# 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:** 906
**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:** [December 12, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18102 "2014-12-12T15:30:59Z")
The House has passed the budget, complete with the trashing of McCain-Feingold and forcing the taxpayer to foot the bill for Wall Street’s predations. America takes another giant step down the path to total corruption of its political system. I’m beginning to sympathize with the anarchists and wish that Occupy Wall Street had enjoyed stronger leadership. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18103 "2014-12-12T15:55:00Z")
Its very telling, isn’t it? What two items on the Republican agenda were worth wrecking everything to get? Gut the limits on campaign spending, and make it easier for greed freaks to exercise their creativity and entrepreneurial zest. These are the hills they were willing to die on, the points so utterly crucial that all else pales by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18104 "2014-12-12T16:01:06Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I can’t eat Middle Eastern food, it makes me feel awful. Deep fried chickpeas or favs beans can be disagreeable. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18105 "2014-12-12T17:47:01Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > I bring you: [Rick Perry: Presidential Campaign's 'Not an IQ Test'](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/rick-perry-presidential-campaigns-not-iq-test-n266031) > “Running for the presidency’s not an IQ test. It is a test of an individual’s resolve. It’s a test of an individual’s philosophy. It’s a test of an individual’s life’s experiences,” Perry said in an interview at the Governor’s Mansion, which he’s leaving as his term ends. “And I think Americans are really ready for a leader that will give them a great hope about the future.” Wait a minute… didn’t conservatives spend most of Obama’s first term making fun of his “HOPE” slogan? ---
**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:** [December 12, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18106 "2014-12-12T17:52:56Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Its very telling, isn’t it? What two items on the Republican agenda were worth wrecking everything to get? Gut the limits on campaign spending, and make it easier for greed freaks to exercise their creativity and entrepreneurial zest. These are the hills they were willing to die on, the points so utterly crucial that all else pales by comparison. The Republicans are taking virtually no risks here. They passed a budget that will prevent a govt shutdown, if Obama refuses to sign it, they get to blame him. Of course, Obama won’t REALLY be to blame, but this is what comes out of the last election. Plus, Republicans spin and frame a lot better than the Democrats do. If Obama DOES sign the bill and the greed freaks DO sink the economy, rest assured, Obama will be blamed. He signed the bill into law, didn’t he? A Democratic majority in the Senate passed it into law didn’t they? ---
**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:** [December 12, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18107 "2014-12-12T17:58:10Z")
At this point, every government shutdown gets owned by the Republicans, no matter what the circumstances. It’s like tax increases and higher spending; the public will always believe the Democrats did it, even when it was the Republicans. Likewise, Republicans have been the cause of so many notorious shutdowns, it is easy to blame it on them, and the public will believe it, because shutdowns are perceived as a Republican thing. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18108 "2014-12-12T18:18:23Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > I bring you: [Rick Perry: Presidential Campaign's 'Not an IQ Test'](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/rick-perry-presidential-campaigns-not-iq-test-n266031) > “Running for the presidency’s not an IQ test. It is a test of an individual’s resolve. It’s a test of an individual’s philosophy. It’s a test of an individual’s life’s experiences,” Perry said in an interview at the Governor’s Mansion, which he’s leaving as his term ends. “And I think Americans are really ready for a leader that will give them a great hope about the future.” > > What about the hope you gave Texas. BIG EMPLOYMENT GAINS in minimum wage jobs. NO INCOME TAX but middle income Texans pay more total taxes than Californians… EDUCATIONAL REFORM - massive cuts and Christian influence in history books. Ho ho, Ricky talking about “[life experiences.](http://blogs.houstonpress.com/news/2014/12/great_hair_stellar_entertainment_were_really_going_to_miss_rick_perry.php)” After his education at Texas A&M, he served in the Air Force a couple of years (required, I believe, after the ROTC), returned home to help his father grow cotton & ran for the State Legislature. As a Democrat. [He switched parties](http://www.texastribune.org/2011/07/14/rick-perry-democrat-years/)(with Karl Rove at his side) so he could run as Agriculture Commissioner. So he progressed in office until Bush Jr’s social promotion to the Presidency made him Governor. Rick Perry has never, ever had a job in private industry. Much less run a company… ---
**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:** [December 12, 2014, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18109 "2014-12-12T18:42:18Z")
Maybe not, but he’s made significant contributions to the hair care industry. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18110 "2014-12-12T18:58:39Z")
And it’s hard to fault those sexy Colin Melloy glasses. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18111 "2014-12-12T19:10:58Z")
Wait, glasses are _sexy_? Oh, sure,\* now\* I find out! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18112 "2014-12-12T20:22:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The House has passed the budget, complete with the trashing of McCain-Feingold and forcing the taxpayer to foot the bill for Wall Street’s predations. America takes another giant step down the path to total corruption of its political system. I’m beginning to sympathize with the anarchists and wish that Occupy Wall Street had enjoyed stronger leadership. [Still, there are some encouraging signs.](http://www.salon.com/2014/12/12/a_new_day_for_liberals_what_we_learned_in_the_epic_clash_over_the_spending_bill/) > [@](#): > > And what did that vote tell us about the Democratic Party? Most of the departing Blue Dogs who lost their seats voted for the bill, predictably. In a break with President Obama, who lobbied for it, most of the Congressional Black Caucus did not. The remaining House Democrats are going to be more reliably critical of Wall Street, and less inclined to bow to the White House. 2015 is going to be interesting. > > \ > > We now know that Nancy Pelosi is through guaranteeing the votes for ugly messes liberals hate (like the debt ceiling and sequester deals) but that House Speaker John Boehner can’t pass alone. In a new Congress where many Blue Dogs lost their seats, this sets the stage for House Democrats to block elements of the GOP agenda, especially when there can be left-right alliances. Tea Party defenders say it was partly inspired by outrage at the 2008 Wall Street bailout and corporate-government cronyism; it would be nice if House adherents remembered those roots. > > \ > > We’re also seeing a more clearly defined bloc of Wall Street critics emerge in the Democratic Party, just in time for 2016. The Warren-led battle over Treasury nominee Antonio Weiss is also heating up – and both fights pit the popular progressive against President Obama. > > Many news accounts have depicted the spending bill battle as Warren vs. Obama, setting up an ongoing clash between the two Democratic leaders. But I think the Warren vs. Obama story line can be overblown. It’s probably too much to expect the president to veto the spending bill and effectively shut down the government – clearly he doesn’t share my optimism that Democrats could win that P.R. battle. But if the noxious measures hidden in the bill came to him as individual pieces of legislation, he’d be under a new level of pressure from congressional Democrats to veto them, and I expect he would. Obama made clear that while he wanted Democrats to support the spending bill he shared their opposition to both provisions. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18113 "2014-12-12T23:40:46Z")
> [@](#): > > In a new Congress where many Blue Dogs lost their seats, this sets the stage for House Democrats to block elements of the GOP agenda, especially when there can be left-right alliances. But didn’t most of the Blue Dogs lose their seats to Republicans, rather than liberal Dems? So if this Congress couldn’t stop the bill, how will the next Congress be any better? ---
**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:** [December 13, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18114 "2014-12-13T02:41:07Z")
At last night’s White House Christmas Party, Michele Bachmann (yes, I know), [asked the President to bomb Iran. And she’s upset that he laughed in her face.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/12/bachmann-bomb-iran_n_6312032.html) ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18115 "2014-12-13T04:48:33Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > At last night’s White House Christmas Party, Michele Bachmann (yes, I know), [asked the President to bomb Iran. And she’s upset that he laughed in her face.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/12/bachmann-bomb-iran_n_6312032.html) Dumbest bitch in the universe. Every time her mouth opens, same uneducated bullshit. If Obama jokingly said, “Yeah, gotta help the Jews”, she would’ve been like, “Yeah! We need their money!” Or something. Yet, she probably has both hands clutching her purse if she meets a Rabbi. Cuntrag extroidinaire. Has she asked Barak if his wife is a man yet? If not, color me surprised. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18116 "2014-12-13T05:55:58Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > At last night’s White House Christmas Party, Michele Bachmann (yes, I know), [asked the President to bomb Iran. And she’s upset that he laughed in her face.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/12/bachmann-bomb-iran_n_6312032.html) When is the Secret Service going to get their act together? They let a crazy person within arms reach of the president. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2014, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18117 "2014-12-13T08:42:16Z")
She was just another one of those zOMGOPs, the Secret Service did not recognize her as being a serious threat. To the president, anyway. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18118 "2014-12-13T14:38:05Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Has she asked Barak if his wife is a man yet? If not, color me surprised. It would be so sweet if she tried that. The President’s proper response: “She was all woman when we fucked each other’s brains out last night. When’s the last time you and Maurice fucked each other’s brains out? Hmmmm?” ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18119 "2014-12-13T14:50:12Z")
Hmmm, misdirected sexual frustration would seem explain a good bit about Mrs. Bachmann’s behavior over the last…forever… ---
**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:** [December 13, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18120 "2014-12-13T15:27:12Z")
House Republicans have filed an Obamacare [lawsuit](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/13/opinion/another-baseless-attack-on-health-law.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region®ion=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region) that, if successful, will basically raise healthcare costs for pretty much everybody. What a bunch of ass clowns. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/18121 "2014-12-13T20:21:40Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > At last night’s White House Christmas Party, Michele Bachmann (yes, I know), [asked the President to bomb Iran. And she’s upset that he laughed in her face.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/12/bachmann-bomb-iran_n_6312032.html) It’s so beautiful that he talked to her like a child, which was perfectly appropriate. Maybe insulting to children, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=905) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=907)