Should Republicans confirm the existence of AGW...?
So they can blame it on "the gays"?
It would be in line with Virginia state delegate Bob Marshall who claims that disabled children are god's way of punishing women for having abortions.
Marshall's statement just barely outshines Todd Akin's statement where he claimed the female body had "mechanisms" to stop impregnation in the case of a "legitimate rape."
The worst part is that Akin is on the house Committee on Science!
Should people who don't know fundamental biology be in positions to have an influence on policy?
Hey Dook2012-09-10T18:44:09Z
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Like the proverbial stopped clock that correctly shows the time twice a day, JimZ here makes a valid observation re Democrat hypocrisy. But such politics as usual is hardly "surreal," and is irrelevant to the question. Democrats are trying to exploit fears of women, as in the past they have often exploited fears about racism, and as Republicans routinely exploited fears about gays and "socialism." This is far from anything new. What IS new, is not exploitation from hypocritical politicians, but that we do not have a Republican Party any more.
We now have a new two party system featuring the Democrat-Wimps and the Liar Party that CALLS itself "Republican." The key point about Akin is that he represents the core values of the Liar Party, namely deliberately worshipped stupidity and ignorance. Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and I daresay even Goldwater and Reagan would not recognize this Republican Party in Name Only as theirs.
There have always been dumb politicians, on both "sides of the aisle." And most politicians bend the truth to a greater or lesser extent from time to time. However, in the Liar Party -which has tossed policy, ideas, rationality and even genuine conservatism into the gutter (where mud is excavated on an industrial scale, for flinging using massive corporate funding)- pandering to the dumbest phobias and lowest common denominator of ignorance has been elevated to their MAIN operating principle. THAT is what is noteworthy about Akin's idiocy, THAT is why the Liar (fake Republican) Party deserves outing as the Lunatic Fringe it has become, THAT is why the Liar Party's extreme denial of basic science has turned it into one of the greatest examples of ludicrous follies in all of human history and THAT is THE POINT of this spot-on question!
<<Should Republicans confirm the existence of AGW... So they can blame it on "the gays"?>>
This question is a little self-indulgent, even by Dook's standards. What exactly do you hope to accomplish?
While I share your frustration with the Republican Party's stubborn refusal to fully embrace the scientific consensus on issues like AGW and evolution, the obsession with Akin's idiotic comments, though not limited to yourself, is... interesting, to say the least. For several years now, the Dems and Liberals have attempted to weave (somewhat successfully, I might add) this narrative that the Republican party is the party of anti-science/intellectual, fundamentalist, religious bigots who hate women, minorities and the poor, while the enlightened left uses reason, knowledge, and compassion to construct sound policy. So when someone like Todd Akin forcefully demonstrates his ignorance of the female reproductive system, it's incredibly newsworthy because it fits with that narrative, regardless of the fact that every notable republican has denounced his statements with Akin himself retracting and apologizing repeatedly, and is subsequently ascribed as the Official Party Position. But when the California democratic party endorses an anti-GM food stance, or Obama says he is "suspicious" that the rise in Autism is related to vaccines and subsequently enacts policy consistent that view (FDA requiring flu shots to be single dose), both of which are at odds with the bulk of the scientific community, no one will pronounce the Democratic party as being "anti-science". If it has been shown that, percentage-wise, more Democrats are "truthers" than Republicans are "birthers", you'll see little press coverage of "the crackpots overrunning the left."
Time and again, ideology has shown to be larger driver of opinion than objective assessment of fact. If a Conservative publicly denies AGW or a Liberal accepts it, more often than not, they are simply signaling their tribal affiliation, not describing a reasoned conclusion. I have and will continue to advocate scientific rationality amongst conservatives, which necessarily means the acceptance of the scientific consensus on issues like evolution and climate change, but I don't think these types of questions are a means to that end.
"It would be in line with Virginia state delegate Bob Marshall who claims that disabled children are god's way of punishing women for having abortions."
Isnt it interesting - in every culture religious loonies always have such intense hatred & contempt for women.
Baby steps, baby steps......perhaps they should confirm the existence of evolution first and that the earth is not 6000 years old
Congress has a body established to advise it on scientific matters. The National Academy of Science was signed into law by a Republican hero, Abe Lincoln. This this Republican party, people like Akin, believe they are now scientific experts and can rationally ignore the NAS. And they claim to not be anti-science.
America's National Academy of Science:
"The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), are responsible for most of the climate change currently being observed."
"Responding to climate change is about making choices in the face of risk. Any course of action carries potential risks and costs; but doing nothing may pose the greatest risk from climate change and its impacts."
"The need for urgent action to address climate change is now indisputable."