# 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:** 709
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14161 "2014-04-21T15:15:33Z")
[Pastor (party ID unspecified, but I don’t think there can be any doubt) compares homosexuality to axe murder.](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/kevin-swanson-compares-gay-inclusive-honey-maid-ad-axe-murder-cannibalism) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14162 "2014-04-21T15:21:20Z")
[Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association: The poor and middle class should kiss the ground upon the rich walk.](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-poor-ought-be-kissing-ground-upon-which-rich-walk) And every major city should throw a ticker-tape parade for the rich every week. No, that’s not a hyperbolic rendering, that’s his actual words. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14163 "2014-04-21T15:35:09Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association: The poor and middle class should kiss the ground upon the rich walk.](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-poor-ought-be-kissing-ground-upon-which-rich-walk) And every major city should throw a ticker-tape parade for the rich every week. No, that’s not a hyperbolic rendering, that’s his actual words. Well that just means that the amount of tax revenues coming from them is about right, since they control 35% of America’s wealth. In fact, the top 10 percent of Americans control 75 percent of the country’s wealth, so 75 percent of our tax revenues should be coming from them. I do not believe this is the case at present, but in the interests of fairness, it should be. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14164 "2014-04-21T16:12:36Z")
I like it! What a grand spectacle that would be! Rich folks riding down the street in open convertibles, sitting high up and waving at the cheering crowds! Haven’t seen that kind of public display since Kennedy! Oh, wait. Hmmmm. Maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14165 "2014-04-21T17:37:25Z")
They have most of the money and resources, they can throw their own damn parades ---
**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:** [April 21, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14166 "2014-04-21T17:46:58Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I like it! What a grand spectacle that would be! Rich folks riding down the street in open convertibles, sitting high up and waving at the cheering crowds! Haven’t seen that kind of public display since Kennedy! > > Oh, wait. Hmmmm. Maybe not. No, no, I think that’s a \*fine \*idea. We will, after all, have many, many good people with guns to stop any bad person with a gun, all along the parade routes. I see no way in which this could go horribly wrong for us. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14167 "2014-04-21T20:25:08Z")
I’m confused…are we the good guy with a gun or the bad guy with a gun? I have trouble telling them apart until they kill a school kid or something. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14168 "2014-04-21T20:34:19Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > They have most of the money and resources, they can throw their own damn parades Well, for a few years now the rich have been noble Job Creators. And for those who propose to reward them for their contribution, I say that they have already been rewarded with boatloads of money. Fischer seems to be taking a new tack, that the parades and kissing the ground is owed to them for paying their taxes. It’s still bullshit, but it’s slightly different bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14169 "2014-04-21T23:46:17Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > I’m confused…are we the good guy with a gun or the bad guy with a gun? I have trouble telling them apart until they kill a school kid or something. Depends on the moral character of the school kid. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14170 "2014-04-22T00:06:49Z")
[Democracy is socialism.](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/21/1293607/-Dr-Greg-Brannon-says-democracy-is-socialism-possibly-because-he-is-really-really-dumb?detail=facebook) ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14171 "2014-04-22T00:13:13Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > I’m confused…are we the good guy with a gun or the bad guy with a gun? Neither, I think. We are the clueless spectators, standing by to speculate after the spectacle. On lawn chairs, with pop-corn, of course. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14172 "2014-04-22T00:19:44Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Democracy is socialism.](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/21/1293607/-Dr-Greg-Brannon-says-democracy-is-socialism-possibly-because-he-is-really-really-dumb?detail=facebook) And so much the better for both! 🙂 ---
**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:** [April 22, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14173 "2014-04-22T14:06:31Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Democracy is socialism.](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/21/1293607/-Dr-Greg-Brannon-says-democracy-is-socialism-possibly-because-he-is-really-really-dumb?detail=facebook) I really, really hope Brannon wins the primary. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14174 "2014-04-22T15:12:09Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I really, really hope Brannon wins the primary. It must be nice to be a Teabagger . . . even your enemies cheer you on . . . ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14175 "2014-04-22T16:39:17Z")
Dr. Bannon is proof that a doctorate can’t be all THAT hard to get … ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14176 "2014-04-22T16:59:48Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Well that just means that the amount of tax revenues coming from them is about right, since they control 35% of America’s wealth. In fact, the top 10 percent of Americans control 75 percent of the country’s wealth, so 75 percent of our tax revenues should be coming from them. I do not believe this is the case at present, but in the interests of fairness, it should be. Generally speaking, the wealthy pay a share of taxes higher than their commensurate share of income. I’m not making this as a political point (as I believe it to be appropriate), but just laying out the facts in general. > [@](#): > > Wealthy Americans earn about 50 percent of all income but pay nearly 70 percent of the federal tax burden, according to the latest analysis Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office — though the agency said the very richest have seen their share of taxes fall the last few years. > > CBO looked at 2007 through 2009 and found the bottom 20 percent of American earners paid just three-tenths of a percent of the total tax burden, while the richest 20 percent paid 67.9 percent of taxes. This is a little old, but was the quickest cite I could found that directly referenced the CBO, which is pretty non-partisan. [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/10/cbo-rich-pay-outsized-share-taxes/](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/10/cbo-rich-pay-outsized-share-taxes/) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14177 "2014-04-22T17:10:26Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I really, really hope Brannon wins the primary. Unfortunately, these dumbasses sometimes win the election. Then we get people like Congressman Paul Broun, a high-ranking member of the House Science Committee, who thinks that “evolution and embryology and the big bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell”. He said that months ago, and he is _still_ on the committee. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14178 "2014-04-22T17:29:03Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Democracy is socialism.](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/21/1293607/-Dr-Greg-Brannon-says-democracy-is-socialism-possibly-because-he-is-really-really-dumb?detail=facebook) What should we take from the fact that Brannon is running for office, you think? Is he a hardline communist? Or just a small-S socialist? ---
**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:** [April 22, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14179 "2014-04-22T19:23:18Z")
[http://www.thelostogle.com/2014/04/2…-solar-energy/](http://www.thelostogle.com/2014/04/2...-solar-energy/) MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said on Monday that Oklahoma’s new law essentially fining homeowners who install solar energy panels, while disappointing, represented an advance of sorts for champions of renewable energy. “Maybe this means that alternative energy — like solar energy — is now viable enough to be an actual threat to the bottom line of the oil and gas and coal industries. We say it’s the four stages, right? First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. Well, solar has apparently moved on from being ignored or laughed at, and now they’re fighting it.”… You may suspect the Krotch Brothers were behind this using the group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) - and you’d be right (right - get it - just kill me). ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/14180 "2014-04-22T19:53:19Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > [http://www.thelostogle.com/2014/04/2…-solar-energy/](http://www.thelostogle.com/2014/04/2...-solar-energy/) > > MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said on Monday that Oklahoma’s new law essentially fining homeowners who install solar energy panels, while disappointing, represented an advance of sorts for champions of renewable energy. > “Maybe this means that alternative energy — like solar energy — is now viable enough to be an actual threat to the bottom line of the oil and gas and coal industries. We say it’s the four stages, right? First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. Well, solar has apparently moved on from being ignored or laughed at, and now they’re fighting it.”… > > You may suspect the Krotch Brothers were behind this using the group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) - and you’d be right (right - get it - just kill me). As far as I understand the controversy, that’s a pretty stupid summary of it. People who have solar panels or whatever still have to be connected to a power utility. The infrastructure of remaining connected to the utility company must be paid somehow – in most places, it’s a combination of a low general service charge, plus the actual use of the utility. So when you pay your 8 cents a kilowatt hour (or whatever) for electricity from the power company, a lot of that money isn’t just used for the cost of generating electricity – it’s also used to pay for the cost of maintain the whole electrical delivery infrastructure. If I set up a solar panel farm on my land that takes care of 99% of my electrical needs, there is still a whole infrastructure that must be maintained to deliver that last 1% of my energy. The cost of the infrastructure isn’t based on how much electricity I buy – a power substation still costs what it costs. Some places want people who use mostly power that they generate by themselves to pay their fair share of the fixed cost of being connected to the grid. IMHO, that’s fairly reasonable. It isn’t necessarily about hating hippies and loving Big Oil. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=708) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=710)