# 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:** 818
**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:** [August 26, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16341 "2014-08-26T18:31:36Z")
Crazy ex-Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt (who was kicked out of the Navy for repeatedly appearing in uniform at anti-gay political rallies) is running for the State House of Representatives from Colorado. He claims he was just joking when he said that [out-gay Congressman Jared Polis would soon start beheading Christians](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/26/gop-candidate-colorado-gay-congressman-will-behead-christians-who-dont-worship-sodomy/). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16342 "2014-08-26T19:47:56Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Crazy ex-Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt (who was kicked out of the Navy for repeatedly appearing in uniform at anti-gay political rallies) is running for the State House of Representatives from Colorado. He claims he was just joking when he said that [out-gay Congressman Jared Polis would soon start beheading Christians](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/26/gop-candidate-colorado-gay-congressman-will-behead-christians-who-dont-worship-sodomy/). Hoo hoo! That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard since … um, never. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16343 "2014-08-26T19:54:34Z")
I want to commend all the Dopers who have, thus far, resisted the impulse to a crude and juvenile “head” joke. This speaks of good taste and discipline, qualities I can thoroughly admire without the slightest intention to emulate. ---
**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:** [August 26, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16344 "2014-08-26T19:57:38Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I want to commend all the Dopers who have, thus far, resisted the impulse to a crude and juvenile “head” joke. This speaks of good taste and discipline, qualities I can thoroughly admire without the slightest intention to emulate. We were waiting for your contribution. C’mon, cough it up. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16345 "2014-08-26T19:59:38Z")
“We”? You have a gerbil in your, ah, pocket? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16346 "2014-08-26T20:57:13Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > Oh my. The NRSC has released a [video game](http://www.nrsc.org/blog/people-say-dc-is-full-of-games-but-none-are-quite-like-this-one) that is a bad knockoff of Mario (the protagonist is an elephant named Giopi.). In it, you have to avoid the “Taxers” and “Mudslingers” and when you win all four le3vels, you get a Republican majority in the Senate. > > I’ve linked to the press release, not the game itself, as you need to register. I believe Nintendo takes its copyrights pretty seriously, and to imply that they might take a side in a political argument might further antagonize their legal department. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16347 "2014-08-26T22:47:46Z")
Nintendo vs Disney would be fun to watch, especially if it bankrupted EA. Somehow. ---
**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:** [August 26, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16348 "2014-08-26T23:13:10Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > Oh my. The NRSC has released a [video game](http://www.nrsc.org/blog/people-say-dc-is-full-of-games-but-none-are-quite-like-this-one) that is a bad knockoff of Mario (the protagonist is an elephant named Giopi.). In it, you have to avoid the “Taxers” and “Mudslingers” and when you win all four le3vels, you get a Republican majority in the Senate. > > I’ve linked to the press release, not the game itself, as you need to register. “_This year’s Republican Senate candidates are the strongest in decades (if not ever),_” Is uncontrolled laughter appropriate here? “_and we want to raise awareness in every possible way._” No, no you do not. If you want the Senate, raising awareness is exactly the opposite of what you want to do. Bying Lastards. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16349 "2014-08-27T04:56:58Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > And now comes Gov. Chris Christie, the Orca of the Garden State: > > [Gov. Christie Shifted Pension Cash to Wall Street, Costing New Jersey Taxpayers $3.8 Billion | IBTimes](http://www.ibtimes.com/gov-christie-shifted-pension-cash-wall-street-costing-new-jersey-taxpayers-38-billion-1667622) > > _Gov. Christie Shifted Pension Cash to Wall Street, Costing New Jersey Taxpayers $3.8 Billion_ > > > [@](#): > > > > Gov. Chris Christie’s administration openly acknowledged that more New Jersey taxpayer dollars were going to land in the coffers of major financial institutions. It was 2010, and Christie had just installed a longtime private equity executive, Robert Grady, to manage the state’s pension money. Grady promoted a plan to put more of those funds into riskier investments managed by Wall Street firms. Though this would entail higher fees, Grady said the strategy would “maximize returns while appropriately managing risk.” > > > > Four years later, New Jersey has secured only half the promised results. The state has sent more pension money to big-name Wall Street firms like Blackstone, Third Point, Omega Advisors, Elliott Associates and Grady’s old firm, The Carlyle Group. Additionally, the amount of fees the state pays financial managers has more than tripled since Christie assumed office. New Jersey is now one of America’s largest investors in hedge funds. > > > > The “maximized returns” have yet to materialize… > > Oink? Oink! Hasn’t Wall Street had one of its best runs ever over the last four years? If they didn’t get good returns now, they never will. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16350 "2014-08-27T13:25:37Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Mitch McConnell’s plans for after the midterms:](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/2014-election-mitch-mcconnells-barack-obama-confrontation-110154.html?hp=t1_3) [And more from Mitch . . .](http://www.salon.com/2014/08/27/mitch_mcconnell%e2%80%99s_secret_father%e2%80%99s_day_gift_to_the_koch_brothers/) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16351 "2014-08-27T13:41:58Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Hasn’t Wall Street had one of its best runs ever over the last four years? If they didn’t get good returns now, they never will. Didn’t you read the article? 😛 Wall Street hedge-fund managers picked up almost $1 billion in fees from Christie’s generosity. I’d say that’s rather good returns. 😃 The people of New Jersey made money on those investments also, just not as much _even before fees_ as they’d have made in, say, a simple index fund. With the high fees, the people of New Jersey took a double-hit but, as we learn from other threads, some 48% of those people are felons or would-be felons, not the “right kind” of people (gun-toting Christian Americans who love Job Creators and come from an appropriate ethnic group). Take money out of their hands they’d probably spend on drugs and give it to Job Creators? Win-Win. :rolleyes: There are several reasons why conservative buy-and-hold investment makes more sense for large pension funds than sprinkling it over a variety of high-fee “hedge” funds. In the threads about wealth-creation being non-zero sum, I’d ask: _What was the value added by Wall Street to the New Jersey funds?_ In threads about who’s more criminal: white Job Creators or black jaywalkers, I’d ask if billion-dollar larcenies such as Christie’s gift to his Wall St. campaign donors should count as crime. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16352 "2014-08-27T19:14:53Z")
Jody Hice is a pastor who is running for Congress from Georgia. As a pastor, he helped to organize “Pulpit Freedom Sunday”, in which, every Sunday, ministers would pontificate in favor of Republican candidates and Republican policies. The stated purpose of Pulpit Freedom Sunday is to egg the IRS into investigating whether churches should have their tax exempt status rescinded due to political activities. Of course, nothing ever came of it. So the Freedom From Religion Foundation instituted a lawsuit against the IRS to require them to revoke tax exemptions from churches which engage in political activity. The IRS responded to the lawsuit by claiming that they were, indeed, investigating political churches, so the FFR Foundation withdrew their lawsuit. Jody Hice is now [outraged, outraged](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jody-hice-now-outraged-very-thing-he-sought-provoke), that the IRS is working with “atheist groups” to persecute churches. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16353 "2014-08-27T20:18:42Z")
[Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett sez](http://http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/tom-corbett-liquor-laws-women) “Reform Liquor Laws So It’s Easier For Women To Make Dinner”. > [@](#): > > “I think a lot of people want to be able to walk into a grocery store,” Corbett said. “Particularly, a lot of the women, want to be able to go in and buy a bottle of wine for dinner, go down buy a six pack or two six packs, buy dinner, and go home. Rather than what I just described, is at least three stops, in Pennsylvania.” ---
**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:** [August 27, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16354 "2014-08-27T20:26:24Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Jody Hice is a pastor who is running for Congress from Georgia. As a pastor, he helped to organize “Pulpit Freedom Sunday”, in which, every Sunday, ministers would pontificate in favor of Republican candidates and Republican policies. The stated purpose of Pulpit Freedom Sunday is to egg the IRS into investigating whether churches should have their tax exempt status rescinded due to political activities. Of course, nothing ever came of it. So the Freedom From Religion Foundation instituted a lawsuit against the IRS to require them to revoke tax exemptions from churches which engage in political activity. The IRS responded to the lawsuit by claiming that they were, indeed, investigating political churches, so the FFR Foundation withdrew their lawsuit. Jody Hice is now [outraged, outraged](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jody-hice-now-outraged-very-thing-he-sought-provoke), that the IRS is working with “atheist groups” to persecute churches. “They see me trollin’, they hatin’…” ---
**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:** [August 27, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16355 "2014-08-27T20:29:54Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett sez](http://http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/tom-corbett-liquor-laws-women) “Reform Liquor Laws So It’s Easier For Women To Make Dinner”. Quite possibly the only thing I agree with One-Term Tom about. PA’s liquor laws are ridiculous. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16356 "2014-08-27T20:31:51Z")
Well, if dinner at the Corbett residence involves a bottle of wine _and_ two six-packs, it would definitely explain a few things. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16357 "2014-08-27T20:41:04Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Well, if dinner at the Corbett residence involves a bottle of wine _and_ two six-packs, it would definitely explain a few things. This is true. Worst boss I’ve ever had… ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16358 "2014-08-28T17:09:38Z")
Talk about doing the right thing for the wrong reasons… ---
**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:** [August 28, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16359 "2014-08-28T19:48:53Z")
Lawyers for Indiana and Wisconsin are arguing in support of their states’ anti-gay marriage laws before the Seventh Circuit Court. One of their arguments: “[Gay people don’t need marriage because they’re better parents than straight people](http://www.salon.com/2014/08/28/would_you_criminalize_fornication_desperate_new_argument_against_same_sex_marriage_laughed_out_of_court/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow).” ---
**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:** [August 29, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/16360 "2014-08-29T19:45:55Z")
Herman Cain: “[Obama is intentionally wanting to be impeached](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/herman-cain-explains-president-obamas-ingenious-plan-get-himself-impeached-election)” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=817) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=819)