Think first: Someone needs to save Republicans from themselves

Just when you thought it was safe to trust that nothing stupid or illogical was going to come out of another Republican's mouth, along comes newly elected U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis.

He meant well -- the gist of his statement was he does not think that the government should regulate every move a business or an individual makes.

But the vehicle he chose to make that point? Requiring restaurants to force their employees to wash their hands after going to the bathroom.

Sighhhhh.

Tillis went on to suggest that businesses that did not want to force their employees to wash their hands could be forced to put up a sign informing the public of that decision.

Double sighhhh.

Really, this is becoming a real problem.

We are not normally in favor of spending money for public relations spinners in government in any form. In general, they are not worth the money.

But perhaps, in the case of the Republican Party -- and sometimes our local leaders as well -- we might be willing to make an exception.

Someone, somewhere needs to school these people on how to make a point so they do not seem like crazies.

Perhaps each of these employees could be equipped with a large sign that blinks "Stop, Think, THEN Speak" and be prepared to flash it in an emergency situation when one of these leaders comes even close to a microphone.

Or, perhaps we could set up a hotline where a Republican could call, recite the statement he or she is about to make, and someone on the other end would give advice on whether to go forward.

We are open to any number of suggestions, but something needs to be done quickly.

Now, just so we are fair, there are plenty of Democrats who could use one of these magic "gaffe-prevention" machines -- especially in light of the recent skirmish that involved a Democratic representative from Florida who proudly informed the chamber that he considers the entire state of Texas "crazy."

And let's not forget the famous Democrat who thought that if the government built a base on Guam, it might "tip over."

No matter how you look at it, this might be a positive for all of us.

We could actually talk about important issues that matter to Americans, rather than the latest goofball meanderings of the leadership in Washington. We would not have to struggle to figure how men and women of reasonable intelligence could lose all touch with reality once they hit Washington.

Sounds like a win-win to us.

Published in Editorials on February 6, 2015 11:05 AM