# % of Democrat and Republican Senators that deny Evolution? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 1, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338 "2011-05-01T00:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/1 "2011-05-01T00:49:58Z")
Bar debate was struck up last night with a conservative friend saying there was 4 or 5 Republican Senators that publicly deny the Theory of Evolution, tops. Further, Democratic senators aren’t much better. If he’s incorrect please help me prove him wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/2 "2011-05-01T01:23:22Z")
Among current Senators: Vitter, Brownback, Inhofe ([link](http://www.whorunsgov.com/politerati/uncategorized/odonnell-and-the-creationists/)), for starters. Santorum, O’Donnell, and Angle all lost; Helms and Thurmond are dead. All R’s, no D’s. But remember that what a pol says and what he believes, if anything, normally do not map one for one. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/3 "2011-05-01T01:24:54Z")
McCain said he believed in evolution during one of the '08 debates, so there’s one for the pro-evolution count. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/4 "2011-05-01T01:43:51Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > McCain said he believed in evolution during one of the '08 debates, so there’s one for the pro-evolution count. But there’s the thing. Anyone who says they _believe_ in evolution doesn’t know what the hell it is. It’s like saying I believe in math, or I believe in ice cream. You know it or you don’t. When Christine O’Donell asked why don’t monkeys turn into humans, she didn’t know what it was either. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/5 "2011-05-01T01:51:52Z")
[McCain equivocated on “intelligent design” during the campaign, though.](http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/12/mccain-creationism/) ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/6 "2011-05-01T01:56:51Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > But there’s the thing. Anyone who says they _believe_ in evolution doesn’t know what the hell it is. It’s like saying I believe in math, or I believe in ice cream. > You know it or you don’t. When Christine O’Donell asked why don’t monkeys turn into humans, she didn’t know what it was either. 😃 Meh, he was responding to the wording of the questioner. I don’t think anyone really wanted him to give a ten minute spiel on epistemology and what it means to “believe” something in respect to the scientific method in response to a yes or no question. And in the D column, I think Mark Pryor said he was a Young Earth Creationist in Bill Mahers movie. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/7 "2011-05-01T02:00:23Z")
[Pryor straddled too:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Pryor) > [@](#): > > he tells Maher that he could believe in Young Earth creationism, yet he also sees evolution as a feasible idea. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/8 "2011-05-01T03:05:39Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FJ88l5ql_FQ/hqdefault.jpg "Republican Candidates Don't Believe in Evolution") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ88l5ql_FQ) In the Republican debates, at least 3 Repubs running for president said they did not believe in evolution. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/9 "2011-05-01T03:14:20Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Among current Senators: Vitter, Brownback, Inhofe ([link](http://www.whorunsgov.com/politerati/uncategorized/odonnell-and-the-creationists/)), for starters. Santorum, O’Donnell, and Angle all lost; Helms and Thurmond are dead. All R’s, no D’s. > > But remember that what a pol says and what he believes, if anything, normally do not map one for one. Thurmond was a former Democrat. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/10 "2011-05-01T03:17:46Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Thurmond was a former Democrat. Does that somehow make you feel better? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/11 "2011-05-01T03:19:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Does that somehow make you feel better? No I was just stating the facts. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/12 "2011-05-01T03:46:31Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Thurmond was a former Democrat. This again? Yes, he was. And when the Democratic party decided that support for civil rights was more important than appeasing the dinosaurs in the South, Thurmond (and many other Southern Dems) decided to change their party instead of their minds. Just as Robert Byrd decided to change his mind instead of his party. There is no such thing as a bright-line connection between the Democratic Party pre-60s and the Democratic Party post-60s as far as civil rights and race are concerned. Both modern parties have flip-flopped on that subject. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/13 "2011-05-01T03:49:06Z")
he was a Dixiecrat. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/14 "2011-05-01T03:53:39Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > This again? Yes, he was. And when the Democratic party decided that support for civil rights was more important than appeasing the dinosaurs in the South, Thurmond (and many other Southern Dems) decided to change their party instead of their minds. Just as Robert Byrd decided to change his mind instead of his party. > > There is no such thing as a bright-line connection between the Democratic Party pre-60s and the Democratic Party post-60s as far as civil rights and race are concerned. Both modern parties have flip-flopped on that subject. No, the Civil Rights are now a settled issue, not flip-flopped. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/15 "2011-05-01T04:01:36Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > No, the Civil Rights are now a settled issue, not flip-flopped. Yes, that’s why Republican efforts to suppress minority voting have ceased completely, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/16 "2011-05-01T16:57:17Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Yes, that’s why Republican efforts to suppress minority voting have ceased completely, I’m sure. Yes, that’s why hooded men still beat up blacks who try to vote. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/17 "2011-05-01T17:08:21Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Yes, that’s why hooded men still beat up blacks who try to vote. Is that all civil rights are? Not being attacked by hooded men while voting? Well then I agree. It is a settled matter. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/18 "2011-05-01T17:08:48Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Yes, that’s why hooded men still beat up blacks who try to vote. These days they prefer to use cops for intimidation (who don’t need to wear hoods while they beat or kill black people), and redraw election districts to split the black vote. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/19 "2011-05-01T17:15:20Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Is that all civil rights are? Not being attacked by hooded men while voting? Well then I agree. It is a settled matter. The minorities have been given all possible legal support. Other than coddling them, they’re on their own now. And statistics show, many minorities (such as Asiatics) are even more successful than WASPs and other whites. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > These days they prefer to use cops for intimidation (who don’t need to wear hoods while they beat or kill black people), and redraw election districts to split the black vote. So you support gerrymandering just to ensure majority-black districts? How about majority-vegetarian districts? Or majority-Scientologist districts. (Both are possible considering there are 435 House seats). ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338/20 "2011-05-01T17:25:42Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > The minorities have been given all possible legal support. Other than coddling them, they’re on their own now. :rolleyes: Please. There’s plenty of systematic discrimination against them still. > [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > So you support gerrymandering just to ensure majority-black districts? Do you support gerrymandering to ensure blacks have no political power? Yes, of course you do. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-democrat-and-republican-senators-that-deny-evolution/580338.md?page=2)