# Vivek Ramaswamy **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 30, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352 "2023-08-30T15:30:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/161 "2023-11-10T10:15:37Z")
Maybe I’m much too cynical but do we think the Nikki/Vivek bit was planned? And if she’d taken off her shoes and earrings and tried to smack him,I probably would have very very briefly thought about voting for her. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/162 "2023-11-10T12:02:23Z")
No, I think she genuinely can’t stand him and it was not planned. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/163 "2023-11-10T12:08:09Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Does that make Mike Pence the guy who got bitten like five hours ago but hasn’t told anyone? If Mike Pence got turned into a zombie, would anyone even notice? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/164 "2023-11-10T12:08:22Z")
No it wasn’t planned. I do think Nikki was prepared for an opening to use the line though, because she’s done her homework on Mr. Smarmy. Plus she knew she’d be on a stage with a group of republican misogynists so the odds were in her favor. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/165 "2023-11-10T12:40:19Z")
Ramaswamy wants to build a “second” wall, this one [on the border with Canada](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/11/gop-debate-vivek-ramaswamy-two-walls-canada-fentanyl.html). (Why does he want to leave our sea coasts unwalled? Doesn’t he love America?) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/166 "2023-11-10T12:48:07Z")
From that article: > But Vivek Ramaswamy took it one step further. “Don’t just build the wall. Build both walls,” he proclaimed. **The U.S., Ramaswamy said, received more fentanyl from Canada last year than it did from Mexico.** Therefore, in order to combat the opioid crisis, Ramaswamy argued, we needed to shut out Canada too. > > **However, that’s not exactly true.** The U.S. does get illicit fentanyl from Canada, but it’s pretty minuscule in comparison to the amount that comes in via Mexico. **In 2022 Customs and Border Protection seized 14 pounds of fentanyl at the northern border of the U.S., while 14,100 pounds were seized at the southern border.** That’s correct. 14 is less than 14,100. I’d say it’s more than “not exactly true” that we get more fentanyl from Canada; I’d say it’s a bald-faced lie. Why the fuck are we emboldening people like him to make such statements with such wishy-washy comments as “that’s not exactly true”? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/167 "2023-11-10T13:15:27Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > > [@wguy123](#): > > > > That was a well rehearsed spiel. There was no chance he misspoke. “It has celebrated a Nazi in its ranks, the comedian in cargo pants, the man called Zelenskyy.” > > My theory is that in the US “Nazi” means primarily “antisemitic” – even though the Nazis were against many other things as well, being against the Jews is the first one people think about. > > In certain other countries, “Nazi” primarily means “anti-Russian”. VR’s campaign probably gets propaganda that originates in one of those countries. Putin has been saying he’s been fighting Nazis in Ukraine from the beginning. And they mean literal Nazis. The origins of the Asov Brigade helped the narrative. I’m surprised that anyone is surprised about the leader of Ukraine being called a Nazi. The MAGA and Q crowd has been saying that from the beginning of the conflict. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/168 "2023-11-10T13:41:33Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > If Mike Pence got turned into a zombie, would anyone even notice? Well, flies would start — hey, wait a minute. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/169 "2023-11-10T14:14:51Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > That’s correct. 14 is less than 14,100. I’d say it’s more than “not exactly true” that we get more fentanyl from Canada; I’d say it’s a bald-faced lie. Why the fuck are we emboldening people like him to make such statements with such wishy-washy comments as “that’s not exactly true”? And I think I read that the vast majority of illicit drugs coming across the US-Mexico border is coming thru ports of entry, so additional walling wont have much impact there. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/170 "2023-11-10T14:36:57Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > That’s correct. 14 is less than 14,100. I think their ‘logic’ is that only 14lbs where seized. That means that 14,086lb got through. They believe that every Person, Man, Woman, Camera, TV is a crook. They’re all crooks, it’s the only way they can ‘manage’ in life. So everyone else must be a crook too. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/171 "2023-11-10T14:59:48Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > Ramaswamy wants to build a “second” wall, this one [on the border with Canada](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/11/gop-debate-vivek-ramaswamy-two-walls-canada-fentanyl.html). > (Why does he want to leave our sea coasts unwalled? Doesn’t he love America?) Shucks, that’s an easy one. Walling the seacoasts would be admitting sea level rise and AGW is real. And would actually be useful. Can’t have that. Besides, the interior of the country is where all the red voters are. Those big coastal cities vote blue, so who cares about their interests? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/172 "2023-11-10T15:29:14Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Putin has been saying he’s been fighting Nazis in Ukraine from the beginning. And they mean literal Nazis. The origins of the Asov Brigade helped the narrative. I’m surprised that anyone is surprised about the leader of Ukraine being called a Nazi. The MAGA and Q crowd has been saying that from the beginning of the conflict. Agreed. It’s an ignorant statement, and MAGA disinformation, but it’s not new. I don’t know why the media has picked it up as some kind of out-of-the-blue gaffe. Other parts of his tirade were new talking points to me, such as the claim that the Donbas has been a separate country since 2014 (There was a referendum of sorts in 2014 amidst widespread violence and intimidation. The result has only been recognized by one country in all the years since…guess which one), while incredibly remarking on the ignorance of the general public _“other people probably could not name those provinces for you”_. Yeah I know, by “other people” he will say he meant the other potential nominees, but let’s consider it a “cuntian slip”. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/173 "2023-11-10T21:06:13Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > That’s correct. 14 is less than 14,100. I’d say it’s more than “not exactly true” that we get more fentanyl from Canada; I’d say it’s a bald-faced lie. Why the fuck are we emboldening people like him to make such statements with such wishy-washy comments as “that’s not exactly true”? Seriously. “Not exactly true” might work if, say, 14,200 lbs of fentanyl-laced powder was captured at the Canadian border where the % of fentanyl was much less than 100. As the facts stand, the only way his claim could be further off is if the only fentanyl that crossed the northern border went from the U.S. into Canada. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/174 "2023-11-10T22:33:51Z")
There might be some suspicion when Pence suddenly develops a personality. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/175 "2023-11-13T14:47:25Z")
I have an _odd_ feeling about this proposal. I mean … could you _even_? > **[Vivek Ramaswamy's Plan To Slash Federal Jobs Has People Asking... Wait, What?!?](https://news.yahoo.com/vivek-ramaswamys-way-slash-federal-112403553.html)** > > The Republican presidential candidate's "unrestrained chainsaw" plan prompted lots of questions on social media. > [@](#): > > Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on Sunday unveiled how he would slim down federal bureaucracy, and critics had thoughts. > > Ramaswamy wrote that if he won the 2024 election he’d “instantly” fire 50% of federal bureaucrats on his first day in office. > > Who would find themselves terminated? Ramaswamy proposed using the highly scientific method removing the government workers whose Social Security numbers end in an odd number. > > “That downsizes government by half. Absolutely _nothing_ will break as a result,” he claimed on X, formerly Twitter. “It doesn’t violate civil service rules because mass layoffs are exempt.” –David, whose SSN ends in an even number. C-Ya, Suckers!! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/176 "2023-11-13T14:59:49Z")
Anyone care to guess what his SSN ends in? Shame if he laid himself off. Reminds me of the jokes as Elmo was first dismembering twitter about people showing up for work who’d been fired but didn’t know it. Why not? becsuase the staffers who tell people they’re fired were let go the day before. :rimshot: ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/177 "2023-11-13T15:32:07Z")
His role model is Thanos? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/178 "2023-11-13T16:21:51Z")
Wait, “unrestricted chainsaw” … so now he’s ripping off Javier Millei? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/179 "2023-11-13T22:32:50Z")
Ya know, it’s not impossible that there are more or even less than 50% whose social security number ends in an odd number. It’s not like they are hired based on that data. So whatever will he decide to do if it’s only 45% or it’s 60%. He’s really stupid. He must have been starved for attention growing up cause he is so fucking desperate for it, that he spouts stupid shit all the time. Every time I think I know who I hate the most, some new piece of shit bubbles up. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352/180 "2023-11-13T22:48:16Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Ya know, it’s not impossible that there are more or even less than 50% whose social security number ends in an odd number. It’s not like they are hired based on that data. So whatever will he decide to do if it’s only 45% or it’s 60%. Not that I’m defending this clearly braindead proposal, but it’s exceedingly likely to be close to 50%. If it was not, something very odd is going on with Federal hiring practices. It’s just the way statistics work. This one is called the Law of Large Numbers. The overall % should get closer and closer to 50% as you involve more people. That said, the absolute numbers may swing one way or the other by a large amount, e.g. out of 1 million people, perhaps 510,000 people have odds and 490,000 have evens. That’s an absolute difference of 2% of the million or 20,000 people (that’s a lot!) but the split is still 51/49. And chances are the true difference is going to be smaller. For even a 55/45 split, there’d need to be a discrepancy of 100k people out of every million, or 10% of the total. At that point, I’d call shenanigans on either the idea SSNs were assigned randomly or that Federal hiring did not itself involve SSNs in some fashion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vivek-ramaswamy/989352.md?page=10)