# 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:** 782
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15621 "2014-07-10T16:42:08Z")
Oh, what the hell, check out [the Texas GOP party platform](http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2014/07/texas-republican-new-party-platform.html): > [@](#): > > In the next of its forty pages, the platform demands, among other things, > \*• That the Texas Legislature should nullify—indeed, “ignore, oppose, refuse, and nullify”—federal laws it doesn’t like. (Unmentioned is the fact that, beginning in 1809, the Supreme Court has steadfastedly rejected state nullification of federal laws.) > > • That when it comes to “unelected bureaucrats”—i.e., pretty much the entire federal work force above the janitorial level—Congress should “defund and abolish these positions.” > > • That the Seventeenth Amendment, which was adopted in 1913, be repealed, so that “the appointment of United States Senators” can again be made by state legislators, not by voters. (Admittedly, the Texas Legislature could hardly do worse.) > > • That all federal “enforcement activities” within the borders of Texas—including, presumably, the activities of F.B.I. agents, Justice Department prosecutors, air marshals, immigration officers, agricultural inspectors, and tax auditors—“must be conducted under the auspices of the county sheriff with jurisdiction in that county.” \* > > This section of the platform, “Preserving American Freedom,” also features a syllogism: > > _Socialism breeds mediocrity. America is exceptional. Therefore, the Republican Party of Texas opposes socialism in all of its forms._ But that’s not all, ladies: > [@](#): > > The pro-choice plank: \* > > We strongly support a woman’s right to choose to devote her life to her family and children.\* Board rules would prevent posting the whole thing, but there’s plenty more stupid, plenty more. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15622 "2014-07-10T16:52:00Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > One reason for that might be that [60% of statements made on Fox News are false or mostly false.](http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/article/2014/jul/01/introducing-scorecards-tv-networks/) (Granted, NBC and MSNBC don’t score much better – 46%. CNN scores surprisingly well at 18%.) I wish they had rated NPR and PBS. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15623 "2014-07-10T17:07:30Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Todd Akin Takes Back Apology Over ‘Legitimate Rape’ Theory > > [Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More](http://news.yahoo.com/todd-akin-takes-back-apology-over-legitimate-rape-135727731.html) Not surprising. Now that his political career is over, he wants to sell books to the kind of inbred filth that suckles on Ann Coulter’s tit and Rush Limbaugh’s shriveled dick. Essentially, he wants to market crack to crack addicts. It’s not an honorable or vital profession, but it is guaranteed to make money. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15624 "2014-07-10T17:07:57Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Oh, what the hell, check out [the Texas GOP party platform](http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2014/07/texas-republican-new-party-platform.html): > > But that’s not all, ladies: > > Board rules would prevent posting the whole thing, but there’s plenty more stupid, plenty more. Science? What is that partner? :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > On climate change: > > ``` > While we all strive to be good stewards of the earth, “climate change” is a political agenda which attempts to control every aspect of our lives. We urge government at all levels to ignore any plea for money to fund global climate change or “climate justice” initiatives. > > ``` > > On immunizations: > > ``` > All adult citizens should have the legal right to conscientiously choose which vaccines are administered to themselves, or their minor children, without penalty for refusing a vaccine. We oppose any effort by any authority to mandate such vaccines. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15625 "2014-07-10T17:09:30Z")
[Todd Akin again.](http://www.salon.com/2014/07/10/deranged_todd_akin_is_back_and_steps_in_it_again/) > [@](#): > > Just in time for a midterm election that could hinge on the votes of women, former GOP Senate hopeful Todd Akin is back, and he is pissed. In a new memoir previewed by Politico, Akin says he was telling the truth about lying women who claim they were raped to get out of the consequences of sex – but that he was strong-armed into apologizing by craven GOP bosses. > > “My comment about a woman’s body shutting the pregnancy down was directed to the impact of stress of fertilization,” he writes in “Firing Back: Taking on the Party Bosses and Media Elite to Protect Our Faith and Freedom.” Akin, who is not a doctor, insists “this is something fertility doctors debate and discuss. Doubt me?” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15626 "2014-07-10T17:11:24Z")
Oh, do please keep bringing up rape, pubbies, please do keep it up. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15627 "2014-07-10T17:13:02Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Oh, do please keep bringing up rape, pubbies, please do keep it up. “There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white. Or a rape.” [Richard M. Nixon](http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_M._Nixon#Tape_transcripts_.281973.29) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15628 "2014-07-10T17:15:50Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Oh, do please keep bringing up rape, pubbies, please do keep it up. They said \*rape \*twice. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15629 "2014-07-10T17:18:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Just in time for a midterm election that could hinge on the votes of women, former GOP Senate hopeful Todd Akin is back, and he is pissed. In a new memoir previewed by Politico, Akin says he was telling the truth about lying women who claim they were raped to get out of the consequences of sex – but that he was strong-armed into apologizing by craven GOP bosses. > > “My comment about a woman’s body shutting the pregnancy down was directed to the impact of stress of fertilization,” he writes in “Firing Back: Taking on the Party Bosses and Media Elite to Protect Our Faith and Freedom.” Akin, who is not a doctor, insists “this is something fertility doctors debate and discuss. Doubt me?” The quote cuts off before the crucial line > [@](#): > > Doubt me? Google ‘stress and infertility,’ and you will find a library of research" on the impact of stress on fertilization, he writes. So I did. Here’s what the very first hit brought up: > [@](#): > > Pisarska tells WebMD that the effects of stress may be different for each woman. > > “Stress may cause one set of reactions in one woman, and something else in another, so ultimately the reasons behind how or why stress impacts fertility may also be very individual,” says Pisarska. [http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/features/infertility-stress](http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/features/infertility-stress) The idea of equating the couple who can’t have a kid because of stress and a woman under the stress of being raped is ludicrous, especially when it becomes clear that in any event stress is not a sure blocker of conception. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15630 "2014-07-10T17:19:21Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > “There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white. Or a rape.” > > [Richard M. Nixon](http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_M._Nixon#Tape_transcripts_.281973.29) Nixon was such a cute and cuddly character. I wonder why he wasn’t well-liked. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15631 "2014-07-10T17:21:55Z")
Googling “Stress” “infertility” and “rape” gives you this: > [@](#): > > Missouri Republican Senate nominee Todd Akin has found himself in some trouble after foolishly stating that “legitimate rape” rarely leads to pregnancy. (Read more about this here.) Just so you know: his statement is utterly false. Pregnancy can and does occur after rape. In fact, some research has found the pregnancy rate to be higher than consensual sex. > > The question I have is where does this idea - that rape rarely leads to pregnancy – come from? Sadly, he’s not the only one to believe this. Answering the good Senator two years ago > **[14 Possible Signs of Infertility You Shouldn't Ignore](https://www.parents.com/getting-pregnant/fertility/5-infertility-symptoms-you-should-never-ignore/)** > > Whether you're actively trying to conceive or thinking about having a baby in the future, it's important to recognize these common signs you might have trouble getting pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15632 "2014-07-10T18:49:49Z")
I love the smug way Akin pretends he knows all about stress and fertilization and pregnancy, when he hasn’t a clue what he’s talking about. “This is something fertility doctors debate and discuss.” Sure thing, pal. I still don’t know what he thinks he means by women getting out of “the consequences of sex.” Just the idea that this jackass thinks that women who claim they have been raped are probably lying makes my blood boil. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15633 "2014-07-10T18:53:23Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Nixon was such a cute and cuddly character. I wonder why he wasn’t well-liked. He was, he was. I’ve seen contemporary polls showing he was at once the most loved **and** the most hated person in America. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15634 "2014-07-10T19:09:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > He was, he was. I’ve seen contemporary polls showing he was at once the most loved **and** the most hated person in America. Well you don’t get to be President without someone liking you at least _once_. I don’t contest the notion that enough people thought he was better than the alternative to get elected to the highest office. By that measure, every President was well-liked… You get my meaning. He was widely despised and for good reason. Though I will admit his attitude toward racial mixing is a lot more repugnant in modern times than I’m sure it was back then. Yet another example of why I scoff when older generations talk about the decline of morals in our society. Bunch of dried-up old anuses still clinging to the same nonsensical bullshit they defecated out years ago. If society is on the decline, then I guess the liberation of women, equal rights to minorities, people actually flinching when folks talk about legitimate rape, and the tide of society turning from rampant homophobia to tolerance and acceptance, are all steps in the wrong direction, and the bigotry and ignorance of the past was something worth cherishing and repeating. Society advances solely because the old assholes die off and get replaced with less shitty ones. BUT I DIGRESS… ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15635 "2014-07-10T20:26:41Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > \ > If society is on the decline, then I guess the liberation of women, equal rights to minorities, people actually flinching when folks talk about legitimate rape, and the tide of society turning from rampant homophobia to tolerance and acceptance, are all steps in the wrong direction, and the bigotry and ignorance of the past was something worth cherishing and repeating. Society advances solely because the old assholes die off and get replaced with less shitty ones. BUT I DIGRESS… Huh. Guess you haven’t seen ol’ **Starvers** go off on his rant about us hippies ruining the nation and all. As he tells it, things were idyllic, in a Mayberry kind of way. Nobody (at least nobody in polite society) took offense at institutionalized racism and misogyny and such-like until somewhere around 1967 or so. Apparently that’s when us pinko Commie dirtbags undermined the very trappings of society and brought about all the horrible changes you list above. Guess I’m just one of those old assholes that hasn’t had the good grace to die off yet. 😉 No, no, don’t come looking for me with your hot tar and stuff! I’m pretty sure the statute of limitations has expired on all the terrible things I did to contribute to today’s sorry state of affairs. I’d confess it all, bare my soul for true catharsis, if I could only remember it more clearly. Must have been the loud music that affected my memory. 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:** [July 10, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15636 "2014-07-10T20:37:58Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Well you don’t get to be President without someone liking you at least _once_. I don’t contest the notion that enough people thought he was better than the alternative to get elected to the highest office. By that measure, every President was well-liked… …with the possible exception of Gerald Ford. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15637 "2014-07-10T20:40:38Z")
[Minnesota state candidate thinks sperm causes HIV/AIDS](“It’s more about sodomy than about pigeonholing a lifestyle,”). My favorite quote… > [@](#): > > It’s more about sodomy than about pigeonholing a lifestyle Pigeonholing. I’m going to need to Google that. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15638 "2014-07-11T00:01:31Z")
Richard Gere was into that, wasn’t he ? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15639 "2014-07-11T02:22:03Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Nixon was such a cute and cuddly character. I wonder why he wasn’t well-liked. I really do miss having him to kick around. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15640 "2014-07-11T02:28:50Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Richard Gere was into that, wasn’t he ? Not pigeons, gerbils and/or hamsters. Not Richard Gere being into gerbils, but gerbils being in Richard Gere. If you don’t already know, you don’t want to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=781) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=783)