# 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:** 788
**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 17, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15741 "2014-07-17T19:42:51Z")
[Well that didn’t take long.](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/17/limbaugh-eerie-crash-of-malaysian-flight-is-an-opportunity-to-save-obama-from-border-crisis/) Rush claims “Eerie” crash of Malaysian Air flight an opportunity for the news media to get the border crisis off the front page. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15742 "2014-07-17T21:41:25Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > He is lucky, the rest of us have to ask the hamster. Hamsters?! :eek::mad: Use gerbils like God intended, you perv! ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15743 "2014-07-17T23:39:31Z")
Obama shot down the plane so that people would stop ragging on Obama. Makes perfect sense, in Republicanland! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15744 "2014-07-17T23:47:20Z")
It couldn’t have been Russia-supported separatists because Putin is the RW’s new Messiah. ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15745 "2014-07-18T02:41:06Z")
Is Rush suggesting that the news media shouldn’t heavily cover the downing of a commercial airliner by a possible missile in a volatile region? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15746 "2014-07-18T02:52:02Z")
> [@computergeek](#): > > Is Rush suggesting that the news media shouldn’t heavily cover the downing of a commercial airliner by a possible missile in a volatile region? Ask yourself, can we impeach Obama over it? ---
**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:** [July 18, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15747 "2014-07-18T02:55:00Z")
Wait, I thought Obama only created the border scandal in the first place to distract everyone from Benghazi. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15748 "2014-07-18T02:59:38Z")
Wait, I thought violence in Iraq was covering up for BENGAZI; or maybe it was our (Bush’s) withdrawal from Iraq, or disappearance of the Malaysian airliner cover-up, or our failure to invade Syria, or the current Israel-Gaza war, or Obamacare or something. I’m easily confused. Must be the Jooos or the Illuminati. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15749 "2014-07-18T04:10:35Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > It couldn’t have been Russia-supported separatists because Putin is the RW’s new Messiah. Hmm. Come to think of it, if there’s anyone who’s _more_ vested in a reconstitution of the USSR than Putin… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15750 "2014-07-18T13:16:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Wait, I thought Obama only created the border scandal in the first place to distract everyone from Benghazi. You import cane toads to eat the beetles and now you’ve got an infestation of cane toads . . . ---
**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 18, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15751 "2014-07-18T13:32:40Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > You import cane toads to eat the beetles and now you’ve got an infestation of cane toads . . . [hijack] People reading this who are actually familiar with the historical detail behind your metaphor – you \; me \ People without such knowledge (but who can abstract the general implication from context) – most everyone else \ (Hint – they weren’t just any old beetles.) [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15752 "2014-07-18T13:57:31Z")
[There’s more like Michelle Bachman](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/17/mn-gop-candidate-knocked-up-women-dont-deserve-dinner-dancing-at-their-wedding/) where she came from: > [@](#): > > Sheila Kihne hopes to unseat state Rep. Jenifer Loon (R-Eden Prairie), who she claims is insufficiently conservative to represent the district. > > …she wrote that President Barack Obama was leading the one-world-order communists and demanded that single mothers be denied formal wedding ceremonies. > > “Don’t you think that if you’re having a baby — and you’re not married — that you should forego the shower?” she asked. “I also think that if you get married — and are knocked up — you should get married quietly. At a courthouse, at a private home.” > > Kihne specifically said that there should be no dancing or dinner for prospective brides who are pregnant. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15753 "2014-07-18T14:16:44Z")
Well, you know, dancing leads to sex, and then they might get pre… Oh. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15754 "2014-07-18T15:01:32Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > People reading this who are actually familiar with the historical detail behind your metaphor – you \; me \ [Check](http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0AC146D5578DCFEF)! ---
**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 18, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15755 "2014-07-18T15:11:51Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > [hijack] > > People reading this who are actually familiar with the historical detail behind your metaphor – you \; me \ > > People without such knowledge (but who can abstract the general implication from context) – most everyone else \ > > (Hint – they weren’t just any old beetles.) > > [/hijack] Is there a point to this coyness? The story is as tragic as any of this sort, but not really significant otherwise, as far as I can tell. And it’s trivial to provide a link: > **[Cane toads in Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_toads_in_Australia)** > > The cane toad in Australia is regarded as an exemplary case of an invasive species. Australia's relative isolation prior to European colonisation and the Industrial Revolution, both of which dramatically increased traffic and import of novel species, allowed development of a complex, interdepending system of ecology, but one which provided no natural predators for many of the species subsequently introduced. The recent, sudden inundation of foreign species has led to severe breakdowns in Austr... My favorite part: > [@](#): > > Unfortunately, the introduction of the toads has not only caused large environmental detriment, but there is also no evidence that they have had an impact on the cane beetles they were introduced to predate. The toads have steadily expanded their range through Queensland, reaching the border with New South Wales in 1978 and the Northern Territory in 1984. The toads on the western frontier of their advance have evolved larger legs;[8] this is thought to be related to their ability to travel farther. As a consequence of their longer legs, larger bodies, and faster movement, about 10% of the leading edge cane toads have also developed arthritis.[9] It is estimated that cane toads migrate at an average of 40 kilometres (25 mi) per year currently.[10] So, after all that, it’s not been shown that the toads actually did anything about eliminating the beetles they were brought in to eat. But at least they’re starting to suffer from arthritis, so there’s that. We now return you from this hijack. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15756 "2014-07-18T15:27:12Z")
That’s the beautiful part! The pandas will just freeze to death in the winter! \ ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15757 "2014-07-18T15:38:17Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But at least they’re starting to suffer from arthritis, so there’s that. > We now return you from this hijack. But they’re cane toads. They can still get around. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15758 "2014-07-18T16:32:08Z")
[More on cane toads:](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/AustralianWildlife?from=Main.AustralianWildlife) > [@](#): > > • The cane toad.◊ Easily one of, if not the most hated creatures in Australia, particularly by Queenslanders. First introduced to try and destroy the cane beetles devastating sugar cane crops. Somehow, those introducing them didn’t notice that the beetles lived up high and Cane Toads can’t climb. Remember that Simpsons episode where they go to Australia and Bart leaves his frog at the airport, only for it to hop away and devastate the Australian crops and countryside in the time it took for the show’s story to finish? Yeah, that’s more or less real. > ◦ One advert a while back features cane toads being used as golf balls by drunken Queenslanders, hitting them over the New South Wales border fence, and promptly being chased off by border patrol. It was a beer ad, mind. > ◦ People who aren’t drunk use cricket bats. They’re also good for hockey practice. > ◦ Other methods include blowing them up with air pumps _note_ may cause memories of Shrek blowing up the toad in the movie of the same name for non-Australians reading this article or tourists who get to see the activity, feeding them paracetamol (apparently it swells their insides) and running them over with any vehicle to hand. > ◦ Also, squirting them with Dettol (a strong antiseptic), which poisons them pretty quickly. > ◦ Don’t forget blowing them up with smuggled firecrackers in their mouths. > ◦ It’s practically a national duty to swerve to run over as many of them as you can rather than dodge. > ◦ It’s also a fun summer activity for anybody under the age of about 15, ‘toading’ (the activity in their breeding season of killing absolutely as many as you can in a time limit. Not as hilariously cruel, but definitely more pragmatic) is practically a national children’s pastime. Common weapons include: Cricket bats, golf clubs, broom handles with nails in them, cans of deodorant with cigarette lighters, tubs of salt, gumboots, bricks, other toads… > ◦ The RSCPA recommends that people humanely kill them by capturing them and placing them in the freezer, but no sane Australian is going to do that. > ◦ Worse, these things are very difficult to kill. They make cockroaches look delicate. You can run these things over on a ride-on mower, have them go under the front wheels, have them get CAUGHT IN THE BLADES, have them go under the back wheels because you could and the thing will just sit there like, “Oh I’m sorry. Was that supposed to kill me?” > ◾ As one can see from the above, Australians detest them, possibly more than rabbits, since rabbits are very much on the loser’s end of the food chain, and can be eaten by everything under the sun, including humans. They’re fairly harmless as individuals, non-aggressive and easy to kill, so because of their speed they even make fun target practice. With cane toads, the eggs, tadpoles and adults are all poisonous. Some of the native crows have learnt to flip them over and eat their non-toxic guts. Sadly, not enough. Cane Toads are fairly slow, so they aren’t even much good for wasting bullets on target practice either. Don’t even touch them with your bare skin. > ◾ Interesting note: 102 cane toads were originally introduced into Australia. It’s now estimated that there are over 200 million in Australia. ---
**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 18, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15759 "2014-07-18T16:33:20Z")
Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be coy. Based upon **Brainglutton** ’s profile location, and mine, I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) he was referring specifically to cane toads’ introduction to south Florida as “biological pest control” of sugar cane borers, and their subsequent runaway population explosion far outside the cane fields. The same introduction, for similar reasons, has been made throughout the Caribbean. Being shortsightedly provincial, I forgot that Australia too has been treated to the same ecological catastrophe. Sorry about that! I wish I knew if these introductions were made by Republicans, because that would legitimize this hijack. 😃 ETA – I see I was totally incorrect. He was thinking about Australia all along. Oh well, my bad; back to the marathon thread. Nothin’ to see here, move along! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/15760 "2014-07-18T16:48:24Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > [hijack] > > People reading this who are actually familiar with the historical detail behind your metaphor – you \; me \ > > People without such knowledge (but who can abstract the general implication from context) – most everyone else \ > > (Hint – they weren’t just any old beetles.) > > [/hijack] **Hey** hey hey… sheesh, some of us still have a copy of [the movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0130529/). Love that dang film! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=787) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=789)