# Republicans: A War On Science and how you are letting them win **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 5, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856 "2012-10-05T22:39:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/141 "2012-10-09T20:28:02Z")
Yeah I know but when you are comparing things that have a subjective value, those “facts, cites and stuff” don’t provide much in the way of argumentative eloquence (unlike you sir) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/142 "2012-10-09T20:54:15Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > Yeah I know but when you are comparing things that have a subjective value, those “facts, cites and stuff” don’t provide much in the way of argumentative eloquence (unlike you sir) An educated opinion will always be better that the ones that come with no support whatsoever. In the cases mentioned there is indeed direct evidence showing the Republicans of today making legislation that goes against what many would call reason. You may think that we should always follow or assume subjective values, but this is science what we are talking about. Assuming that on many of the subjects that both sides are equally bad is silly when one can check the evidence that doesn’t recognize political affiliations. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/143 "2012-10-09T21:14:46Z")
**GIGO** , your response had fuck all to do with science, it had everything to do with enumerating the “fact” that the big bad Republicans do it more, or more badder, or something (all of which are subjective) The fact that you bring cites, facts, and head bashing doesn’t change that simple truth. Until such time that you or your brethren here on the SDMB can prove, somehow, that your objective reasoning is more important than say **Bricker** ’s (I’d never let you off the hook by proposing myself, ah the humility), I’d stick to arguing FOR your side instead of against the opposing one. It still amazes me that you call your opinion “educated” while you toss others away (Hint: They are both opinions) ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/144 "2012-10-09T21:19:15Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > Healthcare absolutely is subject to scientific inquiry, with numerous academic institutions dedicated to researching effective methods of treatment and provision of healthcare. For instance, a study conducted by Wilper in 2009 demonstrated the following: "[URL=“[Health Insurance and Mortality in US Adults - PMC](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2775760/)”]After additional adjustment for race/ethnicity, income, education, self- and physician-rated health… You are agreeing with what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/145 "2012-10-09T21:27:28Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > Even the maligned Greens shy away from even mentioning the possibility of [catastrophic failure](http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/sep/28/nuclear-power-betamax-energy-world) (a wind turbine could collapse on people, technically). Shucks, I was hoping that was a link to a video of a wind turbine tearing itself apart, which would have been awesome. No such luck. Actually, the turbines I’ve seen, (here in Northern California and in Copenhagen) are so far from anything that hardly anyone would notice them disintegrating. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/146 "2012-10-09T21:27:35Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Yep, of course they have. It’s called the Discovery Institute. > [www.discovery.org](http://www.discovery.org) That’s a privately funded outfit so far as I can tell. > [@](#): > > And the Republicans are worse than the Democrats. Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of liberal friends that piss me of with their ignorant “conspiracy to suppress cancer cures bullshit” and similar wacko doctrines, but I haven’t seen any Democratic politicans actively embrace this ignorance as part of their campaigns. I agree with this. When I originally said there was a one-for-one match between Republican and Democratic idiots, that was a figure of speech. It’s probably about 2-1 Republicans and I agree that Republicans are more aggressive in their defiance of various scientific consensuses. However, this is not an inherently Republican problem as the OP has tried time and again to claim. Democrats have nothing to be proud of here. But the question I keep asking, and that nobody has touched, is why the public doesn’t trust scientists. Saying “because people are stupid” may make you feel superior but it doesn’t solve the problem. Was it eugenics? Social Darwinism? The A-bomb? Where did we go wrong? Or, have people _never_ trusted scientists? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/147 "2012-10-09T21:44:37Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > **GIGO** , > your response had fuck all to do with science, it had everything to do with enumerating the “fact” that the big bad Republicans do it more, or more badder, or something (all of which are subjective) > > The fact that you bring cites, facts, and head bashing doesn’t change that simple truth. > > Until such time that you or your brethren here on the SDMB can prove, somehow, that your objective reasoning is more important than say **Bricker** ’s (I’d never let you off the hook by proposing myself, ah the humility), I’d stick to arguing FOR your side instead of against the opposing one. > > It still amazes me that you call your opinion “educated” while you toss others away (Hint: They are both opinions) Of course they are both opinions, but on an anonimous message board that deals with ignorance, just posting opinions with no supporting information is just next to useless. Specially when the subject is science. If you have a mess of information on your side it is just self defeating to assume that all are just looking for elocuence and that we shuld declare a winner in discussions dealing with science just for their pretty prose. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/148 "2012-10-09T21:45:44Z")
The scary thing about certain elements of the far right ( the Rick Santorum - Discovery Institute crowd) and science is that these people aren’t necessarily stupid. They really just don’t CARE about the scientific truths regarding evolution, psychology, neuroscience, biology or earth sciences. They believe scientific knowledge has a corrupting influence and there is an organized right wing campaign aimed at suppressing knowledge and keeping our children stupid. They call the strategy “The Wedge” and they tend to try to pretend that THEY are the open-minded ones, calling for more discussion on “controversial” issues like evolution and the sun rising in the east. Their position paper is here. It may be the scariest thing you ever read. [http://www.antievolution.org/features/wedge.html](http://www.antievolution.org/features/wedge.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/149 "2012-10-09T21:50:14Z")
[quote=“Hyperelastic, post:146, topic:636856”] That’s a privately funded outfit so far as I can tell QUOTE] They have an exceedingly right wing Republican agenda ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/150 "2012-10-09T21:55:33Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > Where did we go wrong? Or, have people _never_ trusted scientists? For me personally, it was a combination of the things we were told were oh so safe, except later they weren’t. I don’t know if any of it was the fault of scientists, but these days when a new drug/chemical/whatever comes out, I look at it with a jaundiced eye until it’s been around long enough to kill someone. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/151 "2012-10-09T21:57:24Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > But the question I keep asking, and that nobody has touched, is why the public doesn’t trust scientists. Saying “because people are stupid” may make you feel superior but it doesn’t solve the problem. Was it eugenics? Social Darwinism? The A-bomb? Where did we go wrong? Or, have people _never_ trusted scientists? You are not even wrong. 🙂 The biggest open secret is that in reality most of the public does trust science, but as demonstrated many times, most of the conservatives have trouble with it. [http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/31/survey-most-conservatives-place-little-trust-in-science/](http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/31/survey-most-conservatives-place-little-trust-in-science/) > [@](#): > > Only a small minority of conservatives now say they place a “great deal” of trust in science, according to a survey published yesterday. > > The new result represents a drop of almost 30 percent since the 1970s, according to the study published in the American Sociological Review. > > The study says data indicate that the public’s trust in science is largely unchanged since 1974 except among people identifying themselves as conservatives. > > Whereas in 1974, 48 percent of conservatives trusted science — about the same share as liberals — the number is now down to 35 percent, a decline of nearly a third in 38 years. > > “Conservatives began the period with the highest trust in science, relative to liberals and moderates, and ended the period with the lowest,” Gordon Gauchat, the study’s author, wrote in an abstract. In discussing the survey’s results, he adds: “These results are quite profound, because they imply that conservative discontent with science was not attributable to the uneducated but to rising distrust among educated conservatives.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/152 "2012-10-09T22:17:45Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > For me personally, it was a combination of the things we were told were oh so safe, except later they weren’t. I don’t know if any of it was the fault of scientists, but these days when a new drug/chemical/whatever comes out, I look at it with a jaundiced eye until it’s been around long enough to kill someone. Or not. That’s what makes science work: New evidence can change what we know. I prefer this to Dogma. See, it’s okay to have change. It just has to be change we can believe in. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/153 "2012-10-09T22:25:46Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > **GIGO** , > your response had fuck all to do with science, it had everything to do with enumerating the “fact” that the big bad Republicans do it more, or more badder, or something (all of which are subjective) It’s not subjective as a simple reading of this thread will show anyone who doesn’t already have a preconceived notion that both sides are equally bad and no evidence will dissuade them. It’s not subjective that Republicans do, in fact, do more to harm science than Democrats. There are numerous, numerous citations in this very thread of anti-science views from the right, numerous polls that show conservatives are generally more science-illiterate than those who do not label themselves conservative; numerous citations on how voting for science funding is partisan. Yes, there are a few instances of wackadoo Democrats. Most of them that have been mentioned above have actually been debunked. The few that haven’t been have not shown to have a huge affect on policy compared to their Republican counterparts. There is nothing subjective about this at all. To state that there is is cognitive dissonance. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/154 "2012-10-09T22:31:21Z")
I can see that on some specific subjects there is distrust, just by memory, I do know that Evolution is one that makes a lot of people uncomfortable with science. But, generally speaking, the American people does trust science. > **[Podcasts | Scientific American](https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcasts/)** > > Be informed and entertained with original podcasts by Scientific American > [@](#): > > The results are in, and, Americans pretty much like science. Eighty-four percent of those polled think that “science’s effect on society” is mostly positive. That’s the result of two phone surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, released on July 9th. > > Seventy-three percent believe that federal funding of basic research pays off in the long run. But the public’s rating of the overall significance of science seems to have dropped in the last 10 years. In 1999, 47 percent of those polled said that scientific advances were among the most important U.S. achievements. Today, only 27 percent think so. And yet, there are surprises, many posters before constantly said that regarding Global Warming most people did not trust the science or the scientists, and yet, that is not the case. [http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kgrenfell/new\_yale\_poll\_shows\_strong\_pub.html](http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kgrenfell/new_yale_poll_shows_strong_pub.html) > [@](#): > > Americans also want more clean energy sources, with an overwhelming majority of those surveyed (92 %) saying this should be a priority for the president and Congress. And 61 percent of Americans support holding the fossil fuel industry (coal, oil and natural gas) responsible for “all the hidden costs we pay for citizens who get sick from polluted air and water, military costs to maintain our access to foreign oil, and the environmental costs of spills and accidents.” These results dovetail with another new poll that showed a large majority of small business owners support government investments in clean energy, and believe that investments in clean energy can create jobs and boost the economy. > > The Yale-George Mason study also indicates Americans are willing to pay more for clean energy. In fact, 63 percent would support requiring utilities to produce at least one-fifth of their electricity from renewable energy sources – even if this would increase household costs by $100 annually. > > Together, these various surveys appear to conflict with some of the conclusions reached in a report released in April by the AB 32 Implementation Group, which claims opposition is increasing for AB 32 and its cap-and-trade auction due to a variety of concerns – including a potential for lost jobs and higher energy bills for consumers. Even so, more than half the respondents in the lobbying group’s survey said they support AB 32 and believe global warming “needs to be seriously addressed.” Furthermore, when provided with a basic description of cap-and-trade, 56 percent favor the program. (Some small business owners have responded to the poll by reiterating their support for AB 32 and the idea that “a clean environment and a healthy economy go hand-in-hand”). And that takes us back to the item at hand, the reality is that the current Republican congress critters are going against many of the people that they supposedly do represent, and I do think that the mainstream media, that is for the corporations, is partly responsible for not informing the people more about the boneheaded positions that the Republicans are taking in government. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/155 "2012-10-09T23:04:45Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > That’s what makes science work: New evidence can change what we know. I prefer this to Dogma. > > See, it’s okay to have change. It just has to be change we can believe in. 😛 Yeah, I have no problem with change, it’s just that change has to prove to me that it’s good! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/156 "2012-10-10T00:11:37Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I agree with this. When I originally said there was a one-for-one match between Republican and Democratic idiots, that was a figure of speech. It’s probably about 2-1 Republicans and I agree that Republicans are more aggressive in their defiance of various scientific consensuses. However, this is not an inherently Republican problem as the OP has tried time and again to claim. Democrats have nothing to be proud of here. I would say it’s more like 200-1, as you came up with a single example of a Democratic Congressman propping up woo. And Harkin supports ordinary research far more than his alternative nonsense. Among the public though, I agree there are wackos on both sides: _but the lefty wackos no longer get traction._ I trust things will rebalance some day, but it would be wrong to posit an equivalence where none exists. > [@](#): > > But the question I keep asking, and that nobody has touched, is why the public doesn’t trust scientists. Saying “because people are stupid” may make you feel superior but it doesn’t solve the problem. Was it eugenics? Social Darwinism? The A-bomb? Where did we go wrong? Or, have people _never_ trusted scientists? Trust rises and falls. But I suspect that the origins can be traced to the left. Environmentalism challenged the chemical, nuclear, and fossil fuel energy industries and that took the aura off of many of the hard scientists during the 1970s. The A-bomb didn’t help either. True, there were the Darwin trials of the 1920s, but Bryan was a former lefty in that case anyway. Looking at history might be a mistake though. Bob Lutz, tech head of GM, postures as a global warming skeptic. Just this week former GE President Jack “Neutron” Welch embraced BLS conspiracy theories. For this I blame modern conservatism, which makes an insufficient distinction between fact and opinion. Fox News and the WSJ editorial pages have had a pernicious influence on American conservative thought. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/157 "2012-10-10T04:21:54Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Trust rises and falls. But I suspect that the origins can be traced to the left. Environmentalism challenged the chemical, nuclear, and fossil fuel energy industries and that took the aura off of many of the hard scientists during the 1970s. The A-bomb didn’t help either. Blather. If there was ever an era when our nation was more interested in science, with all it’s possibilities, it was the the dawn of the Nuclear and Space Age. You can’t say the scientific critique of the ramifications of it’s effects caused it’s downfall without mumbling into incoherence. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/158 "2012-10-10T06:29:01Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Blather. If there was ever an era when our nation was more interested in science, with all it’s possibilities, it was the the dawn of the Nuclear and Space Age. The dawn of the Nuclear and Space Age was in 1959. I would say that science’s rep peaked just after the launch of Sputnik. Maybe it hit its nadir during the Three Mile Island incident in 1979. That’s the secular trend. On top of that is the rise of conservative nutbar worship. I think the two components should be viewed as independent. The latter can be traced as far as Goldwater and the water fluoridation loons of the 1950s. But I’d focus on the early 1990s and the rise of Fox News, squawk radio, and Gingrich’s movement conservativism which put a focus on de-legitimazation. Republicans are the nation’s leading post-modernists. GW Bush’s administration were a good example of that. They ignored regional experts both during the invasion of Iraq and critically as they sent staff during the post-invasion cleanup. So while implementation of their program was completely cocked-up, with subsequent massive losses of US lives and treasure, the experience had very little effect on modern conservatives. Empirical reality doesn’t hold much sway on these folks. Josh Marshall: Everyone is compromised by bias, agendas, and ideology. But at the heart of the revisionist mindset is the belief that there is really nothing more than that. Ideology isn’t just the prism through which we see world, or a pervasive tilt in the way a person understands a given set of facts. Ideology is really all there is. For an administration that has been awfully hard on the French, that mindset is…well, rather French. They are like deconstructionists and post-modernists who say that everything is political or that everything is ideology. That mindset makes it easy to ignore the facts or brush them aside because “the facts” aren’t really facts, at least not as most of us understand them. If they come from people who don’t agree with you, they’re just the other side’s argument dressed up in a mantle of facticity. And if that’s all the facts are, it’s really not so difficult to go out and find a new set of them. The fruitful and dynamic tension between political goals and disinterested expert analysis becomes impossible. [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0309.marshall.html](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0309.marshall.html) That’s the essence of the Republican War on Science. It’s not that they distrust people in white coats. They just don’t believe in the idea of empirical investigation: to them, that’s just a figleaf for a pre-existing agenda. They figure that if they themselves see the world that way, so must everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/159 "2012-10-10T07:52:29Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > The dawn of the Nuclear and Space Age was in 1959. I would say that science’s rep peaked just after the launch of Sputnik. Maybe it hit its nadir during the Three Mile Island incident in 1979. The dawn of the nuclear age was 1945, and judging from magazines from the time that might have been close to the peak. Atomic bombs and atomic power were pure science fiction - until the ended the war. That was the first time that science - and science that seemed to be purely of theoretical interest before - became vital to the survival of the country. Space only became important because we lost and felt threatened. Eisenhower refused von Braun’s requests to send up a satellite before Sputnik - that he was ready was why we were able to respond so quickly. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856/160 "2012-10-10T14:33:34Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > The scary thing about certain elements of the far right ( the Rick Santorum - Discovery Institute crowd) and science is that these people aren’t necessarily stupid. They really just don’t CARE about the scientific truths regarding evolution, psychology, neuroscience, biology or earth sciences. > > They believe scientific knowledge has a corrupting influence and there is an organized right wing campaign aimed at suppressing knowledge and keeping our children stupid. They call the strategy “The Wedge” and they tend to try to pretend that THEY are the open-minded ones, calling for more discussion on “controversial” issues like evolution and the sun rising in the east. > > Their position paper is here. It may be the scariest thing you ever read. > > [http://www.antievolution.org/features/wedge.html](http://www.antievolution.org/features/wedge.html) Then they are like a milquetoast version of the Taliban. To deny or willfully ignore proven knowledge, facts…is to deny truth. Isn’t that we we are all supposed to be seeking? Wait…we are talking about politicians here. See, politicians are supposed to lie about stuff they say they are going to do, not defy provable scientific facts! That’s just stupid! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-a-war-on-science-and-how-you-are-letting-them-win/636856.md?page=9)