# 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:** 898
**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:** [November 24, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17941 "2014-11-24T19:21:53Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > No, see, that’s typical liberal cynicism, accusing the other side of skullduggery and shenanigans without a shred of proof, just to poison the well. When the truth is much simpler : if the theory fails to achieve its predictions, obviously and self-demonstrably reality is wrong. In this case, reality is not in question: Ryan wants to control the predictions upon which their policy will be based – or more accurately, he wants to craft policy and have the CBO craft a scoring that makes it work, rather than present a policy to be fairly assessed and scored. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17942 "2014-11-24T19:34:56Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > No, see, that’s typical liberal cynicism, accusing the other side of skullduggery and shenanigans without a shred of proof, just to poison the well. When the truth is much simpler : if the theory fails to achieve its predictions, obviously and self-demonstrably reality is wrong. Well, we’ve legalized pot here in Oregon, so reality is no longer an issue. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17943 "2014-11-24T20:20:58Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Well, we’ve legalized pot here in Oregon, so reality is no longer an issue. Technically, you have made reality optional: I believe you made pot legal but not mandatory, so a handful of Oregonians still get to grapple with reality from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17944 "2014-11-24T20:54:59Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Technically, you have made reality optional: I believe you made pot legal but not mandatory, so a handful of Oregonians still get to grapple with reality from time to time. But then the pot wears off . . . ---
**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:** [November 24, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17945 "2014-11-24T21:21:24Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Technically, you have made reality optional: I believe you made pot legal but not mandatory, so a handful of Oregonians still get to grapple with reality from time to time. Well, yeah. You need somebody to drive on the Cheetos run. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17946 "2014-11-25T23:38:41Z")
If Paul Ryan reads Ayn Rand, like all good righties do, I’m surprised he seems never to have run across this quote. “We can ignore reality, we can not ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17947 "2014-11-25T23:48:00Z")
Rand is like Alinsky. Conservative ideology is certainly influenced by her, but only a very small minority are really familiar with her and buy her rather unique ideas completely. Although I really do like her quote about money. Don’t remember it verbatim, but it’s basically that people say money is evil, yet the only alternative to money, which represents free exchanges of goods and services, is force. And there are many who think that force is good, while money is evil. Which means that even if they don’t consciously believe it, the results of what they want is that freedom is bad, totalitarianism is good. That’s why for every Lenin and Stalin and Mao, there are several million naive “money is evil” types following them thinking they are making a better world. And usually ended up against the wall at some point. Useful idiots, I believe they were called by Stalin himself. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17948 "2014-11-26T00:11:01Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Useful idiots, I believe they were called by Stalin himself. [[shrug]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot) > [@](#): > > A 2010 BBC radio documentary titled Useful Idiots listed among “useful idiots” of Joseph Stalin several prominent British writers including H. G. Wells and Doris Lessing, the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw, the American journalist Walter Duranty, and the singer Paul Robeson.[12] That’s actually some pretty good company to be in. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17949 "2014-11-26T00:22:36Z")
[Some unnamed Congressional Pubs are thinking of not inviting Obama to the SOTU address.](http://www.salon.com/2014/11/25/wingnuts_plot_pathetic_new_ways_to_pester_obama_dont_let_him_give_a_state_of_the_union/) He can just submit his constitutionally-required annual report to Congress on paper and have it read into the record. [(It has been done that way before.)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Union#History) [Apparently they got the idea from Breitbart.](http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/11/20/Congress-Should-Cancel-the-State-of-the-Union-2015) ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17950 "2014-11-26T00:22:53Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > This dickhead having that name upsets me because [Issa](http://www.myspace.com/issalight) is the name of one of my favorite singers (formerly [Jane Siberry](http://www.myspace.com/janesiberrysheeba)) Issa is also a name assigned to Jesus during the time He was in India during His “Missing Years.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17951 "2014-11-26T00:25:57Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > Issa is also a name assigned to Jesus during the time He was in India during His “Missing Years.” I thought it was just the Arabic name for Jesus – wait, India?! ---
**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:** [November 26, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17952 "2014-11-26T00:33:22Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Rand is like Alinsky. Conservative ideology is certainly influenced by her, but only a very small minority are really familiar with her and buy her rather unique ideas completely. > > Although I really do like her quote about money. Don’t remember it verbatim, but it’s basically that people say money is evil, yet the only alternative to money, which represents free exchanges of goods and services, is force. And there are many who think that force is good, while money is evil. Which means that even if they don’t consciously believe it, the results of what they want is that freedom is bad, totalitarianism is good. That’s why for every Lenin and Stalin and Mao, there are several million naive “money is evil” types following them thinking they are making a better world. And usually ended up against the wall at some point. Useful idiots, I believe they were called by Stalin himself. Influenced by Her? What Alinsky are we talking about? That view of liberals or the left of today looks like it was tainted or continued to be tainted by guys like [Goldberg](http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/122231). And then the “useful idiots” quote was never said by Stalin or even Lenin whom it is most attributed with. > **[Useful idiot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot)** > > A useful idiot or useful fool is a pejorative description of a person, suggesting that the person thinks they are fighting for a cause without fully comprehending the consequences of their actions, and who does not realize they are being manipulated by the cause's leaders or by other political players. The term was often used during the Cold War to describe non-communists regarded as susceptible to communist propaganda and psychological manipulation. A number of authors attribute this ph The te... > [@](#): > > In political jargon, useful idiot is a term for people perceived as propagandists for a cause whose goals they are not fully aware of, and who are used cynically by the leaders of the cause. Despite often being attributed to Vladimir Lenin,[1][2][3] in 1987, Grant Harris, senior reference librarian at the Library of Congress, declared that “We have not been able to identify this phrase among [Lenin’s] published works.”[4][5] ---
**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:** [November 26, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17953 "2014-11-26T01:27:19Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I thought it was just the Arabic name for Jesus – wait, India?! Oh, that’s nothing. You know that the guy who got crucified wasn’t Jesus but his twin brother Isukiri, while the real Jesus went back to Japan and lived to a sprightly 106, right ? What ? Why are y’all looking at me that way ? [It’s true !](http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--h24uqWCc--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/18lp53rq8jfcjjpg.jpg) ---
**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:** [November 26, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17954 "2014-11-26T02:06:41Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I thought it was just the Arabic name for Jesus – wait, India?! Didn’t you know that? And St Thomas went there right after poking Jesus in the spear hole. An Indian lady joined our church and the ladies whose ancestors ringed the Baltic were surprised there were Indian Christians. I wanted to say that there was a good chance that her family had been Christian for 1400 years longer than theirs. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2014, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17955 "2014-11-26T03:09:49Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [[shrug]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot) > > That’s actually some pretty good company to be in. Shaw is absolutely one of my favorite writers, but he DID, IMHO, earn the “Useful Idiot” title when he got all mushy over Mussolini becuase he thought Mussolini was his philosophical ideal of a superman, instead of seeing him for the thug he was. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17956 "2014-11-26T14:37:59Z")
[Rep. Peter King suggests Obama invite Darren Wilson to the WH and thank him for doing his job.](http://www.salon.com/2014/11/25/rep_peter_king_suggests_that_president_obama_invite_darren_wilson_to_the_white_house/) ---
**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:** [November 26, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17957 "2014-11-26T14:43:27Z")
I wonder if King expects the UK PM to invite him to Downing Street to thank him for funding 20 years of terrorism. ---
**Author:** ![Wash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@Wash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wash)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17958 "2014-11-26T14:59:11Z")
If Obama was going to invite to the White House every single American who does their job very poorly, shouldn’t Rep. Peter King be higher on the list of invitees than Wilson? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17959 "2014-11-26T18:10:10Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Although I really do like her quote about money. Don’t remember it verbatim, but it’s basically that people say money is evil, yet the only alternative to money, which represents free exchanges of goods and services, is force. And there are many who think that force is good, while money is evil. If that’s an accurate paraphrase, she’s wrong, because the actual proverb is that the _love_ of money is the root of all evil (I Timothy 6:10), not that money is evil in itself. And force is not the only alternative to the love of money. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/17960 "2014-11-26T19:48:52Z")
This is the first I’ve heard Ayn Rand may have been wrong about something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=897) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=899)