# We pit malicious GOP behavior! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 28, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869 "2015-09-28T20:15:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/1 "2015-09-28T20:15:23Z")
> [@Stupid Republican idea of the day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24545): > > We really need a thread for Republican malice. Much of what the GOP does isn’t “stupid” in a clinical sense; it’s evil and malicious but stupid only in the sense that voters are stupid to want malicious leaders. > > For example [a Florida legislator, thinking she was conferring with fellow Republiopaths secretly, was recorded proposing a gerrymander scheme in which prisoners, barred from voting but counted toward district size, would be reassigned to unseat a Black Democrat Congresswoman.](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/janet-adkins-corinne-brown-prisoners-gerrymandering) > > Or should we have a Smart Republican Idea of the Day thread? Of course not “smart” in the sense of good for the country, but “smart” ways to retain their power to defecate on the American people. OK, here you go. I did consider expanding the mission of the thread to right-wing parties in general, but for consistency with SRIOTD, we can keep it to the GOP. It’s not like Steve Harper can’t have his own thread, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/2 "2015-09-28T20:16:40Z")
> [@Stupid Republican idea of the day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/24558): > > [Kentucky Republican, along with two libertarians, claims First Amendment right to accept bribes.](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/kentucky-republican-along-with-two-libertarians-claims-first-amendment-right-to-accept-bribes/) Not just claiming; they’ve filed a federal lawsuit to overturn a state statute against lawmakers accepting gifts from lobbyists. And here’s one which makes me think I should have just gone with the larger “right-wing” category. A Republican working with Libertarians to undermine honest government! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/3 "2015-09-28T20:45:40Z")
[Redistricting is such a complex polygonal issue in Florida](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=724589) that nothing surprises me any more. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/4 "2015-09-28T20:53:20Z")
It’s not really malicious. It’s just a variation on gerrymandering. Jerkish, perhaps. Being caught saying it out loud definitely qualifies as an SRIOTD though. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/5 "2015-09-28T23:51:15Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It’s not really malicious. It’s just a variation on gerrymandering. Jerkish, perhaps. Being caught saying it out loud definitely qualifies as an SRIOTD though. If pretending that counting black prisoners who are denied the right to vote complies with “Districts shall not be drawn to deny racial or language minorities the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice” does not constitute fraud and malice, then we must be using different dictionaries. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/6 "2015-09-29T13:15:51Z")
I’m sure Bricker will be along to say “But it’s LEEEEEEEEGAL!” GOP now stands for Gerrymander Or Perish. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/7 "2015-09-29T13:50:06Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > If pretending that counting black prisoners who are denied the right to vote complies with “Districts shall not be drawn to deny racial or language minorities the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice” does not constitute fraud and malice, then we must be using different dictionaries. But . . . electoral districts in the U.S. have always been drawn up based on the numbers of the total, general population, not the numbers of voters or eligible voters. Kids count, nonvoting ex-cons count, noncitizen immigrants count. And that matters when it comes to allocation of government funding for public services, etc. – a region’s needs in that regard are roughly proportional to its population regardless of how many of them can or do vote. Granted, it is still debatable whether for such purposes “general population” should be defined to include prisoners, who are entirely outside the society of the county where they happen to be incarcerated and in no way participate in its civic life or economy, and whose economic needs the state serves through more direct institutional channels. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/8 "2015-09-29T13:58:52Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > If pretending that counting black prisoners who are denied the right to vote complies with “Districts shall not be drawn to deny racial or language minorities the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice” does not constitute fraud and malice, then we must be using different dictionaries. The prisoners will be counted no matter what. The question is simply where to count them. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/9 "2015-09-29T14:01:21Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > OK, here you go. I did consider expanding the mission of the thread to right-wing parties in general, but for consistency with SRIOTD, we can keep it to the GOP. And in the interest of fairness, when will you start one about the Democrats? You could kick it off with the Box 13 scandal and go downhill from there. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/10 "2015-09-29T14:14:58Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > And in the interest of fairness, when will you start one about the Democrats? > > You could kick it off with the Box 13 scandal and go downhill from there. We could, and should. But reaching all the way back to 1948 for an equivalence when the GOP version is listing contemporary cases seems like a bit of a reach. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/11 "2015-09-29T14:47:13Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > And in the interest of fairness, when will you start one about the Democrats? > > You could kick it off with the Box 13 scandal and go downhill from there. We could title it “Tales My Grandpappy Told Me”. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/12 "2015-09-29T14:58:45Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > And in the interest of fairness, when will you start one about the Democrats? Why can’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/13 "2015-09-29T16:51:51Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Why can’t you? I propose foolsguinea and Clothahump agree that foolsguinea’s next Pit thread will be against the Democrats and Clothahump’s will be against the Republicans. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/14 "2015-09-29T16:58:24Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Why can’t you? Because when Clothy started the Stupid Liberal Thing Of The Day thread, it died on the vine for lack of stupid things. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/15 "2015-09-29T17:23:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Because when Clothy started the Stupid Liberal Thing Of The Day thread, it died on the vine for lack of stupid things. Nope. There were too many to choose from. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/16 "2015-09-29T17:26:53Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Nope. There were too many to choose from. Which is why you had to reach back almost fifty years to find the example you posted in \*this \*thread? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/17 "2015-09-29T17:28:51Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Nope. There were too many to choose from. Yeah, nobody went to that thread - it was too crowded! RIP Yogi ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/18 "2015-09-29T17:42:02Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Nope. There were too many to choose from. I guess the fact that you were the one that started it just wasn’t inspiration enough to bring on even more of teh stupid. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/19 "2015-09-29T19:09:59Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > But . . . electoral districts in the U.S. have always been drawn up based on the numbers of the total, general population, not the numbers of voters or eligible voters… 😕 😕 > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The prisoners will be counted no matter what. The question is simply where to count them. 😕 😕 😕 😕 Since we’re in the Pit, I’ll say it: _ **You two cannot read for comprehension.** _ The districting statute has an expressed criterion\*\*\* to provide minorities favorable electoral outcomes\*\*\*, i.e. “gerrymandering” to get a black district. (Whether this is good or bad policy is a separate debate.) The proposal is to rig the racial compositions to comply, ignoring that the _ **rigged-to voters cannot affect the electoral outcome** _ because they are denied the right to vote. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869/20 "2015-09-29T19:12:42Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Nope. There were too many to choose from. We already have two or three threads whose titles should be _Right-wing Stupidity as Performance Art._ Is this thread going to be hijacked into another one? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-pit-malicious-gop-behavior/732869.md?page=2)