# 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:** 867
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17321 "2014-10-09T18:25:15Z")
> [@bup](#): > > That’s awesome. > > I wonder if we can start the meme that a liberal biologist wants apes to have equal rights with humans, so is working with Obama to spread Ebola so the apes can rise. It makes so much sense. I need a t-shirt that says this. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17322 "2014-10-09T18:37:44Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Renaming Columbus Day is a stupid idea. It’s a way of benefitting from what he did without honoring him. Man, I told you many, many times before that opening your mouth was just courting fate, the universe does take what you say and changes the past just to spite you 😛 : > **[Why Columbus Day Courts Controversy | HISTORY](https://www.history.com/news/columbus-day-controversy)** > > Christopher Columbus undoubtably changed the world. But was it for the better? > [@](#): > > Like many European explorers, Columbus encountered many indigenous people throughout his voyages. Singularly focused on his mission to find riches and conquer new lands, Columbus and his teams treated the indigenous groups they came across as obstacles to their greater mission. There are three main sources of controversy involving Columbus’s interactions with the indigenous people he labeled “Indians”: the use of violence and slavery, the forced conversion of native peoples to Christianity, and the introduction of a host of new diseases that would have dramatic long-term effects on native people in the Americas. Historians have uncovered extensive evidence of the damage wreaked by Columbus and his teams, leading to an outcry over emphasis placed upon studying and celebrating him in schools and public celebrations. > > In an era in which the international slave trade was starting to grow, Columbus and his men enslaved many native inhabitants of the West Indies and subjected them to extreme violence and brutality. On his famous first voyage in 1492, Columbus landed on an unknown Caribbean island after an arduous three-month journey. On his first day in the New World, he ordered six of the natives to be seized, writing in his journal that he believed they would be good servants. Throughout his years in the New World, Columbus enacted policies of forced labor in which natives were put to work for the sake of profits. Later, Columbus sent thousands of peaceful Taino “Indians” from the island of Hispaniola to Spain to be sold. Many died en route. Those left behind were forced to search for gold in mines and on plantations. Within 60 years after Columbus landed, only a few hundred of what may have been 250,000 Taino were left on their island. > [@adaher](#): > > Unless we’re willing to give the continent back, such measures are just stupid. No one is asking that you numnuts, the holiday changed its name in Latin America hundreds of years ago when virtually all noticed, when independence from Spain was won, that it was really stupid to celebrate a conqueror from the old world, but the reference to Columbus and other explorers does remain in the idea of the meeting and mixing of the races. The biggest mystery for me is why the USA after gaining independence from the imperialists of the day did continue to celebrate a conqueror from the old world. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17323 "2014-10-09T18:49:39Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > It steam-engines when it comes steam-engine time. **Some** Euro would have sailed across the Atlantic that decade. Not necessarily. Columbus was \*stupendously \*stupid and hard-headed. Had America not been there (by sheer luck), and had the geographical notion of the world he was working from been right, he and his men would have died of thirst long before reaching India. Seriously, Columbus was a complete fuckwit - the Renaissance equivalent of a climate change denier. _Everybody_ told him his math was pants-on-head bonkers. Which it jolly fucking well _was_. Which is all the more interesting a factoid to know when management suits trot out the “egg of Columbus” story as an incentive to think outside the box. The box is there for _people like him_ ! ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17324 "2014-10-09T19:04:59Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > …No one is asking that you numnuts, the holiday changed its name in Latin America hundreds of years ago when virtually all noticed, when independence from Spain was won, that it was really stupid to celebrate a conqueror from the old world, but the reference to Columbus and other explorers does remain in the idea of the meeting and mixing of the races. > > The biggest mystery for me is why the USA after gaining independence from the imperialists of the day did continue to celebrate a conqueror from the old world. I’ve always thought _La Dia de la Raza_ was a fine way to celebrate and/or commemorate this important event. Living in Texas will do that. Just to keep this on topic, here are some far right[nutcases hyperventilating](http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/07/_la_raza_invades_the_calendar.html?utm_source=E-mail+Updates&utm_campaign=c540370c60-Immigration_Opinions_7_19_147_19_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7dc4c5d977-c540370c60-45093789) about _la raza cósmica_. Warning: They quote Michele Malkin… (Besides, everybody knows that Brendan the Navigator beat the Norse here.) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17325 "2014-10-09T19:05:14Z")
> [@bup](#): > > That’s awesome. > > I wonder if we can start the meme that a liberal biologist wants apes to have equal rights with humans, so is working with Obama to spread Ebola so the apes can rise. You are scaring me: [A New York appeals court will consider whether chimpanzees are entitled to “legal personhood” in what experts say is the first case of its kind.](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tommy-chimp-center-legal-personhood-court-case-n220926) ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17326 "2014-10-09T19:29:44Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > [Why Columbus Day Courts Controversy | HISTORY](http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/columbus-controversy) > > > [@](#): > > > > In an era in which the international slave trade was starting to grow, Columbus and his men enslaved many native inhabitants of the West Indies and subjected them to extreme violence and brutality. On his famous first voyage in 1492, Columbus landed on an unknown Caribbean island after an arduous three-month journey. On his first day in the New World, he ordered six of the natives to be seized, writing in his journal that he believed they would be good servants. So you’re saying Columbus was the New World’s first job creator? And you’re criticizing him? Typical liberal mentality. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17327 "2014-10-09T19:34:09Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > You are scaring me: > > [A New York appeals court will consider whether chimpanzees are entitled to “legal personhood” in what experts say is the first case of its kind.](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tommy-chimp-center-legal-personhood-court-case-n220926) [Thanks, Obama](http://www.simianflu.com/)! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17328 "2014-10-09T21:40:06Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Not necessarily. Columbus was \*stupendously \*stupid and hard-headed. Had America not been there (by sheer luck), and had the geographical notion of the world he was working from been right, he and his men would have died of thirst long before reaching India. > > Seriously, Columbus was a complete fuckwit - the Renaissance equivalent of a climate change denier. _Everybody_ told him his math was pants-on-head bonkers. Which it jolly fucking well _was_. > Which is all the more interesting a factoid to know when management suits trot out the “egg of Columbus” story as an incentive to think outside the box. The box is there for _people like him_ ! All true, I’m sure; nevertheless, once the Age of Exploration was opened, once Europeans started long-distance deep-ocean sailing, the Euro discovery of the Americas was inevitable. (The Chinese would have done it first, sooner or later, if the Ming Dynasty had not pulled the plug on Zheng He’s projects.) ---
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17329 "2014-10-09T22:44:03Z")
“[We have to fight Ebola! Just, we don’t want to pay for it](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/09/1335476/-Republican-senators-seek-to-block-funds-to-combat-Ebola?detail=facebook).” ---
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17330 "2014-10-09T23:30:37Z")
This thread seems somewhat bereft of actual ideas, perhaps a mod could edit the title to **Stupid Republican “idea” of the day** ---
**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:** [October 9, 2014, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17331 "2014-10-09T23:34:44Z")
You think refusing to fund Ebola prevention isn’t an idea? ---
**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:** [October 10, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17332 "2014-10-10T00:27:45Z")
It is an idea in the same way that stupidity is a form of intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Abe\_Babe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Abe\_Babe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe_Babe)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17333 "2014-10-10T16:05:31Z")
> [@bup](#): > > That’s awesome. > > I wonder if we can start the meme that a liberal biologist wants apes to have equal rights with humans, so is working with Obama to spread Ebola so the apes can rise. “Ape shall not kill Abe.” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17334 "2014-10-10T16:08:09Z")
“It’s Ape and Ape, not Ape and Abe.” [Straight from Kos](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/09/1335297/-Glenn-Grothman-is-a-contender-for-craziest-Republican-in-Congress-Let-s-stop-him-from-getting-there?detail=hide) is the heartwarming tale of Glenn Grothman, running for Congress in Wisconsin. Some samples: > [@](#): > > “Why sit down with 7th graders and say to some you will be heterosexual, some homosexual? Part of that agenda which is left unsaid is that some of those who throw it out as an option would like it if more kids became homosexuals.” > > “Right now in Wisconsin, you’re not supposed to work seven days in a row, which is a little ridiculous because all sorts of people want to work seven days a week.” > > “Some people enjoy creating babies to experiment on, but I don’t.” > > “Given the racist background of Planned Parenthood and not liking people who are not white, I wonder if one of the reasons why Planned Parenthood likes to do these sex-selective abortions is disproportionately they are done on people of an Asian background. Let’s face it; we all know Planned Parenthood’s background, very racist, probably the most racist organization.” > > “You could argue that money is more important for men. I think a guy in their first job, maybe because they expect to be a breadwinner someday, may be a little more money-conscious. To attribute everything to a so-called bias in the workplace is just not true.” > > “Of course, almost no black people today care about Kwanzaa—just white left-wingers who try to shove this down black people’s throats in an effort to divide Americans.” > > “I’ve interviewed over a dozen people who check out people who pay with food stamps and all felt people on food stamps ate better—or at least more costly—than they did.” > > “Quite frankly, it’s scandalous that lawyers are leading people to believe that the lead paint in these houses is responsible for the increases in the (lead) levels in their blood.” > > “The Left and the social welfare establishment want children born out of wedlock because they are far more likely to be dependent on the government.” ---
**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:** [October 10, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17335 "2014-10-10T16:23:06Z")
> [@](#): > > “Quite frankly, it’s scandalous that lawyers are leading people to believe that the lead paint in these houses is responsible for the increases in the (lead) levels in their blood.” “Why, I drank a pint of the stuff every day when I was growing up, and I came out OK!” ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17336 "2014-10-10T16:30:41Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > “It’s Ape and Ape, not Ape and Abe.” Holy shit, that movie makes _a lot_ more sense now! Oh, by the way, :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17337 "2014-10-10T16:32:35Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > “Some people enjoy creating babies to experiment on, but I don’t.” So, you’re gay? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17338 "2014-10-10T17:07:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Give the continent back? What exactly do you think he did, and where do you think we would be right now if he hadn’t done it? I’m thinking of starting a Great Debates thread on this subject. What if 16th century Europe had a Star Trek Prime Directive – explore, but do nothing to interfere with local cultures. What would the world look like today? ---
**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:** [October 10, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17339 "2014-10-10T17:15:28Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > You can take the day off but only if you’re Italian. It works like Rosh Hashana for Jews. Woot! ---
**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:** [October 10, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17340 "2014-10-10T17:17:24Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I’m thinking of starting a Great Debates thread on this subject. What if 16th century Europe had a Star Trek Prime Directive – explore, but do nothing to interfere with local cultures. What would the world look like today? I think that without an economic imperative to fuel exploration there wouldn’t be a lot of exploring. Nobody’ll do it unless there’s money in it. A few centuries earlier the Church might have made it a moral duty to go, but after the Protestatant Reformation that wouldn’t fly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=866) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=868)