Paul Krugman: Republicans against science

Paul Krugman: Republicans against science

click link

from article


Jon Huntsman Jr., a former Utah governor and ambassador to China, isn't a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination. And that's too bad, because Huntsman has been willing to say the unsayable about the GOP — namely, that it is becoming the "anti-science party." This is an enormously important development. And it should terrify us.

To see what Huntsman means, consider recent statements by the two men who actually are serious contenders for the GOP nomination: Rick Perry and Mitt Romney.

Perry, the governor of Texas, recently made headlines by dismissing evolution as "just a theory," one that has "got some gaps in it" — an observation that will come as news to the vast majority of biologists. But what really got peoples' attention was what he said about climate change: "I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects. And I think we are seeing almost weekly, or even daily, scientists are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change."

That's a remarkable statement — or maybe the right adjective is "vile."

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/paul-krugman/article_56d208cc-c4f6-5a16-8202-0f0076e4a9b3.html#ixzz1WWCzaFO1