’s box of Whitewater files to Ms. Williams** (not, as was long said, to the Clintons’ lawyer). (3) After talking to Hillary Clinton, **Ms. Williams locks the files in a closet in the third-floor family quarters of the White House** , to which she had the only key. (4) **Not until Tuesday, July 27, are the Whitewater files retrieved by the lawyer, then Robert Barnett.** > > So, a) Foster had files regarding Whitewater that had been kept secret. b) a box of Whitewater files was given to Williams. c) After consulting with Hillary Clinton, Williams, who had the only key, locked the box in a closet in the White House living quarters. d) The files were finally turned over to Barnett on July 27, a week after Foster’s suicide. > > Now a box of Whitewater files may be construed as nothing but thin air to you, but to me it’s a box of Whitewater files. You keep quoting this Safire column as though it’s meaningful. Starr found no evidence that _any_ of this occurred. Moreover, there was nothing damaging to the Clintons in any of those files anyway, so there was no motive to move them. What was “strange” about Foster’s death, by the way? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/123 "2009-05-02T07:06:51Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Uh uh. Just a simple question: Did Bush said that he was going to get a second UN resolution, no matter what? Did he told us the truth? I don’t know. I do know that it’s quite possible that he simply changed his mind, and possibly changed it on the basis of some of the hundreds or thousands of pieces of information he was getting daily regarding developments in Iraq. The difference between you and me is that because he’s my guy I’m willing to see alternative explanations; and because he’s not your guy you are perfectly content to jump to the most damaging conclusion and make accusations of lying when any number of other reasons may be the actual explanation. But I’m not gonna quibble over all this all night; I’m in the middle of a very interesting book about William F. Buckley and would much prefer to be spending my time reading it. So I’m out of here for now. I’m afraid you’ll have to call yourselves idiots for the rest of the night.\* 😉 \*Paraphrased from an insult by Debra Berone in _Everybody Loves Raymond_. No plagiarizer am I! No, siree! ---
**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:** [May 2, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/124 "2009-05-02T07:27:07Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I don’t know. I do know that it’s quite possible that he simply changed his mind, and possibly changed it on the basis of some of the hundreds or thousands of pieces of information he was getting daily regarding developments in Iraq. By then the evidence was piling up that the “intelligence” was wrong regarding the locations of the WMD, the UN inspectors were finding nothing on the places the US and England told them to look. So yes, he lied. He then lied to the American people by not seeking the second resolution because he knew he was going to lose. > [@](#): > > The difference between you and me is that because he’s my guy I’m willing to see alternative explanations; and because he’s not your guy you are perfectly content to jump to the most damaging conclusion and make accusations of lying when any number of other reasons may be the actual explanation. The other explanation is that he was an incompetent fool, but even that does not exclude the other explanation. > [@](#): > > But I’m not gonna quibble over all this all night; I’m in the middle of a very interesting book about William F. Buckley and would much prefer to be spending my time reading it. > > So I’m out of here for now. I’m afraid you’ll have to call yourselves idiots for the rest of the night.\* 😉 > \*Paraphrased from an insult by Debra Berone in _Everybody Loves Raymond_. No plagiarizer am I! No, siree! Meh, like if posts would disappear tomorrow. You remain mostly an idiot in the ancient Greek sense, and even the son of Buckley decided to dismiss the Bush Followers, so keep up the good work on antagonizing even the reasonable conservatives. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > What was “strange” about Foster’s death, by the way? Please don’t feed him. 😉 Nah, Starving Artist is a great punching bag, it doesn’t hurt one and he comes back for more punishment. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/125 "2009-05-02T13:03:40Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > It was Kenneth Star’s fishing expedition that found the dress Scaife’s, actually. He (well, the lawyers he gave Paula Jones) then dropped it in Starr’s lap. Something about a midnight meeting at a Denny’s in Maryland, IIRC. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/126 "2009-05-02T14:18:00Z")
[QUOTE=Byron York] On his 100th day in office, Barack Obama enjoys high job approval ratings, no matter what poll you consult. But if a new survey by the New York Times is accurate, the president and some of his policies are significantly less popular with white Americans than with black Americans, and **his sky-high ratings among African-Americans make some of his positions appear a bit more popular overall than they actually are**. [/QUOTE] The pollster forgot that he was supposed to apply a 3/5 weighting factor to those responses. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/127 "2009-05-02T14:27:52Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > The continuation of that train of thought is that if she is not elected, not on the Federal payroll, and has not been confirmed by the Senate, she should not be in charge of anything. She’s not in charge of anything. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/128 "2009-05-02T14:30:19Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > What was “strange” about Foster’s death, by the way? > > Please don’t feed him. 😉 Aww… I was hoping for a story of Foster’s “strange” death that would make Rasputin look like a wimp. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/129 "2009-05-02T14:39:41Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > She’s not in charge of anything. Like any wife, she’s in charge of her husband. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/130 "2009-05-02T14:42:52Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Aww… I was hoping for a story… [Karl Rove case witness killed in plane crash, sisters want answers](http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=25758) > [@](#): > > Web guru was potential witness in Ohio voting fraud case > > 04/30/2009 > > Shannon Connell of Madison says her brother Michael rarely talked about work. She knew he ran an Ohio company called New Media Communications that set up websites for Republicans including former President George H.W. Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. But it wasn’t until after he died last December, when the small plane he was piloting crashed, that she learned via the Internet of his tie to a voter fraud case and to allegations that presidential adviser Karl Rove had made threats against him. > > “At first, it was really hard for me to believe Mike was dead because somebody wanted him dead,” says Shannon, a buyer for a local children’s resale shop. “But as time goes on, it’s hard for me not to believe there was something deliberate about it.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/131 "2009-05-02T15:07:28Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > This dickhead having that name upsets me because [Issa](http://www.myspace.com/issalight) is the name of one of my favorite singers (formerly [Jane Siberry](http://www.myspace.com/janesiberrysheeba)) [flashback]Hours and hours of my holiday being bored to tears by my cousin insisting we listen to Jane Siberry albums. Bleargh.[/flashback] ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/132 "2009-05-02T15:47:35Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > (1) Foster’s body is discovered July 20. White House aides, unobserved, are in and out of his office that night and next day. **His possession of the Whitewater file is kept secret.** (2) On Thursday, July 22, White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum, with intimidated cops nearby, **gives Foster’s box of Whitewater files to Ms. Williams** (not, as was long said, to the Clintons’ lawyer). (3) After talking to Hillary Clinton, **Ms. Williams locks the files in a closet in the third-floor family quarters of the White House** , to which she had the only key. (4) **Not until Tuesday, July 27, are the Whitewater files retrieved by the lawyer, then Robert Barnett.** 1. Dead man has a box with files. One of the files relates to an ongoing case. Very impolitely, he does not tell anybody that he has this file. 2. Box is turned over to another person, who does not immediately insist that the dead man identify all files relating to investigation. 3. Files are locked away. 4. Someone goes through the files and finds the file. Yes, very mysterious. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/133 "2009-05-02T16:58:58Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > [flashback]Hours and hours of my holiday being bored to tears by my cousin insisting we listen to Jane Siberry albums. Bleargh.[/flashback] Ah, you were just too young and mainstream-brained to appreciate her brilliance. Your cousin, on the other hand, had excellent taste. Edit to add, I’m hearing _crickets_ from the direction of Starving Artist regarding Joe Wilson. Why am I not surprised? ---
**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 2, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/134 "2009-05-02T17:07:22Z")
Those are locusts. Run! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/135 "2009-05-02T17:42:10Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Ah, you were just too young and mainstream-brained to appreciate her brilliance. Heh. Hardly. > [@](#): > > Your cousin, on the other hand, had excellent taste. But now when we tease her about it, she’s appropriately shamed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/136 "2009-05-03T02:54:17Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Heh. Hardly. Whether you know or realize it or not, Jane Siberry is a National Canadian Treasure. Celine, Ann, Bryan and other mainstream music makers get all the attention and the money, but Jane’s music will be what musicians, musicologists and discerning music lovers will be praising (now and) in the future. > [@acsenray](#): > > But now when we tease her about it, she’s appropriately shamed. 🙂 That’s too bad. She got mainstreamed. She was right in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/137 "2009-05-03T03:16:36Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Whether you know or realize it or not, Jane Siberry is a National Canadian Treasure.. Bless your heart. > [@](#): > > That’s too bad. She got mainstreamed. I’m going to try to avoid responding any further, because I’m starting to get offended by the equation of “disliking Jane Siberry” with “bland mainstreamer.” ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/138 "2009-05-08T17:42:42Z")
President Obama’s [being attacked](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/07/hannity-attacks-obama-for_n_198851.html) for his choice of condiments. Condiments! I realize that Hannity is already a total loonball, but now he’s being joined by other loonballs in a full-blown case of [Dijon Derangement Syndrome](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/08/obama-mustard-attack-beco_n_199953.html). Does the base really need to be propped up this badly? OMG SOCIALIST!! WHO LIKES FANCY-PANTS MUSTARD!! They’re a laughingstock. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/139 "2009-05-08T17:55:52Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > President Obama’s [being attacked](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/07/hannity-attacks-obama-for_n_198851.html) for his choice of condiments. Condiments! I realize that Hannity is already a total loonball, but now he’s being joined by other loonballs in a full-blown case of [Dijon Derangement Syndrome](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/08/obama-mustard-attack-beco_n_199953.html). > > Does the base really need to be propped up this badly? OMG SOCIALIST!! WHO LIKES FANCY-PANTS MUSTARD!! > > They’re a laughingstock. What’s reallly funny is that [“Real Men” actually prefer mustard](http://newmajority.com/ShowScroll.aspx?ID=deee68fd-d510-43d1-8b52-656f064b0aa6) and Grey Poupon [is the most powerful brand](http://www.gladwell.com/2004/2004_09_06_a_ketchup.html). So when you’re thinking of traditional conservative values (including financial success and an Horatio Alger-style vision), you gotta go with the G.P.! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/140 "2009-05-08T19:10:43Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > 1. Dead man has a box with files. One of the files relates to an ongoing case. Very impolitely, he does not tell anybody that he has this file. > > 2. Box is turned over to another person, who does not immediately insist that the dead man identify all files relating to investigation. > > 3. Files are locked away. > > 4. Someone goes through the files and finds the file. > > Yes, very mysterious. Well, given that most of the people who claim this do hear voices in their heads, it’s not unreasonable of them to expect Vince Foster to alet people to that file! 🙂 What? :o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=8)