# 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:** 973
**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:** [February 22, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19442 "2015-02-22T21:05:29Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Anyone surprised by this? Well you don’t expect the work of **Harvard** scientists to be quite so _fungible_. Damages the institutional brand, donchaknow. Harvard goes from “pre-eminent institution in one of the world’s most advanced educational systems” to “just another school where you can get bought and paid for results if you have enough money, no different from East Bumfuck Technical College, really.” At least, in my eyes. YMMV. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19443 "2015-02-22T22:10:31Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Well you don’t expect the work of **Harvard** scientists to be quite so _fungible_. Damages the institutional brand, donchaknow. Harvard goes from “pre-eminent institution in one of the world’s most advanced educational systems” to “just another school where you can get bought and paid for results if you have enough money, no different from East Bumfuck Technical College, really.” > > At least, in my eyes. YMMV. He isn’t a Harvard scientist, although FOX news and its ilk try to present him as such. He is a part time employee of the Smithsonian, working at a think tank partly funded by Harvard. His degrees are from USC. He also isn’t an astrophysicist, nor a climatologist. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19444 "2015-02-22T22:39:26Z")
The first amendment protects information by quantity while giving no consideration to value. You can gush out barrels of excretia with no concern for its fetidness, and the RW takes maximum advantage of this: repeat the misinformation enough and the mere act of spewing it lends it credence. They are hosing the stupid over us and we are having a hard time getting it all off. Would that there were some way to mitigate the onslaught of vehement declaratives without losing the overall advantage of free expression. This is just getting ridiculous (and dangerous). ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19445 "2015-02-23T02:03:28Z")
Look. I enjoy reading your posts. I enjoy seeing your baby pics. I love the pics of your baby kittens and puppies. Most of you won’t read this and respond. I know who you are. I forgive you. But seriously, I don’t know if Scott Walker is a pedophile. I just don’t know! C’mon. Let’s be adults. There is no way for me to know if Scott Walker sexually abuses kittens and puppies. We just don’t know. > **[Scott Walker: 'I don't know' if Obama is Christian](https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/scott-walker-i-dont-know-if-obama-christian-msna535201)** > > Gov. Scott Walker told the Washington Post "I don't know" if President Barack Obama is Christian on Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19446 "2015-02-23T02:13:17Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > He also isn’t an astrophysicist, nor a climatologist. Apparently [he’s an aerospace engineer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Soon). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19447 "2015-02-23T02:17:51Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Look. I enjoy reading your posts. I enjoy seeing your baby pics. I love the pics of your baby kittens and puppies. Most of you won’t read this and respond. I know who you are. I forgive you. > > But seriously, I don’t know if Scott Walker is a pedophile. I just don’t know! C’mon. Let’s be adults. There is no way for me to know if Scott Walker sexually abuses kittens and puppies. > > We just don’t know. > > [Scott Walker: 'I don't know' if Obama is Christian](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/scott-walker-i-dont-know-if-obama-christian?cid=sm_fb_msnbc) Me neither. I mean, I do occasionally sell him kittens and puppies and children of both sexes, but I have no idea what he does with them. And I ain’t about to ask. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2015, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19448 "2015-02-23T06:39:35Z")
Scott Walker: [My stance against unions in Wisconsin would be a signal of toughness to Islamic jihadists and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.](http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/politics/foreign-policy-expert-scott-walker-my-anti-union-stance-will-make-isis-think-im-tough/) ---
**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:** [February 23, 2015, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19449 "2015-02-23T07:14:56Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Scott Walker: [My stance against unions in Wisconsin would be a signal of toughness to Islamic jihadists and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.](http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/politics/foreign-policy-expert-scott-walker-my-anti-union-stance-will-make-isis-think-im-tough/) Well, he’s got a point. If he’s willing to fuck over some of his own constituents, just think what he’d do to a bunch of people he doesn’t even know. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19450 "2015-02-23T08:33:15Z")
I thought he meant the Teacher’s Union was beheading hostages. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2015, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19451 "2015-02-23T08:35:13Z")
That’s a mighty wide stance. Even for a Republican. How’s he stand on the homophobia scale? Right wing batshit or over the edge? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19452 "2015-02-23T08:45:37Z")
Gay marriage is better than unwed pregnancy, outside of that, no. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19453 "2015-02-23T08:51:24Z")
People really put a lot of stock into making sure you’re married to the father before you give birth. Because being able to impregnate someone is the only qualifying attribute for a life partner and person you’re legally bound to, obviously. Gotta make certain you can’t find anyone better. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19454 "2015-02-23T14:29:12Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Because being able to impregnate someone is the only qualifying attribute for a life partner and person you’re legally bound to, obviously. Gotta make certain you can’t find anyone better. C’mon - what decent man is going to marry a loose woman and raise another man’s child? She’s lucky anyone would marry her. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19455 "2015-02-23T14:53:58Z")
9/11 profiteer extraordinaire, Rudolph the red-nosed draft dodger Giuliani is finally [backing off](http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/22/politics/rudy-giuliani-obama-patriotism/index.html) his asinine and infantile comments about Obama’s patriotism. Someone needs to tell Giuliani one simple truth: Had Bloomberg been mayor on 9/11, he probably would have done a better job. Any competent politician, Cuomo or Christie for example, would have handled it just as well as Giuliani. We all got behind the mayor because there was a lot of important work to be done. That’s it, full stop. He was a giant cunt before the attacks, and a giant dick after them. Now that 9/11 has made him rich beyond his dreams, he should just stay at home and count his blood-soaked dollars and shut the fuck up. Also, to all the idiots who spout nonsense about “American Exceptionalism”: that should be an aspiration, not something taken for granted. The Marshall Plan was exceptional, Abu Ghraib was not. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19456 "2015-02-23T15:41:36Z")
I don’t get the admiration for Giuliani. I can’t think of one thing that he did as mayor during and after 9/11 that nobody else would have or could have done. Yet he has milked that bloody cow for over 13 years now and shows no sign of stopping. His 2008 presidential campaign could not have been more amateurish and he went from front-runner to toilet faster than anyone I can recall. Now he makes a living trying to gin up anti-Muslim hysteria and blowing racial dog whistles about Obama. Fuck him. He’s just another right wingnut now, no more deserving of the spotlight than Sarah Palin. The only thing I find remarkable about him now is when he is seen in profile view, he has the flattest head I’ve ever seen. He’s the only bald guy in the world with a flattop. Sorta reminds me of the old Dick Tracy villain now. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19457 "2015-02-23T15:43:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you characterize your papers as “deliverables” that you complete in exchange for their money? Because that’s what he does. Of course I call my papers deliverables – not because someone paid for them, but because that’s what they are. > [@](#): > > Do you violate journals’ terms of disclosure for your funding? Because that’s what he does. No I do not, and this is where I see his biggest ethics breach is. I always disclose all my funding sources. > [@](#): > > Do you specifically tailor your work so that it gives the exact results that the National Institute of Health wants? Because that’s what he does. The source of funding is important in this case, because the oil industry WANTS certain results, because certain results will give them more profits. You can’t say this about the NIH. You’re comparing apples and oranges Not so directly, but I tailor my entire research program around getting the results NIH wants – that’s why they fund me. NIH WANTS certain results because they could lead to better health – that’s hard to quantify in the near term, so they really look at how many high-profile papers I publish. They like (positive) media attention as well. I propose to study certain things, and if NIH thinks the topic is worthy they give me money. I can’t predict what the ultimate results will be after the work is done. If I don’t get the results they want, or can’t convince them that the results I did get are also interesting, ultimately they’ll cut my funding. I would never alter my data to get some preconceived result. The Data are the Data, and the Results are the Results. It’s my job to convince them that what I do find is interesting and worth spending taxpayer money on. There are MANY research topics that I would love to investigate, but that NIH isn’t interested in in them, so they’ll never get done (at least not by me). Anyone who things industry manipulates what gets researched, but that the government doesn’t is naïve. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19458 "2015-02-23T16:31:08Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > 9/11 profiteer extraordinaire, Rudolph the red-nosed draft dodger Giuliani is finally [backing off](http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/22/politics/rudy-giuliani-obama-patriotism/index.html) his asinine and infantile comments about Obama’s patriotism. Meanwhile, [Wayne Barrett vivisects Giuliani](http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/wayne-barrett-rudy-giuliani-love-article-1.2122253). ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19459 "2015-02-23T17:34:59Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I don’t get the admiration for Giuliani. I can’t think of one thing that he did as mayor during and after 9/11 that nobody else would have or could have done. Yet he has milked that bloody cow for over 13 years now and shows no sign of stopping. His 2008 presidential campaign could not have been more amateurish and he went from front-runner to toilet faster than anyone I can recall. > > Now he makes a living trying to gin up anti-Muslim hysteria and blowing racial dog whistles about Obama. Fuck him. He’s just another right wingnut now, no more deserving of the spotlight than Sarah Palin. > > The only thing I find remarkable about him now is when he is seen in profile view, he has the flattest head I’ve ever seen. He’s the only bald guy in the world with a flattop. Sorta reminds me of the old Dick Tracy villain now. Giuliani is a sad case: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQxom03gRXI) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19460 "2015-02-23T18:51:34Z")
[Scott Walker, after years of insisting he has no interest in “right to work” legislation and “it is not on my agenda” and “would bring the whole firestorm back,” is now ready to sign such a bill.](http://www.thenation.com/blog/198705/scott-walker-says-hell-sign-alec-echoing-right-work-less-legislation) > [@](#): > > That was then. This is now. > > Walker’s not worrying about Wisconsin these days. He’s in a new race—scrambling to win the support of 2016 Republican presidential caucus-goers and primary voters who like their candidates to take a hard line on social and economic issues. > > So Walker’s line just got a whole lot harder. > > On Friday, two of the governor’s closest legislative allies, state Senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald and state Assembly speaker Robin Vos, announced that they will call a rare “extraordinary session” to rush through a “right to work” bill with limited public input and debate. With solid Republican majorities in both chambers, they say they aim to pass the measure—which mirrors “model legislation” language peddled by the corporate-sponsored American Legislative Exchange Council —in a matter of days. > > This development took most Wisconsinites by surprise. Republicans and Democrats had thought that the issue was on the legislative back-burner—not just because of Walker’s pre-election and post-election talk about wanting to avoid distractions, but also because some legislative Republicans had griped about the wisdom of advancing “right to work” legislation. > > “It is absurd that Republicans would fast-track legislation to interfere with private business contracts and lower wages for all Wisconsin workers at a time when our state is facing a massive $2.2 billion budget crisis,” Wisconsin Senate Democratic leader Jennifer Shilling said after the announcement that the “right-to-work” fight was on. ---
**Author:** ![Donald\_Rump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Donald\_Rump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donald_Rump)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/19461 "2015-02-23T18:55:58Z")
[Daniel Larison](http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/giulianis-tedious-lecture-on-american-exceptionalism/) lays the smack down on Giuliani’s exceptionalism… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=972) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=974)